Redesigning the bank’s account physical experience into a fully digital, paperless process. An MVP needed to be defined in six months, looking to shift 25% of applications to the online channel.
The challenge
The project faced three interconnected challenges rooted in the bank’s analog legacy. First, employees were burdened by workflows that demanded the manual processing of 6+ physical documents per application, a time-consuming ritual that created bottlenecks for staff and customers.
Second, designing for inclusivity meant serving non-tech-savvy users accustomed to in-person interactions (like home visits or branch verification) while adhering to Colombia’s strict financial regulations. Finally, aligning a fragmented ecosystem of stakeholders. IT teams focused on security, legal departments guarding compliance, and branch staff wedded to familiar processes required dismantling silos to simplify a system deeply entrenched in paper-based habits.
These need to be resolved by a team of 3 designers and a multi-diverse group from the bank.
The Process
As the primary UX, I owned the end-to-end design process, acting as a mediator between stakeholders, technical teams, and user needs. My role began with defining the MVP’s scope. I balanced Colombia’s strict compliance requirements with technical feasibility and insights from user research, ensuring the solution addressed critical pain points without overcomplicating the build.
Partnering closely with two service designers, I fostered collaboration across siloed bank teams (legal, IT, branch operations), facilitating workshops to align priorities and secure buy-in for a unified vision. To translate strategy into action, I developed high-fidelity wireframes, interactive prototypes, and service blueprints that served as a north star for developers and stakeholders alike, grounding abstract ideas in tangible deliverables. Central to every decision was advocacy for non-digital users.
Discovery
- I conducted stakeholder interviews with different type of bank employees and shadowed branch workflows to map pain points.
- Analyzed the end-to-end journey, to identify redundant steps and user frustrations.
- We synthesized findings into journey maps, service blueprints, and user personas, aligning teams around a shared understanding of complexity.
Define
- Co-hosted workshops with legal, tech, and business teams to balance compliance, feasibility, and user needs.
- Prioritized a scalable MVP that streamlined all account types into a unified flow, minimizing development effort and maximizing cost reduction.
Deliver
- As I made a very simple flow, the enrollment took only three minutes. We eliminated all physical forms using ID photo capture and basic device features (no biometrics required).
- I created responsive, desktop-first wireframes and prototypes to test iteratively with users.
- Collaborated with the bank’s experience department to align the MVP with new brand values.
Outcomes
We eliminated six physical documents and different visits to the bank branch, with a digitized enrollment process. Reducing the account setup time to just 3 minutes. High-fidelity wireframes and prototypes where included to map the digital flow, which gained formal approval from the bank’s Digital Transformation team.
Key Takeways
- Led Adaptable Design Decisions: By prioritizing Colombia’s tech diversity, we designed a camera-first ID validation flow that required no biometrics or app downloads ensuring accessibility for non-digital users while meeting compliance.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: I bridged gaps between siloed teams (legal, IT, branch ops) through workshops, translating skepticism into shared ownership of the MVP’s vision.
- Advocated for Gradual Adoption: To respect user habits, I understood the importance of the in-branch support and phased transitions, balancing innovation with comfort for traditional audiences.
- Translated Regulatory Constraints into Solutions: By partnering early with legal teams, I turned strict compliance requirements into creative opportunities (e.g., simplified ID capture workflows).