Westpac
Duration
Dec 2021
3 week sprint
My Role
UX Designer
Service Designer
Customer Experience
Platform & Sector
iOS Banking App
Financial Services
Deliverables
UX/UI Design
Service Design
Usability Testing
Heuristic Evaluation
As part of the Autopay team, researched and designed an improved user experience for feature uplift and optimisation of credit card Autopay
The Design Challenge
Westpac came to us with a very specific brief, how can they improve the end-to-end experience of credit card Autopay feature as well as the self-management of cards for primary and additional cardholders?
Data shows Westpac's NPS (Net Promoter Score) remain lower than competitors on a consistent basis. Inability to resolve queries, lack of visibility of request status, and unresolved requests, are key drivers of dissatisfaction. The bank’s strategy is to promote and increase the level of self-service customers using digital banking to reduce friction and increase satisfaction.
Westpac wanted us to not only focus on the UX/UI changes, but look at the complete service experience journey for areas of opportunity. With a team of 20, we set out to tackle this mammoth task.
For this case study, I will be focusing on the Autopay feature.
Objectives
Autopay is an automatic payment feature that enables customers to 'set and forget' payments to their credit card account each month.
There were some key areas Westpac wanted us to focus on:
-
Awareness of eligibility to setup feature
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Awareness of eligibility to make changes to feature
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Confirmation of setup, changes, declines, errors
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Time the feature takes effect
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Alerts received in time for customer to make changes to prevent negative consequences (e.g. missed payment fee)
Westpac Data
Westpac provided us with their customer verbatim and chatbot data, which allowed us to gain valuable insights before conducting our own research. From this, we were able to extract some key complaints regarding Autopay
Functionality Complaints
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Incurring late fees due to Autopay charging less than intended
-
Autopay making a bigger payment than the amount owing
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Autopay taking two payments out in the same day
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Autopay not processing despite there being sufficient funds
General Complaints
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No information on the status of Autopay when setting up, managing and cancelling
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Unclear on when changes to Autopay will be effective
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Complaints about no notifications
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Having to go into branch when connecting an OFI account (Other Financial Institution)
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Inconsistent information from customer service teams and self- service features
"I was told that Autopay would process the next payment cycle but it never did and late fees were incurred" - Westpac customer
Problem Statement
"Westpac customers who want to use the Autopay feature to conveniently pay off their credit card debts on time are frustrated and unable to do so; due to a range of functional errors, poor communication and a lack of discoverable self-service options"
01
Discover
Desktop Research / Competitor Analysis / Current State Usability Testing
Heuristic Evaluation / Service Safari / Surveys / Interviews
Desktop Research
4.47 million
Number of Australians who will have a personal loan in the next 6 months
13.3 million
Number of Australian credit cards nationally
64%
People who have incurred a late fee due to missing a credit card repayment.
40%
Number of Australians in credit card debt
Competitor Analysis
Looking at some of Westpac's major credit card competitors, we found that all of them offered some form of Autopay, with CBA being a clear leader across multiple criteria.
Current State Usability Test
How does the current Autopay process stack up?
It was important to assess the current usability of the Westpac Autopay experience so we could define the user journey pain points. We tested this with 9 credit card users on 4 separate processes within the mobile app. The insights were consistent with some of the general complaints from the Westpac data. Key takeaway being there needs to be more clarity and communication around the various stages of the Autopay process.
Navigation
-
6/9 people said the navigation from the home screen to the Autopay section was relatively easy
Set up
-
6/9 people said it was unclear when Autopay would be active
-
0/9 people expected they had to go into a branch to set up an OFI account
"Needs improvement – clarity in keywords, main terms etc"
Management
-
6/9 people didn't know when the Autopay changes will take effect
"I couldn't see anything indicating a time from when it would take effect"
Cancellation
-
8/9 people said the cancellation process was easy
-
6/9 people were unclear when the cancellation would take effect
Evaluating the current mobile app against recognised usability principles
We also looked at this in relation to Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics which allowed us to find gaps and opportunities for redesign.
Service Safari
Walking in the customer's shoes
Because Westpac wanted us to think about the complete service experience journey, we set out on a Service Safari to walk in the shoes of the customer (across multiple touchpoints).
Constraint
Mapping out the entire Service Blueprint would have been more ideal however we were unable to gain access to Westpac Customer Service staff that directly dealt with Autopay.
Pain Points Discovered
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Finding the right information through Westpac website was difficult (poor FAQs, chatbot)
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Unknowledgeable call centre staff and differing advice from Customer Service Reps.
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Setting up from an OFI account requires a branch visit
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Unclear answers from branch staff as they "don't look after processing"
Dissecting the Chatbot
Red - Westpac Chatbot
Given all the complaints we were seeing, and noticing customer queries consistently not being resolved, we decided to extract tangible numbers around the chatbot's performance. Not surprisingly we found it only had a success rate of 34% for resolved customer queries, which is way below the previously reported 70% success rate from Westpac.
To make matters worse, a third of the 66% that failed were then not referred on to customer service. The bot also fails to pick up on certain Westpac product names such as 'Altitude' or 'Fast Fund'. Clearly there was a lot that could be improved.
"I'd forgive one failure.. the more it fails, the less likely I'd be to use it"
"The bot just seems like a skin for the FAQ"
We proposed a few solutions that Westpac could consider
Improve articles
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60% of users were unsatisfied with conversations where they couldn't get detailed information - 'Red' is only ever as good as its articles
Enable learning
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Use IBM Watson (current chatbot engine) to its full capabilities
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We repeatedly tested failed conversations and there was no difference in responses from 'Red' - demonstrates poor learning capability
Direct learning
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Consider the history of user responses, not just the immediate response
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Answer multiple questions
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Broaden the keywords that 'Red' listens to when down a path
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Better recognition of Westpac product names
Survey Insights
54
Survey respondents
Our survey data provided quantitative insights about credit card habits. Out of 54 people surveyed, almost half pay their credit card bill from another financial institution. This represents a big percentage of users that may experience the cumbersome process of going into a branch to complete setup.
We also identified 15% have been overdue on a credit card where the reasons were they either didn't see the bill or saw the bill but forgot. This told us that reminders and notifications are an important consideration in the final solution.
Interviews
18
1:1 Interviews
Our qualitative interviews showed that 4 Westpac customers had never heard of the Autopay feature, and there was confusion about the difference between Autopay, recurring payments and direct debit. We also learned that some respondents prefer to pay manually for greater control over their finances.
“I wish I knew about this feature (Autopay). Would have saved me a lot of time.”
“Westpac is bit more clunky when it comes to the user interface.”
Reframing the Problem
From all our research findings, we learnt that there is an opportunity to improve not only the discoverability, usability and feedback loop of the current mobile app, but also other self-service options like the chatbot. We left the implementation of improving the chatbot efficiency (as per our suggestions) to the Westpac team and focused on developing an optimised Autopay experience. It was important for us to consider the communication across all service channels and find a way to link back to the mobile touchpoint so it is one seamless journey for the user
02
Define
Persona / Customer Journey Map / How Might We
Persona & Journey Map
After synthesising our data into an Affinity Map, our research pointed us to 2 personas - Lara and Sergio. Both are Westpac customers representing different pain points of the Autopay process.
User Persona 1 - Lara
Wants to easily set up Autopay from an OFI account
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Wants to avoid manual transfers every month, reduce time spent banking.
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Has heard about Autopay but is unable to find clear information about the setup process
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Has received contradictory information from chatbots, website and customer service.
User Persona 2 - Sergio
Wants ease of maintenance and visibility of Autopay
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Doesn't want to worry about forgetting a bill payment
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Wasn't told to update Autopay payment information when changing cards
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No notifications when payments have not processed
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Cant find information about Autopay effective dates
BROADER PROBLEM IDENTIFIED
Whilst researching the credit card landspace, we identified a broader problem relating to financial wellness and literacy. As a result, three more personas (Audrey, Bernard, Sara) were created and we set out to investigate how Westpac could help these people improve their overall financial position.
How Might We..
Make the Autopay set up and management experience more seamless and streamlined for Sergio and Lara to avoid unexpected surprises?
03
Develop
Ideation Workshop / MVP / User Flow
Wireframes / Mid-fi Prototype / Usability Testing 1
Ideation Workshop
9
Participants
1.5
Hours
30
Ideas Generated
To get the ideas flowing, we organised a co-design workshop with the Westpac team. It was very helpful having members of their Risk Team present to advise on what can and can't be implemented.
Based on feedback from Westpac, we soon realised Lara's biggest pain point of having to visit a branch to setup Autopay from an OFI account had technology and infrastructure limitations, not something we were able to solve for this design challenge. So we directed our focus to solving Sergio's pain points for the MVP.
MVP
Sergio's Pains
Uncertainty surrounding the repayments for his credit card
Uncertainty surrounding when Autopay will take effect
Sergio misses a repayment because his Autopay feature stopped working without his knowledge
Solutions for Sergio
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Attach repayment options and suggestions to 'Card Activation' flow
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Display 'Start from' date in a prominent place and increase in-app notifications at various stages throughout the setup process
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Show Autopay status on the homepage so he's always aware of when Autopay is in effect.
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Create a ‘Help and Support’ tab on homepage that offers range of service topics and gives option to talk to ‘Red’ the chatbot or call a branch
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Send confirmation text after repayment amendment and suggest to setup alert for upcoming repayments (3 days and/or 1 day before due date)
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Reminder before payment due date if Autopay is not effective for this cycle
User Flow
Based on this we came up with 3 main user flows - card activation flow, Autopay setup flow and help & support.
Wireframes
Starting out with some high level wireframes, we quickly moved on to mid-fidelity prototype
Mid-fidelity Prototype
Usability Testing (Round 1)
15
Sergio's tested
Using moderated remote usability testing, it was clear from the test results that a number of improvements needed to be made. Most evidently, only 21% felt the steps to turn on Autopay were clear and logical.
Feature
Test
Result
04
Deliver
Hi-fidelity Prototype / Usability Testing 2 / Next Steps
Hi-fidelity Prototype
After multiple iterations and countless coffee, we arrived at the final Hi-fidelity Prototype utilising Westpac's existing GEL design system.
01 Option to setup repayments after activating credit card
03 Information tab that shows how different plans (e.g. SmartPlan) interact with Autopay feature
02 Autopay start date clearly visible during setup process
04 Reminder alerts to get SMS notified of upcoming Autopay
05 Find help and support from the home screen to search topics and connect to other service channels
06 Easily switch Autopay on and off
We improved the logical steps to turn on Autopay by adding a toggle to the card. Previously having it under card 'Settings' was difficult to find. Now user can instantly see whether Autopay is on/off and change the status easily.
Usability Testing (Round 2)
10
Sergio's tested
From the hi-fi prototype we conducted unmoderated A/B testing through Maze
80%
of Sergios tested prefer the new flow for setting up Autopay
50%
of Sergios still didn't understand the difference between Smart Plans and Autopay
80%
of Sergios thought the chatbot was easy to find and navigate to
Heatmap of users trying to access 'Help and Support'
"Yes, instinctively I would look at the header or footer for a help and support function" - Sergio
The definition of SmartPlan and the understanding of how SmartPlan interacts with Autopay was an explanation taken directly from the Westpac FAQ. Based on test results we still had some ambiguity there, so this content would need to be further improved.
Overall, 100% of Sergios were happy with the new Autopay flow!
Next Steps
There is however always room for improvement as design is never 'done'. We identified a number of things that could take the solution further.
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Function to personalise the “To-Do” section (Payments, Approvals) on the homepage to increase efficiency
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Further 1:1 interviews with bankers and customer service reps to get insights on escalations and resolution process
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Further research on digitising the Autopay setup process with an OFI account
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Monitor all implemented features to see how they affect/improve the NPS score overtime
We had the wonderful opportunity to present to the Westpac Consumer Finance team and received some amazing comments following our presentation. Big thank you to Academy Xi and Westpac for the opportunity to work on this incredible project!
"The Autopay team presentation was really well done. There were definitely interesting ideas and the sort of ideas we would want to bring into our digital pipeline; with enhancing visibility on the Autopay status and more streamlined setup processes, it really all makes sense."
Kara Densby (Service Owner, Westpac)
"This was fantastic work - all of you should be so proud and pumped. Excellent job. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Samantha Thomas (Senior Product Manager, Westpac)
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