Bridgecard - A Card Issuing Platform
Project Overview
In order to manage payments and withdraw money from any bank account, wherever in the globe, Bridgecard, a FinTech firm, provides you with a single debit card and a single mobile app. When the physical/virtual debit card and mobile app solution were released, they generated $440,000 in pre-seed funding and saw an increase in usage two months later.
My Role & Responsibilities
I was the junior product designer with a senior designer who led our team. We were both involved in every phase of designing the website, mobile app and the debit card. My specific responsibilities were:
Working with the senior product designer to conduct user research and analysis
Designing the debit card and its packaging
Creating wireframes & prototypes as well as reiterations
Designing the marketing website and making it responsive
Copywriting for the product & marketing assets
Launching & marketing which took the product to active 1,000+ users
The Problem
A typical Nigerian has two to six bank accounts, each with a debit card. Despite 73.2% of Nigerians having active Nigerian bank accounts, managing multiple debit cards and its geographical and institutional constraints caused a drop in card payments. They present consumers with a number of difficulties, including:
High fees: Many traditional banks charge high fees for services like ATM usage, overdrafts, and monthly account maintenance.
Limited accessibility: Traditional banks may have limited physical locations, making it difficult for customers who don't live near a branch to access services.
Long wait times: Waiting in long lines at a bank branch can be frustrating, especially for customers who need to complete transactions quickly.
Limited banking hours: Traditional banks usually have limited hours of operation, which can be inconvenient for customers who work during those hours.
Lack of transparency: Traditional banks may not always provide clear and easy-to-understand information about their services, fees, and policies.
Limited account options: Traditional banks may only offer a limited range of account options, which may not meet the needs of all customers.
Security concerns: Customers may worry about the security of their funds and personal information when using traditional banks, especially if they have experienced fraud or identity theft in the past.
The Goal
With this secondary data and assumptions about the problem, we found that an opportunity was waiting to be explored and the goal was to design a simple, secure, and convenient way for users to manage payments and funds with one debit card.
User Research
To ensure that we were addressing the correct issue and verifying our assumptions, we began by carrying out individual user interviews. This provided us with qualitative data on the problems and motivations in a contextual setting, helped us understand current behaviours, and confirmed our market suitability. We conducted interviews with 10 users who met the criteria of having at least two bank accounts, two debit cards, and using smartphones. We asked them questions on how many accounts/cards they owned, what their experience using and managing their accounts/cards were, how they managed withdrawals across multiple accounts and their experience with international payments.
According to the user research conducted, the major concerns raised by people who use multiple bank accounts include:
Having to queue at the bank to resolve issues
Incompetent traditional bank services such as poor customer service
Being unable to easily track payments and spending
Limited ability to perform international transactions
Security breach leading to loss of money or fraud
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