Case study05 · QNB Finansbank

Digital Banking Experiencea mobile-first bank, built around its customers

With a user-centred approach, we revamped the existing mobile applications by analysing and reshaping the entire digital banking experience. The redesign put customer needs ahead of product offerings and made mobile the primary channel.

RoleUX/UI design lead

Team2 UX designers, a visual designer, a research lead, a UX researcher and an experience strategist

Duration12 weeks

PlatformMobile banking apps

+70%new customer acquisition in 3 months

41% → 78%share of customers actively using mobile

90+transactions in a clean, clutter-free interface

4Stevie Awards

Context

The bank set out to reshape its digital presence by prioritising customer needs over product offerings, making mobile the primary channel and focusing on user satisfaction.

The goal was to become a top competitor in digital banking by migrating customers to a new, user-friendly digital platform. Leading the UX/UI efforts, I oversaw the design and delivery of all major deliverables, planned the design activities and presented the final design to the client.

The problem

Research surfaced three gaps between the existing app and what digital-first customers expected.

01Diverse needs, one appThe app didn't address the different needs and preferences of its users and stakeholders.

02Lack of guidanceUsers had lost faith in the app offering anything relevant, and felt uncared for.

03Limited engagementFew innovative, relevant or customisable features left users feeling disconnected.

The goalPut customer needs before product offerings, make mobile the primary channel, and migrate customers to a platform they actually want to use.

Key decisions

Listen to executives, users and the data

After desktop research on trends and benchmarks, I arranged face-to-face meetings with 15 executives across 7 departments and ran user interviews with the UX designers. We analysed app data and online feedback, and I evaluated the app against Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics in a full report.

Desktop researchStakeholder interviewsUser interviewsData reviewsUX assessment

Digital banking benchmark — Benchmarking digital-first banks.

Build the direction together with the client

I facilitated a one-day design thinking workshop with 30+ participants. Sharing our methods from the start built trust; together we created personas, as-is and to-be journey maps and value proposition canvases. From the outcomes, the design leads and experience strategist defined the core problems and experience pillars.

Workshop facilitationPersona creationJourney mappingDesign principlesValue proposition

Customer journey map — Personas and to-be journey maps.

Test the key flows with real users

The UX designers defined the information architecture for each major flow and I designed the wireframes for the key transaction flows. We prototyped them, I tested them with real users performing tasks, and the resulting performance mapping drove the next round of improvements.

IAWireframesPrototypingUser testingImprovements

Usability performance mapping — Performance mapping from usability tests on the key transaction flows.

Stay with the build, hand over a system

I worked closely with development through regular check-ins, using prototypes to surface challenges before production. I designed the initial components and set key foundations (brand colours, type sizes, spacing), while our visual designer assembled a component library delivered with a comprehensive guideline.

Component libraryPrototypingInteraction designQARetrospective

Component library and design tokens — Core colours, icons and components delivered with a full guideline.

The solution

A redesigned app with 90+ transactions in a clean interface, built around three ideas.

ProblemDiverse needs and preferencesThe app failed to address the different needs of its users and stakeholders, calling for a customisable, intuitive design.

SolutionDesigning for allA board structure with a customisable home page for each persona (all-access users, wealthy users, users without accounts or credit cards) that people and stakeholders can easily adapt.

Customisable home page boards — A customisable home page built from boards.

ProblemLack of guidanceUsers had lost faith in the app offering anything relevant, leaving them feeling uncared for.

SolutionTimely and relevant assistanceI proposed turning the basic chatbot “Q” into a smarter assistant with predictive recommendations, personalised offers and event-triggered notifications.

Q digital assistant — “Q”: from scripted chatbot to data-driven assistant.

ProblemLimited user engagementA lack of innovative, relevant and customisable features left users disconnected.

SolutionFin MarketA FinTech-style marketplace on an API ecosystem, letting users add services and customise the app, turning it into a financial super app.

Fin Market screens — Fin Market: services users can add to their app.

Impact

New customer acquisition increased by 70% in 3 months with the new digital channel, and the share of customers actively using mobile rose from 41% to 78%. The work received four Stevie Awards.

+70%new customer acquisition in 3 months

41% → 78%active mobile users

4Stevie Awards

Takeaways

Co-creation builds trust

Bringing executives and teams into the workshop early turned stakeholders into co-authors of the direction.

Personas should shape the product

Designing the home page around real personas made one app feel relevant to very different customers.

Test before you polish

Usability testing on wireframe prototypes caught problems while they were still cheap to fix.

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Updated last, 2026.