Frustration to Frictionless: How to Drive a 23.5% Boost in Online Banking Registrations

Business Impact

23.5% Increased Online Banking Account Registration Conversion

A significant increase in conversions demonstrates the effectiveness of the streamlined registration process.

29% Reduction in Online Account Registration Customer Care Calls

Highlights the success of reducing friction in the registration process. In addition, massively reducing cost to service customers.

Valley Bank, founded in 1927, is a leading commercial and retail bank with $62B in assets, 200+ branches in select markets, and 3,800+ employees.

Pain

Valley dealt with sky-high costs of conducting routine bank transactions through its physical branches and customer call center.

Business Strategy

Valley, a nearly 100-year old institution, decided it would pour investment into digital online banking as a way to deliver and scale its services quickly, improve the customer experience, and reduce costs.

Opportunity

Valley Bank has an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction, retain customers, and reduce costs by transforming its services from being physical and phone based to being digitally based.

Research Question

How might Valley Bank best move forward in undertaking digital transformation in relation to its banking services.

As a researcher, my role was to identify barriers to digital adoption and uncover opportunities to enhance the customer experience.

Leveraging Research to Uncover Barriers to Customer Digital Adoption

As the sole Senior UX Researcher (only Researcher at Valley Bank), I led the end-to-end effort to uncover barriers to digital adoption, generate design requirements to solve those problems, and test iterative solutions.

Research Methods

I collaborated with digital strategist to dig into the data, highlight problem areas, align priorities, build a research plan, generate solution requirements, and communicate recommendations. The research methods I leveraged to generate data were as follows:

  • Customer Support Diary Studies & Log Reports

  • Pulse Quarterly Customer Survey

  • Behavioral and Engagement Analytics

  • User Interviews

  • Product Testing

  • Prototype Testing

Methods & Findings

Behavioral & Engagement Data

  • 56.7% of customers abandoned the application process on the first page

  • Of customers who proceeded past the first page, less than 5% of checking account applications were completed

  • Less than 1% of Valleydirect HYSA applications were completed.

  • 94.3% of OLB applications required manual intervention by Valley associates, adding friction and inefficiency to the process

Customer Support Diary Studies and Log Reports

  • 38.8% of customer care calls were related to online banking issues, such as password resets, account lockouts, and general support. This placed a heavy burden on customer service teams.

  • Password reset issues were a major pain point, with customers locked out after three failed attempts. This was particularly frustrating for younger, tech-savvy customers who expected seamless, 24/7 access.

  • 41% of users struggled with Online Bank Account registration username creation, often forgetting that their “username” was their email address.

  • 30.7% of users expressed confusion about the confirmation page, unsure whether their application was approved or still under review. Manual Process.

Quarterly Pulse Survey

  • Only 58.6% of Valley Bank’s Retail Banking customers had online banking accounts compared to regional bank standard of at least 70%

  • In addition, ~40% of accounts were low engagement accounts

  • Users who had online banking accounts provided lower CSAT and NPS scores compared to customers who did not have online accounts

Key Problem: Online Banking Account Registration had extremely low conversion, high drop-off, and caused severe support issues.

User Interviews & Testing

Led user testing sessions across multiple customer segments, including Blossoming Burbs (tech-savvy, high-income), Established Earners (older, financially stable), and Safe & Secure (risk-averse, older).

Key Findings:

  • Online banking registration was 12+ pages of forms. Because users were unaware of how much effort was required to complete the process they abandoned

  • Users were confused that username meant email address. They were frustrated by the lack of clear instruction and abandoned

  • Users were unaware of the documentation required to complete the registration so they were having to context switch i.e. look for their wallet or find a check for the routing number.

  • Funding the account was a major obstacle, it required inputing account and routing numbers. To add to the confusion, users had accounts with Valley already but were having to find paper checks in order to complete the account registration.

Key Insights Generated

Through my research, I uncovered several critical insights that informed the redesign of the OLB registration process:

  1. Simplification is Key:

    • Customers found the existing application process too complex, with 12+ pages to complete. Simplifying the process and reducing the number of steps was essential to reducing dropoff rates.

  2. Clear Communication:

    • Customers needed clear expectations about what was required to complete the application, including the necessary documents and information.

  3. Reducing Friction:

    • Password reset issues and OLB username confusion were major sources of frustration. Streamlining these processes was critical to improving the customer experience.

  4. Guided User Experience:

    • Customers appreciated guided UI elements, such as input field hints, progressive labeling, and tooltips, which helped them complete the application process more easily.

Recommendation: Redesign the Online Account Registration Process to Drive Significant Conversion

The Redesigned Solution: Terafina Onboarding Platform

Based on these insights, Valley Bank implemented the Terafina onboarding platform, which I helped design and validate through iterative user testing. Key features of the redesigned solution included:

  1. Simplified and Guided User Experience:

    • Reduced the number of steps in the application process, making it simpler and more intuitive.

    • Introduced an interstitial screen that set clear expectations about what customers needed to complete the application (e.g., personal details, identification, and bank details).

  2. Improved OLB Username and Password Flow:

    • Integrated OLB username creation into the application flow and provided clear instructions for password creation and reset.

    • Added temporary passwords sent via email, which customers could change upon their first login.

  3. Enhanced Funding Experience with Plaid:

    • Integrated Plaid for external funding, allowing customers to link their bank accounts seamlessly.

    • Added tooltips and content to explain how Plaid worked and why Valley used it, addressing concerns from users unfamiliar with the tool.

  4. Clearer Confirmation and Next Steps:

    • Improved the confirmation page by adding a reference number and setting clear expectations about next steps (e.g., email confirmation, temporary password, and account approval timeline).

Efficacy of the Solution

The implementation of the Terafina onboarding platform had a significant positive impact on Valley Bank's OLB registration process:

  1. Increased OLB Registrations:

    • Conversion rates for retail OLB registrations increased driven by the streamlined Terafina onboarding process and in-branch marketing campaigns.

    • In-branch signups doubled, with customers completing the registration process more easily.

  2. Reduced Customer Care Burden:

    • The number of OLB-related customer care calls decreased by ~30%, freeing up resources for other support needs.

  3. Cost Savings:

    • 80% of branch transactions involving checks were moved to digital methods, saving the bank significant operational costs.

    • The reduction in manual interventions and customer care calls resulted in additional cost savings for the bank.

  4. Improved Customer Satisfaction:

    • NPS scores for retail customers increased from 26.8 to 34, while CSAT scores improved from 77.3 to 78.5.

    • Customers reported feeling more confident and satisfied with the streamlined process.

Impact to the Business

The redesigned OLB registration process had a profound impact on Valley Bank's business, driven by my research and insights:

  1. Improved Customer Satisfaction:

    • The streamlined process and reduced friction led to higher customer satisfaction and increased engagement with online banking services.

  2. Operational Efficiency:

    • The reduction in manual interventions and customer care calls allowed Valley Bank to reallocate resources and improve overall operational efficiency.

  3. Cost Savings:

    • The move to digital methods for check deposits and other transactions resulted in significant cost savings for the bank.

  4. Increased Digital Adoption:

    • The improved OLB registration process drove higher adoption rates for online banking, positioning Valley Bank as a leader in digital transformation.

My research and recommendations directly contributed to the successful implementation of the Terafina onboarding platform, which led to:

  • OLB Conversion Rate: A 23.5% increase in conversions demonstrates the effectiveness of the streamlined onboarding process.

  • Customer Care Calls: A ~29% reduction in OLB-related calls highlights the success of reducing friction in the registration process.

  • Branch Transactions: Moving ~78% of check deposits to digital methods saved the bank significant operational costs.

  • Retail NPS: A 7.2-point increase in NPS reflects improved customer loyalty and satisfaction.

  • Active OLB Users: A 5.3 percentage point increase in active users shows higher engagement with online banking services.

  • Mobile Deposit Volume: A 33% increase in mobile deposits underscores the success of reducing friction in the deposit process.

This case study demonstrates the power of user-centered research and data-driven decision-making in driving meaningful business outcomes. My ability to uncover key insights, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and validate solutions through iterative testing was instrumental in transforming Valley Bank's online banking experience.