Account opening is the process that turns prospects into customers. An easy, mobile-first journey can boost a firm’s conversion rate. On the other hand, UX missteps can be more costly in account opening than anywhere else. A failed experience turns your new customer into someone else’s.
With that in mind, CI’s Fintech Monitor research team recently issued a report examining account applications and resources from 12 leading firms—10 fintechs and a control group of two incumbent firms—to examine innovation in the application space.
The main takeaways: Fintechs provide quick, intuitive journeys that focus on concision and ease of use rather than supplementary tools. Incumbents take inspiration from this simplicity to get clients in the door without sacrificing more comprehensive resources.
Below is a preview of two summary findings from the report. The full Fintech Monitor report includes five summary findings, a point-by-point comparison matrix detailing firm offerings, and in-depth firm profiles for all twelve firms.
The friction payoff: Some payment firms require mid-application login
Traditional account opening requires users to apply, wait for approval, and then create an online login. But some fintechs are flipping those steps around. Dave, Wise, PayPal and Venmo all support application journeys in which users first create a login for their account and then finish the application post-login.
CI’s UX team cautions against this approach: Prospects could be hesitant to set up a login for an account for which they have not yet been approved. User testing has shown that requiring prospective clients to create login credentials prior to account opening is suboptimal, as they may need to manage a login and password for an account they cannot use. While fintechs could be giving prospects an opportunity to save their application, a more traditional approach wherein prospects create a login after being approved for the account is preferred.
So why would fintech firms opt for a potentially suboptimal account opening process? For one, it may increase users numbers without requiring KYC verification. But payment firms like Venmo, Paypal and Wise, account creation also allows these unapproved users to see incoming payments sent to their phone number or email address. These payments are held by the firm until the user completes the application—an enticing reward for completing all the steps. These firms are removing friction from the process of seeing an incoming payment, moving that friction to the account opening step, but adding the reward of receiving the payment upon approval.
For an example of one such process, here is a look at Wise’s application journey:
- Wise features a pre- and post-login prospect application journey as it welcomes prospects to the app prior to account opening
- On the Profile menu, the firm includes a Complete Account quick link to continue the application
- The firm then notes that prospects must complete a series of steps—including verifying their identity—to fully open their account
The most seamless applications provide orienting content like directions and progress meters
Information like predicted completion times and instructions can help users understand the time commitment for an application and allow them to be prepared with the right materials, like their Social Security number or ID card. Orientation content is relatively uncommon within the report coverage set, with few firms providing features like estimated completion times (17%) or instructions (33%). These tools are especially important for multi-screen journeys, allowing users to understand their place in a longer process.
- Bank of America (screenshot 1) and Revolut (2) are the only two firms to offer estimated completion times for their existing client applications—Bank of America is the only one to also offer this for prospects; telling users how long an application typically takes allows users to better understand the time commitment in a process that can sometimes feel overly lengthy
- Wise offers a checklist of tasks to open an account following credential creation, listing the steps prospects will need to complete to properly open a deposit account with checkmarks to indicate fulfilled items
- Several firms incorporate progress meters into the existing and prospective client applications—50% and 67%, respectively—however, meters are more effective when the segments or steps are clear, allowing users to properly grasp their place in the process through progress points like Merrill or enumerated steps like PayPal
Fintech Monitor keeps you on the leading edge of financial services innovation, giving you a first-hand look at the digital experience from startups and innovators. Contact us today to learn how you can gain access the full account application report—with all five summary findings and detailed profiles of the application processes for all 12 firms—and the full suite of Fintech Monitor research.