Research, content design (Itaú Design Language), design system (Itaú Design System), data, legal, customer support, and credit analysis.
Overview
The project aimed to improve Itaú's credit approval by adding the "Credit Profile" tool to the Itaú app. This tool provides users with a detailed view of their credit profile, including CPF status, Serasa/Federal Revenue updates, outstanding debts reported by credit protection agencies, and the ability to adjust their monthly income.
With personalized insights and recommended actions, this tool helps users navigate their credit applications, increasing the chances of approval. It simplifies the process by highlighting problems that need to be corrected for future credit approvals.
Starter problems
Outdated Income Information
Income is one of the most important factors for credit approval, but it is often outdated in the system. Many people do not know how crucial it is to keep this information updated or are not informed about it.
Credit Info in Different Places
The credit process uses information from various places, but with everything scattered across different websites and apps, it is difficult to keep track. Most do not know where to start.
Lack of Transparency in Credit Denials
Many people feel lost when their credit application is denied and, unfortunately, due to legal limits we cannot always provide a full explanation. Even when explained, it is often not easy to understand.
Research & Discovery
The next steps were to begin research using data reports, user feedback, and past experiences.
Stakeholder Kickoff
Conversations with stakeholders and teams such as Credit, Customer Support, Legal, and Data were fundamental to mapping business needs and the current functioning of the credit approval process.
Understand the Credit Approval Method
What information is important for credit approval?
Why is income information important?
What information could be included in the new feature to help users better understand the reason for the evaluation result?
User Interviews
One-on-one interviews with users to understand their motivations when seeking credit and obtain opinions on the features presented in a low-fidelity prototype.
Stakeholder Check-Ins
Alignment with stakeholders and different teams to understand their requirements and ensure alignment with project objectives.
Insights from Previous Projects and Research
Analysis of past and similar projects to identify their challenges, successes, research, and workflows, assisting in the development of the new tool.
Benchmarking and Analysis
Analysis of current credit procedures and user experiences at competitors to identify areas that could be improved and opportunities for new ideas.
Looking for credit approval
Seeks credit approval.
May have debts with Itaú or other banks, or none at all.
May or may not have debts or obligations with the Federal Revenue.
Consulting credit info
Not actively seeking credit.
May have debts with Itaú or other banks, or none at all.
May or may not have obligations with the Federal Revenue.
User side
How do they Use Credit: Credit is used by users for different purposes, including paying bills, financing, and obtaining new credit cards.
They Trust in Itaú for Credit: Users trust Itaú for credit requests, preferring to obtain credit exclusively through the bank.
Lack of Transparency in Credit: Users complain about the lack of clear information regarding the credit analysis process.
Company side
No Alerts, No Income Updates: Without alerts and with a complicated process, users do not update their income in the app or at Itaú branches.
Complicated Income Update Process: The process of updating income in the app involves many steps and the information is not always clear. When the user updates their income in the app, the change reflects only there and does not synchronize with the physical branch system. It is necessary for both systems to have the same information for the user to update their income.
User side
Unclear Credit Approval Criteria: They do not know which information is most important for credit analysis and are confused about the reason why their application was not approved.
Importance of Updating Income: They do not understand the importance of keeping income information updated for credit analysis and approvals.
Want Credit Approval Details: Users want more information about their chances of approval in a credit analysis.
Company side
Legal Limits to Provide Info: There are legal limitations to providing all details about the reason for a credit refusal.
Legacy System: Need for synchronization between the app and legacy systems for seamless income updates.
Real-Time Income Update Sync: Create a seamless process where users update their income in the Itaú app and the information is instantly reflected in the app and the bank's systems.
Understanding Credit Analysis Factors: Provide an overview to help users understand the primary information used in credit analysis.
All Credit Info in One Place: Integrate more services into the app, such as consulting data from credit protection agencies (Serasa, SPC), Federal Revenue, and debts from Itaú and other banks, all in one place.
Design & Development
Developed low, medium, and high-fidelity prototypes to collect valuable user feedback.
Design consistency
Close collaboration with the IDS (Itaú Design System) and IDL (Itaú Design Language) teams. The IDL team follows guidelines that prioritize lowercase words, using uppercase only when necessary.
Usability Test: Multiple Rounds of Testing
Review of current procedures and user interactions to identify areas for improvement and explore new opportunities. The analysis led to the creation of an initial low-fidelity prototype for testing and feedback collection. With each round of fine-tuning in the app, new insights helped to make improvements and enhancements.
High-Fidelity Prototype Testing
High-fidelity usability testing on the prototype to confirm that everything was working perfectly before moving to the final design phase.
Documentation & Handoff
Compilation through documentation of interfaces and workflows to ensure a smooth transition to the technology and product teams throughout the entire implementation process.
Product available on the app only
Itaú's cards
Itaú's app
Product homepage and debts/negotiation page
The IDL (Itaú Design Language) uses a has with rule use as many lowercase words and in specific cases uppercase words.
Check out more about the IDL
Screens variations
Prototype video
Expected Results
Even though I wasn’t at Itaú anymore, we had set clear expectations for the results with the team, managers, and directors.
Increased Transparency in Credit Approval: The Credit Profile feature allows users to explore the main factors used by credit analysts, showing the areas that need to be resolved to increase chances of approval in the future.
Up to date: Sending reminders for users to update their income, debts with Itaú or other banks, and obligations with the Federal Revenue, helping to keep information current for faster credit processes.
Increase the credit conversion: The Credit Profile functionality allows exploring more possibilities of applying for credit at Itaú, providing insights into credit products.
Centralized Credit Information: With this new tool, users can easily consult all their important credit information in one place, without needing to visit other sites or apps. This includes: debts and negotiations with Itaú, debts in other banks, income information, and Federal Revenue/protection agency data (Serasa, SPC, and Quod).
Task Success Rate: Increase in the completion of simulations and understanding of analysis factors.
Efficiency: Simplified income update and unified query process in just a few steps.
User Trust: Positive feedback regarding the clarity of information and profile guidance.
What Went Well
Design System Compliance: Precise alignment with Itaú Design System (IDS) and Itaú Design Language (IDL) rules to maintain consistency at scale.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Efficient integration between design, technology, risk analysis, and legal for mapping legal data display limits.
What I Would Do Differently
Tighter MVP Boundaries: I would have defined a more restricted MVP scope in the early phases of integration with legacy physical branch systems.
Early Tech & Legal Discovery: Anticipated synchronization of legal validation stages and Central Bank regulatory restrictions to avoid bottlenecks in the documentation and handoff phase.