Bethpage, SECU, Bellco Loan Application

Responsive Application Design

Challenge

OTS – the parent company for the three credit unions of Bethpage, Bellco and SECU – had a need to redesign and rebuild their online loan application to make it responsive for smartphones and tablets. The statistics indicted that thousands of users were attempting to access the app on mobile each month and the existing UI / UX was not optimized for non-desktop platforms. After further assessment of the existing app, PCD recommended that we also resolve multiple pain points and roadblocks to completion of the application process to help ensure greater customer acquisition and retention. This new and improved application would also need to be flexible within the presentation layer to support all three brands.

Idea

PCD conducted stakeholder interviews, competitive reviews, a best practices audit, and content and technical audits to provide a solid foundation for the overhauled loan app UX strategy, design, content, functional, and form field requirements. Standardization of content, UI elements, messaging and voice and tone was required to create a more consistent UX across the various loan types offered by the three credit unions. Loan types supported include auto, motorcycle, RV, boat, trailer, motorhome, personal and home equity loans; as well as application for credit cards. A streamlined user flow was created with fewer and more logical steps, along with new inline validation of fields and better tooltips to support users and remove roadblocks. Additionally, a better strategy / UX / UI was designed for saving and accessing a partially completed loan application for users who wish to come back and finish later. In the end, all three brands were supported by introduction of the ability to skin the application’s presentation layer with custom logos, fonts, colors, and other elements of the look-and-feel.

Features

• Responsive design
• Shared templates for 3 credit unions
• Conditional display of dynamic content
• Streamlined progress bar and form steps
• Inline validation