Designing to Improve the User Experience of a Credit Card Service Master’s thesis in computer science and engineering

Abstract

The digitalization of society means a change in interaction between banks and their customers. In the non-digital age, customers visited their local branch office for a personal meeting. Today, customers demand multiple channels for interaction, including digital platforms for self-services. Thus, this means new challenges for banks, on how to design the user experience of the digital platforms that meet the needs of the customers. The aim for this thesis has been to define important guidelines to consider for an improved user experience, when designing an interface of a digital credit card service. This has been done on behalf of Collector Bank, with the purpose of identifying user needs and impact areas on how to improve the value for the customer. This, by giving the bank the knowledge to prioritize measures in order to reach their business goals with the service. The delimitations of the study were set to focus on the user experience of the app interface, but with considerations for the credit card service to understand the value of the product. The results of the preliminary study have been identified behaviors of the credit card customers and their needs and requirements regarding the user experience of the app interface. Five behavioral archetypes have been identified; the deal seeker, the analyst, the comfortable, the endeavor and the spontaneous. The user needs were of three recurring patterns, which was defined as the focus areas for an improved user experience; safety, financial control and additional value. Moreover, impact areas were defined together with the bank to identify the business goals and desired impact with the product, and by this have a shared vision and be able to prioritize needs that met the business goals. The results of the study were founded in a data collection consisting of 22 interviews with customers of the bank, an observational study with the customer service department, a literature review within the problem domain and a heuristic evaluation of the current interface of the app. The findings were utilized to develop a concept for the app interface. The concept proposed design solutions on how to fulfil the user needs, and how to meet the desired impact with the credit card service by interface design.