Check cashing mobile app

Project overview

A client in the financial industry came to us looking to build a mobile app to compliment their brick-and-mortar check cashing stores. Their ultimate vision was to become the "Bank of America for the under-banked."

The problem:

‍Under-banked people (those that either do not have a bank account or utilize smaller banks and credit unions that are difficult to access) want quick cash, but do not like waiting in line and dealing with unknown fees.

The proposed solution:

A mobile check cashing app that allows people to cash their checks onto a prepaid debit card quickly and conveniently.

Research

The good news is that we had an upfront research engagement with this client being run by one of our research pods. The bad news is that the research was carried out after we were due to provide the client with an interactive prototype. As a result, we had to carry out some guerrilla research during our validation sessions until we could receive further insights for a phase 2 version of the mobile app. The two things that came up the most often as being highly important to the users were:

• Convenience
• Fees

While users consistently responded that these two factors were the most important factors in determining where they would cash their checks, neither factor universally exceeded the other in importance. This meant that both factors would need to be addressed as part of an MVP. While the mobile app would solve the convenience factor, communication of fees was something we set to solve for in the prepaid debit card application flow.

Design

In setting out to create an intuitive user flow and a pleasing visual identity for this app, we decided to limit the number of fields the user was presented with on each screen. This is a forms-heavy app, and we did not want to overwhelm the user with too many fields on a single screen.

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We also wanted to create a consistent visual experience between the app and the loan application site being designed by another design pod. We shared a design system with their team in order to maintain brand identity, although we deviated from the system in a few key ways:

• We made use of illustrations and small amounts of animation to make the app a more fun and personalized finance experience, of the likes of Mint and NerdWallet.
• We also included the addition of mobile friendly UI elements, such as selectable cards in place of radio buttons that are more tailored to a purely mobile experience.

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Testing

We spent our first validation session testing Sign Up, Identity Verification and Check Cashing. For our second validation session (the one covered here) we focused on the Fee Calculator, Applying for a Prepaid Debit Card with a minor focus on Check Cashing. The goal of our session was to see if users could easily apply for a card, understand how to deposit money on their card, and to see if the communication of fees was clear. Below are some highlights of the user feedback we received from 3 of our 9 participants (labeled P1, P2, P3).

Task: Apply For A Prepaid Debit Card

• “(The card I would get) depends on how much money I make I guess...I would choose the ‘Bundle’ (card plan), I bartend and I get paid a lot or sometimes not a lot...I would end up be more than $9.99 worth of fees (if I went with ‘Pay as you go’)” - P1
• “It’s pretty easy, it’s big (fonts and buttons), it’s pretty easy to understand and get through” - P1
• *** “I didn’t understand that it was a two part thing, you’re ‘approved’…for what? You’re the one putting money on the card”

• Would want to go with the “Pay as you go”, depends on how many checks you typically receive - P2
• “Easy to understand” - P2
• “The fee is kind of expensive, but it is expected that there would be some type of fee” (the monthly fee for the card she has is $3) - P3
• *** Expects that the fee would mean that they don’t have to pay a fee for cashing a check – same feedback as first participant - P3
• Language of approval is confusing – Some confusion on what she was actually applying for - P3

"On a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 being the easiest, what would you rate the task of applying for a prepaid debit card using the app?"

• 6/7 - P1
• 7/7 - P2
• 5/7 - P3

Task: Cash A Check

• *** “Whoa that’s a lot of fees…I thought it was $9.99” (confusing card fee with check fee) - P1
• “I don’t like that (the fees), not finding out until this part of the process” (She forgot she saw a fee calculator during Sign Up) - P1
• *** “Now that’s a different fee….” - P2
• Remembers the 3% from the fee calculator (set as default) - P2
• “I might just go ahead and do this (cash the check)...It’s worth it to me to put this on my card than to wait” - P2

What We Learned + Design Updates

• We removed the language of  “application” and “approval” from prepaid card flow – It’s not a credit card, and the vast majority users are approved instantly. We substituted the application language with copy such as “Send me a card” and “It’s on the way”.
• Fees were clearly an issue. We decided to put all fees on the “Accept fees” page, even though the user technically accepted the Astro card fee schedule when they accepted the card agreement. The redundancy provides a needed reminder for the user, and a sense of comfort when the numbers on their cashed check, card balance, and transaction information all match.
• In the initial design, we defaulted the highlighted fee in the fee calculator to the Computerized Payroll Check fee, because that is the most common check cashed in the stores. However, users had trouble making that connection later on in the check cashing flow – they thought the highlighted fee of 3% applied to all check types. Adding the option to select their check type before seeing the list of fees gave the user more control, and also set their expectations as to what they would see next on Estimated Fees. Our assumption that users would not know their check type turned out to be unfounded.
  

Revised prototype

Fee Calculator

We modified the designs so that the user can select from 1 of 5 check types before seeing the full fee schedule. Many users indicated that fees were one of the most important considerations they had in choosing a finance solution. The transparency and agency that the fee calculator provided up front was a welcome change in their typical experience.

Request Astro Prepaid Debit Card

We changed the primary call-to-action to "Get my card" and removed the language of "applying" for a card. The majority of users found the card request flow simple and straight forward. One even indicated that it was "too easy". Much of the heavy lifting in terms of information-gathering was done during Sign Up, so by the time they got to the card flow we did not need to request much additional information.

Check Cashing: Part 1

Users found the check cashing flow to be relatively straight forward. About 50% of users liked the ability to "Name your check" as a way of adding a memo line, and the other half said they would never use it. We left it in as an optional field. The biggest obstacle in adoption of mobile check cashing amongst the client's customer-base would be the relatively low level of technical literacy we observed among the under-banked demographic. Some did not know they had a phone or a calculator on their phone, or were suspicious of mobile finance solutions in general.

Check Cashing: Part 2

As a security measure, the client requires the users to void their checks once they've been approved so as to prevent double cashing. However, many users who do not have direct deposit or who are younger have never had to void a check before. In testing, they would write "VOID" in small letters in the bottom corner. We included instructions on how to void a check in the flow. Ideally in the future, the client would adopt fraud prevention tools that would eliminate the need for the user to void their check after deposit.

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