Ace Bank, a leading New Zealand financial institution, asked us to determine whether launching a digital bank was a viable opportunity, commercially, technically and for customers.
Over eight weeks, I led the design and customer discovery work alongside Product and Technology, turning a broad ambition into a validated proposition, product direction and roadmap.
Due to the confidential nature of the project, let’s refer to this client as Ace Bank.
Lead Product Designer · Product discovery · Research · Strategy · Validation
Ace Bank wanted to be the first to introduce a digital bank in New Zealand and sought our expertise to evaluate the potential of this opportunity. Our objective was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the market landscape, user expectations, and technical requirements to define a clear direction for Ace Bank's digital banking initiative.
— The ask
To approach this discovery project, we assembled a cross-functional team comprising a Product Manager, Technical Consultant, and Design Lead (me!).
The Product Manager and I started with workshops involving key stakeholders from Ace Bank to align goals, identify problem statements, and establish success metrics. Through empathy interviews with potential users, we gained valuable insights into their needs, pain points, and expectations from a digital banking experience.
Based on the research findings, the PM and I defined customer archetypes and prioritised problem statements to narrow down focus areas and identify key differentiation opportunities for Ace Bank.
— The solution
I developed lo-fi user flows to visualize the user journey, ensuring that the proposed solution addressed identified pain points. These flows were transformed into a clickable prototype, allowing us to validate the concept and gather feedback from target customers through usability testing.
Throughout the discovery process, I utilised the Askable platform to recruit participants from across New Zealand, ensuring a diverse pool of users for concept validation and design feedback.
— Outcome
Our 8-week discovery engagement with Ace Bank yielded valuable outcomes
Product Direction
The team provided Ace Bank with a clear product strategy, including a well-defined value proposition, a roadmap, and high-level OKR metrics. This enabled us to align and establish a shared vision for the digital bank.
Validated Prototype
I developed a clickable prototype that showcased key experiences and capabilities of the digital bank. Testing this prototype with target customers provided valuable insights for design refinements.
Technical Evaluation
The technical consultant conducted a thorough analysis of Ace Bank's current technical landscape, identifying opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure and systems to expedite the time-to-market for the digital bank.
Buy in from SLT
The PM and I presented our findings and recommendations to the senior leadership team, including the CEO, who provided positive feedback on our approach, insights, and proposed solution. This endorsement boosted confidence in moving forward with the project.
By validating the concept with target users, we gave Ace Bank a clearer understanding of customer needs, expectations and where a digital bank could differentiate in the New Zealand market.
Ace Bank went from a broad ambition to launch a digital bank to a defined proposition, target customer, product strategy, technical assessment and roadmap, giving senior leadership the evidence and direction needed to make an informed investment decision.
