Investing apps at the time opened on a portfolio: your balance, your fund allocations, your performance charts. For someone putting in their first $100, that is a screen of numbers that mean nothing yet.
Kiwi Wealth wanted to reach medium-income earners saving for goals in their own lives. Those apps served them least.
Kiwi Wealth had already interviewed its customers, but the findings were not being used. We began by gathering that research and validating it against secondary research. We then ran internal workshops to map the customer scenarios, how they differ and where the edge cases sit.
Internal workshop, March 2019
We proposed building the app around that question instead of the portfolio. Before it says anything about funds, it asks what the money is for: a wedding, a house, retirement, travel.
The answer becomes the name of the account. In our example, Sarah opens a Managed Funds account called Fiji holiday 2019, and from then on her balance and her progress are shown against that goal. That changed how customers saw the product and strengthened their motivation to save.
We held every design to one test: can a first-time investor set up a goal and start investing in minutes?
After signing up, new customers choose a goal and name it, then the amount and the fund. We made the risk profile far less intimidating: Conservative, Balanced and Growth are presented as three clear options, with a side-by-side comparison for anyone who wants the detail.
Identity and tax checks come once the reason to invest is established.
Each account shows its balance alongside progress towards the goal it was opened for. Because the goal is captured at sign-up, the dashboard leads with what matters to the customer.
Withdrawing takes five screens, from the goals list to the confirmation: select the goal, choose the destination bank account, enter the amount and confirm.
Kiwi Wealth had no design system, so we created one from its brand guidelines. The goal illustrations are purchased stock artwork.
About twelve months, from 2018 to 2019, working as part of Kiwi Wealth's product team.
Day to day, we worked with the product manager, the product owner, the scrum master and the developers, a team of about ten people.
We owned the design end to end, from the first research and workshops to the design system.
We worked closely with Kiwi Wealth's anti-money-laundering team, so compliance shaped the design instead of constraining it.
Delivery ran in sprints, so every design decision was documented and ready to build. Version 1 launched as a web app.
“Boald's decision to move from portfolio-based to goal-based investing changed everything. It made the platform accessible to people who'd never invested before.”
Every Boald engagement starts with the question this project answered.
