Role: Lead Product Designer
Domain: Fintech · Mobile App
The Problem
The existing loan application process was slow, manual, and it lacked added value for the end customer.
We redesigned the entire flow to be fully digital and autonomous: the customer applies, gets an instant decision, defines repayment terms, and receives the money directly to their account - no banker involved, no waiting.
The redesign cut the process length by 50%, automating the back-end credit assessment entirely.
In addition, we placed emphasis on full transparency and presenting all relevant numbers while maintaining the right balance of cognitive load.
Another important feature was beginning to educate our customer base about the credit score on which the bank's loan decision is based - which is why it was important to make the report accessible to the user.
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The Flow
The process has one critical decision point: an automated credit risk assessment that runs in the background. It produces three possible outcomes:
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Approved - the customer continues to repayment setup
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Approved for less - the customer's risk profile supports a lower amount; we offer to adjust and continue
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Declined - we can't offer a loan, but we give the customer access to their credit report so they understand why
Key Design Decisions
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Showing the real cost of a loan - in both % and ₪ Interest rates alone are abstract. Throughout the flow I made sure to display not just the annual rate, but the actual total amount the customer will pay back in shekels. I believe financial products should make the full picture legible, not hide it in fine print.
*The amounts are not accurate and are for demonstration purposes only:
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Credit report access for everyone - Credit reports are not well understood in Israel. Since our decisions are based on credit data, I felt it was important to give every customer - approved or not - access to their report. If we're using that data to make decisions about someone's financial life, they deserve to see it too.
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Repayment options as a choice, not a form Instead of asking customers to fill in payment amounts, the repayment screen lets them scroll through monthly payment and loan period combinations simultaneously - seeing the tradeoff in real time before committing.
*The amounts are not accurate and are for demonstration purposes only:
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At-a-glance comprehension (glanceability): It was important to me that complex, lengthy, and cumbersome messages written in legal language would be supported by illustrations that quickly explain the meaning within pages dense with text due to regulation.
Outcome
The redesigned flow eliminated all manual steps, no banker required, no waiting period, no branch visit.
50% reduction in process length the entire journey from application to money in account takes minutes, not days.
Every user, regardless of outcome, now has access to their credit report shifting the bank's relationship with customers from opaque to transparent.
If I could go back...
I'd invest more time in the declined user path. We gave declined users access to their credit report, but in hindsight, I'd want to explore what more we could offer them.
A customer who can't get a loan today still has a relationship with the bank. What if the declined screen wasn't just an endpoint, but a starting point - tips for improving their score, alternative products they might qualify for, or a way to set a reminder to reapply? We closed the door on a user who was genuinely motivated, and I think there was an opportunity there we didn't fully explore.