Universo (Sonae) · 2022
Remote App Onboarding
Bringing Universo Card onboarding out of the stores and into the Universo App, so new customers can sign up from their phone, without compromising the compliance and KYC requirements of a fintech product with over 1M customers.
- Role
- Product Designer
- Company
- Universo (Sonae Group)
- Timeline
- May 2021 – Apr 2022
(~ 1 year from 0 → launch) - Core Team
- Product Owner, Tech Lead, Product Manager, QA Lead
- Platform
- Universo App
(iOS and Android) - Tools
- Adobe XD, Miro, Azure DevOps, Notion
Context
By 2021, digital banks had made opening an account from your phone feel normal. Universo Card, Sonae’s credit card with over 1M customers, could still only be requested in person, at a Sonae store or a Universo counter.
The problem
Universo needed a fully digital onboarding in the Universo App, so anyone could apply on their own, anywhere. But a credit card application isn’t just a form: identity verification, credit assessment and legal consents are all regulated, and store staff used to guide customers through each step. The app had to do that job alone.
Main objective
Make applying as easy as possible, without cutting any compliance step. The technical architecture came from the in-store solution, so the work focused on a new interface and experience.
My role
This was my first major project as a Product Designer, after moving from Product Manager into user experience design. As the only designer in a core team with a Product Owner and a Product Manager, I owned research and ideation, designed mockups, built prototypes and ran usability testing.
I saw it as a chance to advocate for UX and influence stakeholders towards a user-centered design process. Not by sticking blindly to a “process”, but by helping everyone understand why each research and design activity would help us build better products.
Approach
Following a Lean UX approach, I focused on close collaboration with the whole team and on getting feedback as early as possible, so we could make quick decisions and iterate before development. Validation looped back into research whenever we learned something new.
- 01
Kickoff and weekly meetings
A kickoff to align everyone on a shared vision, with business requirements and user goals in balance, then regular sessions with the core team to spot technical obstacles and learn from the in-store onboarding.
- 02
Competitive analysis
I benchmarked similar financial products, and even opened (or tried to open) bank accounts remotely to experience competitors’ onboarding first-hand. Peter Ramsey’s study of 12 banks on Built for Mars was a great reference.
- 03
Brainstorming
Sessions with the product team and, when needed, legal and marketing, to weigh ideas against technical constraints. I checked the feasibility of components with developers while still sketching.
- 04
Mockups, prototype and user testing
Low-fidelity mockups and a design critique with the core team, then high-fidelity mockups turned into a prototype to test usability with colleagues from several departments and stakeholders.
User flow
Before designing any screen, I mapped the whole onboarding as a user flow. It gave the team and stakeholders an overview of the product to discuss before investing time in design, kept the user’s end goal in view, and surfaced edge cases that were missing.
From early to final designs
The solution was technically very structured, and the app already had a design library that left little room to explore new components. So instead of wireframes, I went straight to low-fidelity mockups to spark discussion quickly, then ran a design critique of the lo-fi prototype with the core team before refining.
Key design decisions
- 01
Start with value, then consent
The journey opens with the benefits of a Universo account and the legal pre-contractual documents. Users have to open each document before they can tick its checkbox and move on.
- 02
Phone first, credit limit second
Next, users validate their identity with a phone number and OTP, and choose the credit limit they want, which can be changed later. I proposed a scrollable picker for the limit, but feasibility and timing meant it shipped as a simpler dropdown.
- 03
Two ways to verify identity
Digital Mobile Key, Portugal’s official authentication linked to the government database, comes first: it’s widely used in financial services and returns more complete KYC data. Digital Identity Verification, through a third-party partner, asks for a selfie as proof of life and photos of both sides of the ID card.
- 04
An intentional revolving choice
The customer service team had complaints about a similar slider elsewhere, and legally the revolving percentage had to be an undisputed, intentional choice. I redesigned it to start inactive, explain how to use it if users tap “Next”, and show clear minimum, maximum, 25%, 50% and 75% marks.
Final flow
The end-to-end journey, from account benefits and consents to the credit limit, OTP, onboarding method, documents, credit conditions, bank details and submission.
Before asking for anything, the app shows what a Universo account offers. Users then open and accept the pre-contractual documents (each one must be opened before it can be ticked), enter their phone number to receive a one-time code, and choose the credit limit they’d like. Approval comes later in the process.
Note: I proposed a slider for the credit limit, but feasibility and timing meant it shipped as a dropdown.
The first and recommended option. Users confirm their identity with Chave Móvel Digital, Portugal’s official government authentication, already familiar from many financial services. Because it returns the most complete KYC data, it’s offered first.
For anyone without Digital Mobile Key. A partner’s identity verification, integrated into the app, guides users to take a selfie as proof of life and photograph the front and back of their Citizen Card.
Users set the percentage of their balance to repay at the end of each month. The law requires this to be a deliberate choice, and customer service had flagged problems with a similar slider. So the slider starts empty: if users tap “Next” without choosing, a short prompt explains how to use it. Marks at 25%, 50% and 75% make picking a value easier.
Reflections
As my first major project as a UX Designer, this was as much about introducing a user-centric way of working as about the product itself: involving stakeholders early, making research and design activities visible, and showing how each one helped us make better decisions.
Working within a strict technical structure and an existing design library taught me to find the meaningful improvements inside tight constraints, from the order of the journey to a single slider.
Got questions?
I’m always excited to collaborate on innovative and exciting projects.