Digitizing SME onboarding for financial services
Company profile
Industry
Financial Services
Niche
Banking & SME Services
Company Size
5,000+
HQ
Bucharest, Romania
Services provided:
A comprehensive SME sector digitalization initiative focused on transforming the Know Your Customer (KYC) process from paper-based forms to a streamlined digital experience. The project aimed to reduce processing time, improve data accuracy, and enhance the onboarding experience for small and medium enterprise clients.
Challenge
The SME sector relied on lengthy printed KYC forms that created friction in the client onboarding process. The paper-based system led to data entry errors, slow processing times, and a poor user experience for business clients seeking banking services. The bank needed a digital solution that maintained regulatory compliance while dramatically improving efficiency.
Legacy paper-based forms
Causing delays, errors, and poor customer experience in SME onboarding
Complex data requirements
Needing careful information architecture to maintain compliance
Diverse user needs
Spanning business owners, accountants, and bank staff with varying digital literacy
Regulatory constraints
Requiring strict adherence to KYC and compliance standards
Solution
User Research & Discovery
Conducted comprehensive user research with SME clients, business accountants, and bank staff to understand pain points in the existing process. Identified critical touchpoints and opportunities for digital transformation through interviews and observational studies.
Information Architecture Design
Restructured the complex KYC form into logical, digestible sections using progressive disclosure. Organized information hierarchically to guide users through the process while maintaining all required regulatory data collection points.
Requirements Gathering & Translation
Worked closely with compliance, legal, and business teams to translate regulatory requirements into user-friendly digital interfaces. Created detailed specifications that balanced regulatory needs with optimal user experience.
UI Design & Validation
Designed intuitive interfaces with clear visual hierarchy, smart defaults, and contextual help. Validated designs through iterative testing with actual SME clients to ensure the digital form was accessible and efficient for all user groups.
Artifacts
Information Architecture
Visual representation of the form's information architecture, including section interdependences that trigger additional form requirements.
Screen Samples
Flow summary
Leaflets and other sample
Form onboarding screen
Usability simulations
Color impairment and sight impairment simulations of some of the more important form parts to ensure sufficient accessibility scores
Results
Less errors
After usability testing
Based on usability testing results and feedback, all clients reported a significant improvement and feeling of confidence when filling out the form
Futureproof
Compliant on a budget
After the redesign, the solution ticked both the accessibility and regulatory compliance boxes requested by regulators. In addition to this, it also complied with the strict budget and resource allocation constraints set at that time.