Problem:

The task is to help an American bank (Whole Bank) to offer their customers a different way to manage their money while traveling.They would like to offer a better solution to ATMs and using debit cards so that customers don’t lose/damage their cards, or run into situations abroad that render their cards useless. This will be accomplished with a better UX design to function within a mobile app that is already operational. The goal of this exercise is to create a prototype for a feature that will allow the customers to pay for things using the mobile app while traveling.

Personal Introspection:

Before going out and interviewing some users to identify their pain points with paying for things while traveling abroad, I considered the landscape and how our digital world has transformed how we pay in the last 5 years or so. These days, Venmo, and to a lesser degree, Paypal, have become almost ubiquitous for peer-to-peer currency exchange, while Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also becoming a viable option of moving money around domestically or abroad. While these may seem like natural adversaries to the banking industry, large banks are adopting these methods. Bank of America now uses Zelle so that their customers can easily exchange funds via Bank of Americas’s mobile app, and there has been plenty in the news lately of banks and other corporations finding ways of entering the dynamic cryptocurrency space.

It seems that what Whole Bank wants is for their customers to see that they are current and can offer a similar service that their customers could find with one of their many competitors. I imagine that people like banking with Whole Bank because there is a folksy/community centric feel (they began in the town of Framingham, Ma) that they may be lost with a larger enterprise. That being said, they will inevitably lose customers if they cannot offer the kinds of services, such as an effective and easy to use mobile app, that are quickly becoming industry standards. I intend to interview a diverse and well-traveled group of friends that I will be meeting for my birthday dinner tomorrow night, and inquire what their experiences have been with money abroad to determine pain points, and then use these findings to design a great mobile experience for the customers of Whole Bank.

Interview Highlights:

Nick: 40.artist.sculptor. Belgian. travels to Europe frequently both to see family, and to attend art expos/openings where his work is shown.

“I like to have pocket cash for small daily expenses, a card for big expenses.”

“When Im in Europe, its like money gets vacuumed out of my account. Between the exchanges, and the fees, I end up having no idea where the money went. They don’t tell you what you spend.

Juan: 28. Musician. Art Handler. born and raised in Peru. Lived in South Florida second half of his life.

“In Peru, cash helps you keep track. 5 days, 100 bucks, etc. I’m always on a budget, so daily expenses is a real thing. I would love to have an app that helps me keep track of my expenses so I don’t get into trouble.”

“Exchange shops are shady. Even the banks. The rates vary wildly.”

Oly: 36. Works in Content/Post-Production. Lived in France for two years. Mexican-American. Has family in Mexico City she visits regularly.

(in response to currency exchange abroad) “Your banks should offer the best rate. They should shop around so you don’t have to.”

“Can’t you make a digital card so even if I lose my wallet or card, I can just get an email with the bar code or even in the app it can be there so you can just swipe from there?”

Esti: 33. Restaurant owner. Has travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, and South America. Lived in Spain.

“ As a rule, big cities are for cards, small towns are for cash.”

“There are many places that won’t take American cards abroad. Trains for example, often won’t or don’t take cards. I don’t know how you solve this, but it is a problem when traveling.”

Nathaniel: Writer. 35. Lived in Japan for 2 years.

“In Japan it was all cash. I never did anything with a card, it was too hard. I travelled a lot and so I always tried to have cash when crossing the borders to make it easier. I often felt like I didn’t trust giving my card in weird places I didn’t know. “”I’m not giving this guy my card, you know?””

“I agree about the exchanges, its a huge pain. What if there was a way to have like a google maps but for exchange rates. See the places in real time and what they were offering, so you could get the best rate.”

Thoughts post-interview (Define problems):

Cash Rules!

- How do we make App/Bank superior to Cash? App/Bank better because…

Can’t lose $ in app.

Speed/Convenience.

Trust is essential!

-Can bank guarantee transaction?

-Can bank be completely transparent with fees (no “vacuumed” funds)?

-Isn’t charging these fees somewhat antiquated in the “new economy”. Customers are going to rebuff fees when their favorite apps often aren’t charging anything more than time (ads, etc).

-Bank should be a friend not a foe.

Services are important!

-“What can you do for me to make my life easier when traveling?”

-Expense tracking. Alerts when close to going over for day/week/month/trip.

-Digital card? barcode tech in app? Surely it can be done, although in order for it to work, the seller has to save the same tech (square, etc).

-Google map tech for viewing different exchange rates on the ground so customer can “shop around”?

-Wouldn’t it be better if the bank did the leg work for us?

My Takeaways (Ideate):

What do these users want? They want something that is going to help them in their travels, not have to worry about if they are getting their funds drained by fees. Money shouldn’t be a hassle when traveling. It should be the conduit to allow the traveler to have fun, experience, and enjoy, or, if traveling on business, not distract or deter them from their business objectives.

A profound takeaway I had from my interviews — the interviewees across the board did not enjoy their relationship with their bank while abroad. Can we change that? Can this app make their trip easier/more pleasant? I think so.

Brainstorming names for the app, I kept coming back to “Money Bunny”. I know, i know. Traditionally, banks would stay away from names that are whimsical in any way whatsoever, as it would seem to run contrary to making their customers feel “secure”, but I think the digital landscape is really challenging some of these established/entrenched notions.

I use an app called “Robinhood” to trade stocks online. To me, this name is kind of silly, and very “on the nose” (Robinhood takes from the rich, gives to the poor, etc), as well as being “cartoonish” and “capricious” and yet, it doesn’t deter me at all from using the app for two simple reasons: it works well, and its easy to use.

I think we are in the midst of a paradigm shift, and I see the banking industry as laggards in regards to the digital front. Granted, it is harder for them to pivot, and they have more to lose, but the tech industry has shown us (more dynamically than this same truth which exists across business sectors) that if you don’t pivot, someone will pivot for you and take your customers before you can blink “change or die.”

My interviewees don’t have a relationship with their bank, and have ensconsed negative views based on their experiences traveling and interacting with their bank. I think “Money Bunny” would be a good ambassador for this paradigm shift — a way to restart the conversation, and build trust through being friendly, effective, and easy to use.

Money Bunny, like “Task Rabbit”, can be a helpful, speedy, reliable friend for the traveler. You need to know the exchange rates? Money Bunny will quickly fetch them. Need to set up a calendar that tracks your expenses and keeps you above board? Money Bunny can help.

I believe by focusing on transparency, speed, and efficiency, with a helpful friendly face, Money Bunny can help to rebuild the trust a person can have with his/her bank while traveling, and thus turn a traditionally annoying/painful experience, into a positive/helpful one.

Prototype:

Conclusion:

Boy, does my hand hurt! But seriously folks, the proto-typing phase of this process was a bit intimidating for me, and a challenge to say the least. I have never been someone who could draw, and it had me briefly questioning what I was doing enrolled in a DESIGN course.

That being said, I welcome the challenge, and I am confident I can improve with maximum effort and the guidance of my cohort and my instructors. I am feeling humbled, but also excited!

I found the analysis/interview phase of this project to be fun, and interesting. My personality, natural skills, as well as I my learned skills in the last 4 years as a recruiter, has made the “human” piece of the UX pie feel like an obvious area of comfort/strength for me. I felt very much in my zone interviewing my friends over a delicious Korean BBQ meal last night, and I think I will gravitate towards the behavioral science/User Research phase of UX.

That being said, I am open to wherever the journey takes me, and I wouldn’t be surprised to feel differently in a few months.

This was a fun challenge, I don’t think any banks are going to be naming their apps “Money Bunny” any time soon, but stranger things have happened I suppose!

Cheers, Nick