People today are exposed to hundreds of visual cues in a day. We, after all, live in the social media age. When a potential client or customer is experiencing so many visual designs in a day, how do you make sure your business stands out? How do you capture attention, arouse curiosity, pique interest and close a lead? Through smart UI and UX.
Banking and financial services, unfortunately, can be sometimes presumed ‘boring’. We find numbers interesting, but not everybody does. It’s easy for a tattoo artist to capture interest through their website because their work is colourful, and people are easily captivated through colour. But how can a financial service organization portray their services concisely and be captivating? We’ll tell you how:
1. Too Many Clicks Can Spoil the App
One issue the Fintech industry faces with their customers is that the world of finance inherently has too many terminologies and prerequisites, some of which are confusing, and all of which are important. Think about the last time you purchased a credit card, or applied for a loan. The number of forms, formalities, documents, etc. that you had to supply or fill were numerous, and there were times when you didn’t know what your bank agent was talking about. A Fintech company cannot skip mandatory steps, but they can make it easier for their customer to understand and execute.
Here’s an example of a design that is terribly confusing:
This is a company who has tried to use a lot of colour and images to keep it ‘fresh’, but they have missed the point. What is clickable, what’s not, and is there an order to the options? These are some questions a visitor could have and unfortunately, the only way to find out is by clicking each section that seems like a button. Now that us too much to demand from a visitor.
Now check out this example:
This might seem much more simple from a visual standpoint, but it is a million times better from a user journey standpoint and that makes up for it. UI and UX need to come together to give the user the best possible solution in the shortest amount of time. Take your user from problem to solution in the least amount of steps.
2. The Copy Must be for Everyone
The copy refers to all the text in your website or application. The copy is extremely important, and serves to give your users all the information they need. In the financial sector, some terminologies can be portrayed with simple words. Do it. Some terminologies cannot be simplified, in such cases, add visual aids, short descriptions or videos to explain what the terminology means. Your app must be understandable to an average Joe and to Warren Buffet.
Some steps you can take to ensure you have the most compelling copy is to hire a professional UX writer, and have them correspond with the UX designer on a regular basis. The vision the designer has for a section should manifest in the copy, and the copy must help them advance in the flow.
3. The Flow Must be a Story
You’re going to have a lot of information to give. The aim is to not overwhelm your users. That’s where flow comes in. Giving your app or website users information in chunks, as you hand hold them through the journey is the best way to ensure happy customers. Categorize all steps and group categories where they make sense, and split categorizes where they are too crowded. Use obvious CTAs to ensure your consumers know what to do next. Have a coherent connection and flow between sections. For example, asking for professional proof after education proof is a logical flow, as opposed to asking education proof, bank account statements, then professional proof.
4. Design For Interaction
Alright, we spoke a lot about the UX part of the Fintech app, now lets’ get to the UI. The design, colours and typescapes need to come together to tie the UX as one. You brand identity needs to be reflected through your products UI, as that is what they interact with. That being said, you need to use colours and topographies to portray information too.
For example, marking an ‘*’ in red is universally understood as a symbol for mandatory information. green is often associated with money and bright colours denote energy. Research the the symbolism and psychological affect of colours and use them to influence user behaviour.
Conclusion
UI and UX can be as compelling and influential in acquiring and retaining users as your service model itself. Without UI and UX you cannot get potential prospects interested in your service. That’s where technological solution companies like us, Getafix Technologies comes in. With a team of UI and UX designers and a proficient programmers, we ensure your vision and service model is represented in the best possible way. Reach out to us to know how we can help get your Fintech app off the ground.