ACCOUNTABLE
A better
approach to PFM
INDUSTRY
Fintech
MY ROLE
User research, Prototyping, UI design, Visual design.
YEAR
2020
OVERVIEW
We make use of money in our day to day activities. We spend money on what we want and what we need. Subscriptions and recurring expenses are ever increasing due to our wants and needs. They begin to accumulate and get difficult to manage.
Accountable was designed to solve the problems around tracking of finances, access to financial records, spending analysis, budgeting and financial education
Accountable was designed to solve the problems around tracking of finances, access to financial records, spending analysis, budgeting and financial education
Understanding the
problem space
problem space
Making reference to a random twitter survey I came across (View here). The survey had more than 1000 participant. From this survey, about 6 of 10 people don’t create budgets for their spending.
In contrast, 58% of those who create budgets do so manually using pen and paper. Others who create budgets do so with spreadsheet packages and budgeting apps.
Users mentioned how their current means to track expenses have proven to be quite stressful and difficult to manage.
In contrast, 58% of those who create budgets do so manually using pen and paper. Others who create budgets do so with spreadsheet packages and budgeting apps.
Users mentioned how their current means to track expenses have proven to be quite stressful and difficult to manage.
SOME QUOTES FROM PARTICIPANTS
“Used to use spreadsheets, got tired and was still working on setting up an automation for it…”
“You might actually start off with spreadsheet, then find a budgeting app then you may not be able to keep up…”
Validating the
product idea
product idea
Since 6 of 10 people do not create budget for their spending, it means I might just be proffering a solution for 4 of 10 people (a relatively small number). How then can I get more people to create budget?
I decided to state an hypothesis that there might be an increase in adoption of budgeting habits if there were a better and easier way of budgeting and finance tracking.
I tried relating it to savings in Nigeria. If adoption of the saving habits has increased in Nigeria since the inception of savings platforms like Piggyvest and Cowrywise, there might be an increase in adoption of budgeting habits if there is a better and easier way of doing that.
Although I couldn’t find specific data stating the percentage increase in the adoption of saving habits in Nigeria, I was able to discover that, since inception, 70% of the 150k+ cowrywise users have been active for 2 years. Repetition is key to habit formation and so it is safe to say there has been substantial formation of saving habits.
Upon further research into possibilities of product adoption, I looked into the behavioral patterns of millennials and the relationship to adoption of mobile fin-tech platforms.
A lot of millennials now carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones. 54% of African millennials are more likely to use mobile money than banks. This is simply because traditional financial systems don’t align preferences of millennials. Millennials are not well served by the traditional financial systems. This trend has increased by 8% since 2011.
(Source: BFA Global — Catalyst Fund)
The inability of traditional financial systems to serve millennials has increased the adoption of fin-tech platforms who, compared to the traditional counterparts, ensure ease of access and carrying out financial transactions and finance management.
Millennials want services that are immediate, reliable and offer a wide range of convenience. For accountable to get adopted, it has to be easy to use, should ensure ease of access to financial record and should provide some level of freedom to users.
Since 6 of 10 people do not create budget for their spending, it means I might just be proffering a solution for 4 of 10 people (a relatively small number). How then can I get more people to create budget?
I decided to state an hypothesis that there might be an increase in adoption of budgeting habits if there were a better and easier way of budgeting and finance tracking.
I decided to state an hypothesis that there might be an increase in adoption of budgeting habits if there were a better and easier way of budgeting and finance tracking.
HYPOTHESIS
Could adoption of budgeting habits increase if there were a better way of budgeting and finance tracking?
I tried relating it to savings in Nigeria. If adoption of the saving habits has increased in Nigeria since the inception of savings platforms like Piggyvest and Cowrywise, there might be an increase in adoption of budgeting habits if there is a better and easier way of doing that.
Although I couldn’t find specific data stating the percentage increase in the adoption of saving habits in Nigeria, I was able to discover that, since inception, 70% of the 150k+ cowrywise users have been active for 2 years. Repetition is key to habit formation and so it is safe to say there has been substantial formation of saving habits.
Upon further research into possibilities of product adoption, I looked into the behavioral patterns of millennials and the relationship to adoption of mobile fin-tech platforms.
A lot of millennials now carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones. 54% of African millennials are more likely to use mobile money than banks. This is simply because traditional financial systems don’t align preferences of millennials. Millennials are not well served by the traditional financial systems. This trend has increased by 8% since 2011.
(Source: BFA Global — Catalyst Fund)
The inability of traditional financial systems to serve millennials has increased the adoption of fin-tech platforms who, compared to the traditional counterparts, ensure ease of access and carrying out financial transactions and finance management.
Millennials want services that are immediate, reliable and offer a wide range of convenience. For accountable to get adopted, it has to be easy to use, should ensure ease of access to financial record and should provide some level of freedom to users.
Although I couldn’t find specific data stating the percentage increase in the adoption of saving habits in Nigeria, I was able to discover that, since inception, 70% of the 150k+ cowrywise users have been active for 2 years. Repetition is key to habit formation and so it is safe to say there has been substantial formation of saving habits.
Upon further research into possibilities of product adoption, I looked into the behavioral patterns of millennials and the relationship to adoption of mobile fin-tech platforms.
A lot of millennials now carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones. 54% of African millennials are more likely to use mobile money than banks. This is simply because traditional financial systems don’t align preferences of millennials. Millennials are not well served by the traditional financial systems. This trend has increased by 8% since 2011.
(Source: BFA Global — Catalyst Fund)
The inability of traditional financial systems to serve millennials has increased the adoption of fin-tech platforms who, compared to the traditional counterparts, ensure ease of access and carrying out financial transactions and finance management.
Millennials want services that are immediate, reliable and offer a wide range of convenience. For accountable to get adopted, it has to be easy to use, should ensure ease of access to financial record and should provide some level of freedom to users.
Understanding
the users
the users
To understand the users, I created a survey and distributed it to potential users. The survey was taken by 25 young individuals within the age of 18–35 . 85% of them have a source of income.
From the survey I was able to discover that 72.2% of users create budgets using paper and pen, 38.9% of them use the saving apps and 5.6% use spreadsheets.
Users laid emphasis of ease of access to there preferred means of budgeting.
How do users manage their fund?
- Creation of budgets
- Saving a portion of their income before setting expenses.
Are the participants comfortable with the idea of having access to all their finances in one place?
72% of survey participants were comfortable with the idea of having access to all their spending.
From the survey I was able to discover that 72.2% of users create budgets using paper and pen, 38.9% of them use the saving apps and 5.6% use spreadsheets.
Users laid emphasis of ease of access to there preferred means of budgeting.
How do users manage their fund?
- Creation of budgets
- Saving a portion of their income before setting expenses.
Are the participants comfortable with the idea of having access to all their finances in one place?
72% of survey participants were comfortable with the idea of having access to all their spending.
To understand the users, I created a survey and distributed it to potential users. The survey was taken by 25 young individuals within the age of 18–35 . 85% of them have a source of income.
From the survey I was able to discover that 72.2% of users create budgets using paper and pen, 38.9% of them use the saving apps and 5.6% use spreadsheets.
Users laid emphasis of ease of access to there preferred means of budgeting.
How do users manage their fund?
- Creation of budgets
- Saving a portion of their income before setting expenses.
Are the participants comfortable with the idea of having access to all their finances in one place?
72% of survey participants were comfortable with the idea of having access to all their spending.
From the survey I was able to discover that 72.2% of users create budgets using paper and pen, 38.9% of them use the saving apps and 5.6% use spreadsheets.
Users laid emphasis of ease of access to there preferred means of budgeting.
How do users manage their fund?
- Creation of budgets
- Saving a portion of their income before setting expenses.
Are the participants comfortable with the idea of having access to all their finances in one place?
72% of survey participants were comfortable with the idea of having access to all their spending.
SURVEY INSIGHTS
It is safe to continue with the designing the solution to this issue.
Users budgeting patterns are very flexible. Some create budgets for their weekly spending. Some others create budgets for their monthly spending
Those who budget do so for financial discipline and to understand how they spend their money.
Some users save a portion of their income and divert the other portion to cater for their expenses.
From the survey I was able to identify a list of problems faced by users while managing their finances. After identifying these problems, I sorted them out based on how much value they offer to the users and business when solved as well as the possible cost of finding a solution to them.
From the survey I was able to identify a list of problems faced by users while managing their finances. After identifying these problems, I sorted them out based on how much value they offer to the users and business when solved as well as the possible cost of finding a solution to them.
NOTED USER PROBLEMS AFTER PRIORITIZATION
Inability to keep track of spending.
Lack of access to previous financial records.
Excessive spending on a particular expense.
Lack of proper financial knowledge.
Overly manual or stressful means of budgeting.
To further understand the user, I had to look at a few competitors in the space of finance management to understand their approach to solving this problem, how effective these solutions were as well as to understand the possible users of the app. The primary competitors were not in the Nigerian financial technology space. However, I looked at some common fin-tech apps in Nigeria to understand the existing trends in the African/Nigerian fin-tech space.
To further understand the user, I had to look at a few competitors in the space of finance management to understand their approach to solving this problem, how effective these solutions were as well as to understand the possible users of the app. The primary competitors were not in the Nigerian financial technology space. However, I looked at some common fin-tech apps in Nigeria to understand the existing trends in the African/Nigerian fin-tech space.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INSIGHTS
A good number of the apps favor app interaction in portrait mode.
The apps have easily digestible financial reports.
The apps all had simple and clean design.
User persona
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Accountable as a
solution.
solution.
After identifying the needs, problems and frustration of the possible users, I tried to solve them and introduce the necessary features to meet the users’ needs.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
After identifying the needs, problems and frustration of the possible users, I tried to solve them and introduce the necessary features to meet the users’ needs.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
App structure
After carefully identifying the problems to personal finance management and proffering possible solutions, I moved to designing the app interface. I visited sites like behance, dribbble and mobbin to source for inspiration for the app screens.
After identifying the needs, problems and frustration of the possible users, I tried to solve them and introduce the necessary features to meet the users’ needs.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
UI assets
The process of designing the app interface started with creating UI assets and components that I would need during the process of creating the app screens.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Solution — Sketches & User flows
The process of creating the UI assets was followed by sketches of the app interface. This process was meant to help get the ideas out quickly before the actual high fidelity screen designs.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
I proceeded to display the path of the user while they try to perform several actions on the site. This includes the user flows and screen maps
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
App interface
After defining the app structure, I began to create the screens for each of the user actions.
After identifying the needs, problems and frustration of the possible users, I tried to solve them and introduce the necessary features to meet the users’ needs.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
Features of Accountable
- Cash inflow and cash outflow access.
- Financial reports.
- Flexible budget creation.Bank accounts management.
- Subscription management.
- Funds categorization.
- Financial education
Expected characteristics of Accountable
- Easily digestible reports.
- Easy to use.
- Simple design.
- Conventional and less formal tone.
- Possibility of access to previous financial reports.
Welcome and onboarding screens
These screens were created to introduce the user to the app and its purpose. I ensured that they had less screens and few intro animations in other for the user to get started on the app quickly. The onboarding screens also have a skip button to achieve the same purpose.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Getting started
To get started on the app, new users need to setup their account. This process requires them to signup and link their bank accounts to the app. All bank accounts associated to the user’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) are fetched.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
App home
The app home give you a quick view of your total assets and liabilities as well as your total expenses and income for the month and top expenses for a particular period(the time duration can be selected from a dropdown). The app home shows a status of your spending. It also makes provision for suggestions on how users can better manage their finances.
The home also has an hamburger icon for a sidebar that contains secondary menus like the account & cards and app settings.
The home also has an hamburger icon for a sidebar that contains secondary menus like the account & cards and app settings.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Budget
The budgeting feature of the app allows users to plan their expenses over a period of time. Users are assigned budget scores based on how well they spend within their budgets. This encourages users to spend within their budget(s). Budgets can be created for individual expenses and/or for all expenses combined over a period of time.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Creation of budget allows for flexibility of the time duration for each budget. Budgets are created in a multi-step form.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Reports
The reports screen give detailed analysis of cash inflow and outflow as well as the spending pattern. It makes use of easily digestible charts (bar and pie charts only). In addition to this, it allows users to have access to their total spending over a period of time as well as amount spent on a particular expense over time.
Users have the choice to export the reports as CSV. It also solves the problem of lack of access to previous financial records by allowing users to filter the reports by date.
Users have the choice to export the reports as CSV. It also solves the problem of lack of access to previous financial records by allowing users to filter the reports by date.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Transactions
The transaction screen consists of classified transactions, unclassified transactions and subscriptions on each card. Transactions in the accountable app are classified in order to make tracking of a particular expense or transaction easy.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Education
The education feature provides users with quick finance management knowledge to help improve their finances. Theses courses are short and easy to complete.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Other screens
Other screens include the accounts and cards, sign-in screen and transaction filter screen.
To put the user problems and patterns into context, I decided to create personas that further represent the possible group of app users as well as their context.
Key takeaways
Working on this project not only exposed me to a lot of information about the fintech industry, but also a lot of design knowledge. Here are some of the key takeaways from this project:
Working on this project not only exposed me to a lot of information about the fintech industry, but also a lot of design knowledge. Here are some of the key takeaways from this project:
- This was my first time designing for users in the finance industry. I learnt about the design standards in the industry and the current state of the industry.
- This was my first time designing for users in the finance industry. I learnt about the design standards in the industry and the current state of the industry.
TAKEAWAY ONE - REFERENCES
A good number of the apps favor app interaction in portrait mode;
The apps have easily digestible financial reports.
- I learnt a lot about millennials, their spending habits, how they have been underserved in the previous years (especially by traditional banks), and the key characteristics to consider while designing for millennials.
- I learnt a lot about millennials, their spending habits, how they have been underserved in the previous years (especially by traditional banks), and the key characteristics to consider while designing for millennials.
TAKEAWAY TWO - REFERENCES
Millennials want services that are immediate, reliable and offer a wide range of convenience
54% of African millennials are more likely to use mobile money than banks.
