Hi, I'm Srinivas Kotha, a UX Designer.
WealthWise
An app that combines financial literacy education with banking services.
(Case Study In Progress)
Overview
According to AIG Retirement Services, “Only 53% of college students feel prepared to manage their finances” (AIG Retirement Services, 2019 Money Matters On Campus, 2019). “89% of Americans agree that lack of financial education contributes to some of the biggest social issues our country faces, including poverty (58%), lack of job opportunities (53%), unemployment (53%), and wealth inequality (52%). (Harris Poll: Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Survey, 2020).
Through secondary research, I found out that many students were financially illiterate. I felt that we needed to create an app that could provide a means to help improve financial literacy.
Problem
How might we design a digital platform or mobile application that effectively engages college students in learning about financial literacy, addressing their unique needs, preferences, and challenges?
Goals
Consists of videos, quizzes, interactive tutorials and articles to educate users on financial literacy
How this app will help users:
Simplify the budgeting process for users that gives a warning exceeded the budget
Credit Score Notification- Keeps track of credit score
Helps users effectively manage their loans & set up reminders for upcoming payments to stay on top of their repayment schedules
Sync multiple bank accounts
Empower users to invest wisely, educate users about investing, making better decisions
User Research
The Team
I conducted the user research, created the user journey maps, user personas, and created wireframes and prototypes to visually represent the layout and functionality of the project
Tools
- Created a Competitor Analysis using FigJam
- Wireframes and Prototype done using Figma
Timeline
January 2024 - Present
WealthWise(previously called MoneyMatters) is a finance app designed to empower users, particularly college students, to effectively manage their finances, educate users about finance, and develop strong budgeting skills. WealthWise offers a user-friendly interface with comprehensive features to track expenses, set financial goals, sync multiple bank accounts and gain insights into spending habits.
In order to create an app that would add and enrich the users' experience, I took a look at a wide variety of apps, such as The World Of Money financial education app, Zogo, and other finance apps. I was trying to see the functionalities. Following this, I made sure to seperate my experience from the overall user experience. In addition to this I also interviewed 10 UTD students and created surveys on social media to determine the need and potential use for an financial education app.
Personas
User Journey Map
Features
Functions:
● Search bar: to search categories
● Notifications: alerts users of important events/information
● Login: put security measure to user’s profile
● File Menu: Hamburger Menu to change settings, security and privacy,
account details, display settings, terms and policies, Log Out, etc.
● Home Page: main page that branches out to the other categories and
shows basic information on the categories
● Frequently asked questions
● User profile: Add friends
Features:
○ Educational videos and quizzes:
○ Possibly a glossary for terms
○ Budgeting: sets reminders for bill payments, enter incoming and outgoing
money throughout the month, categorize budget
○ Student Loans:
○ Tracking total loan
○ News alerts regarding Loans (ex: relief)
○ A feature that helps determine monthly payments based on revenue
○ Credit:
○ When an event happens the app will notify the user and give users more information as to why something happened (ex: credit score went down, click here to learn why)
○ Suggest credit cards that have specific rewards/points that benefit user (ex: travels a lot, suggest credit card with great travel rewards)
○ Displays and compares credit card APR rates
○ Rewards:
○ Earn points for every quiz completed
- You can spend these points on gift cards, purchase items, or unlock anything(incentivize users to return to the app)
○ Syncing
○ Syncs to Financial accounts ( keeps track and updates info from banking apps
○ Tracks subscriptions (shows you all services you are subscribed to and the cost of each service)
Lo-Fi Mockups
Lo-Fi Usability Testing
Grow Your Vision
In order to make sure that WealthWise was heading in the right direction, I conducted some usability tests. My goal was to see what difficulties the user was facing. I had the users tell me their difficulties as they followed a questionnaire I have created.
Adding Bank Account was confusing
One of the pain points made was that the "Add New Bank Account" was confusing. The user was not able to proceed further and hit the new box instead of the + Bank. She only tapped + Bank after hint. The user had some uncertainty during this phase.
The app was very straight-forward and easy to use.
When asked how quickly the user gone through the app, the user said the app was very straight-forward and easy to use.
Very interactive and gamified experience made it exciting!
The user liked how the video page was very interactive and the gamified experience was better compared to just a bulleted list. Each video consists of progress bar in units, the way chapter lessons are unlocked, and descriptions.
The bank syncing feature was really nice and useful!
The user liked how the ability to sync multiple bank accounts to keep track spending was very useful. The user found the the app to be useful.
Hi-Fi Frames
Working In-Progress
Reflection
My approach for solving this problem was the classic UX journey: I prioritized user needs by conducting thorough research to understand the challenges and preferences of college students regarding financial management. User personas were developed to empathize with the target audience and guide design decisions.
Usability testing played a crucial role in validating the app's design and identifying areas for improvement. Iterative design allowed for continuous refinement based on user feedback, ensuring a user-centered approach to development.
In reflecting on the UX case study, several challenges emerged throughout the process.
Firstly, determining the ideal features to include in the app was confusing. Balancing user needs and technical feasibility required careful consideration and prioritization.
Secondly, deciding on the most effective approach to financial education proved to be another challenge. Designing a user experience that effectively teaches financial literacy while keeping users engaged and motivated presented a unique set of obstacles.
Lastly, creating wireframes for the banking accounts and information architecture proved challenging due to the complexity of financial data and the need to ensure clarity and ease of use for users. The next steps would be making a website for the mobile app, conducting user testing sessions to gather feedback on design improvements, iterate, and refine to make the user experience better making sure the app is accessible to all types of users.