Reimagining Digital Banking: Usability Testing for a Mobile App Experience

Client

A progressive fintech player with an expanding footprint across India’s digital banking ecosystem, known for its innovative banking solutions.

Objective

The primary objective was to evaluate the functionality and user-friendliness of the app from the customer’s lens and decode consumer behaviour. As mobile banking becomes the default mode of interaction for many users, even minor usability gaps can significantly impact user retention and brand perception. To address this, the client commissioned a comprehensive user interface audit -aimed at identifying design flaws, navigation barriers, and interaction inconsistencies across the mobile experience.

The client was specifically focused on:

• Understanding how users interact with key features like payments, deposits, and account information through a structured app interaction study

• Identifying barriers to task completion, including confusing terminology, ambiguous icons, or unintuitive navigation - critical elements of friction point identification

• Validating the effectiveness of new features such as personalized comments and QR code payments using QR code analysis and feature discoverability assessments

• Gaining actionable insights to inform a more intuitive and inclusive interface design, grounded in consumer task analysis and financial technology research

The aim was not just incremental improvement, but a fundamental shift toward experience-first digital banking supported by digital behavior insights.

Methodology

The research followed a task-based mobile usability testing evaluation combined with qualitative insights:

• Target Audience: Current customers of leading banks (SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis, IndusInd, DBS, IDFC), who are active users of mobile banking, internet banking, and e-wallets.

• Sample Size: 10 respondents were selected to represent a cross-section of typical digital banking users - diverse in age, digital fluency, and banking behavior.

• Methodology: Participants were asked to perform real-world banking tasks within the app, including creating fixed deposits, making QR payments, and scheduling recurring transfers. Post-task interviews captured real-user app feedback, frustrations, and suggestions through mobile app walkthrough sessions and first-time user flow evaluations.

Key Findings

• Improving Terminology and Descriptions

Participants frequently stumbled over financial acronyms and technical language. For instance, terms like “FD,” “RD,” and “Tariff Plan” were not always understood in context, especially by less digitally native users.

Recommendation:
Use simplified, everyday banking language with embedded definitions or embedded help tools. Replace ambiguous balances with context-driven descriptions like “Available after pending transactions,” to improve interface clarity.

• Enhancing Interface Design

Several important actions—like “Pay Now”—were visually understated, and the reliance on generic three-dot menus created confusion.

Recommendation:
Introduce clearly labeled, color-coded buttons for high-importance actions. Replace ambiguous icons with directional arrows or text-based navigation to enhance feature discoverability and support intuitive design structure.

• Streamlining Navigation

Navigation was inconsistent, especially for recurring and scheduled payments, which were hidden in separate tabs.

Recommendation:
Unify payment options under a single “Payments” tab with labeled subcategories. Introduce shortcut tiles for frequent features like bill pay, transfers, and QR scanning to enhance mobile navigation patterns and touchpoint optimization.

• Increasing Visibility and Accessibility

Users struggled to locate help options and secondary features like QR payments.

Recommendation:
Implement consistent visual cues for support (chatbots, phone, help icons). Pin QR code functionality prominently to the payments home screen. Include an accessibility review banking checklist during interface updates.

• Onboarding and User Education

First-time users were overwhelmed by the app’s complexity and lacked initial guidance.

Recommendation:
Launch a contextual onboarding flow with step-by-step instructions and in-app guidance strategy to reduce digital adoption barriers. Offer a clear self-service app tools section via FAQs and tutorials.

Research Outcomes

User-Friendly Design

• Most users found the navigation structure intuitive after brief use, confirming the presence of strong UX success factors.

• The design aesthetics, supported by responsive design testing and visual hierarchy review, enhanced readability and reduced confusion.

Innovative Feature Validation

• Features like auto-IFSC fetch, image-supported notes, and recurring transfers were seen as aligned with user needs, contributing to a strong fintech UI evaluation outcome.

• These capabilities scored well in app intuitiveness scoring and digital product flow feedback loops.

Ease of Use

• Participants successfully completed tasks like deposits and fund transfers with minimal support, validating the app's app usability workflow and task success measurement metrics.

Business Implications

The usability study delivered high-value insights that enabled the client to:

• Refine the app’s information structure and improve design enhancement report outcomes

• Reduce support burden via intuitive flows and embedded help tools

• Drive loyalty by improving satisfaction during onboarding and daily use

• Strengthen its position as a tech-savvy user-first brand in the digital banking space

Conclusion

This study helped the client evolve from a basic mobile app to a responsive, intelligent, and user-validated banking experience. With real-world insights from real users, the platform is now poised for long-term engagement and differentiation based on experience - not just features.

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