Modern Banking Made Easy - ICICI Express Home Loan
Overview
ICICI Express Home Loan is an innovative banking solution designed to offer a fast, seamless, and transparent loan experience, providing everything at a single touchpoint. It has carved a new niche by enabling customers to apply for home loans easily, with added protection and convenience, especially during the pandemic
In early 2022, I led user experience for ICICI Express Home Loan, optimizing the platform to simplify the loan process. My focus was to improve form clarity and document submission through intuitive steps, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience that keeps users engaged even beyond the pandemic.
Research
Empathise + Define
Ideate
Prototype
Existing product and issues
The ICICI Express Home Loan platform streamlines the home loan process by allowing users to upload documents for both their current and permanent addresses. However, users often get confused about which address-related documents are required, as different addresses are asked at different stages.
Additionally, the document upload process lacks clarity and feedback. Users are unsure which documents belong to which categories, and there is no immediate confirmation after uploading. A list of required documents is only revealed during the process, leaving users unprepared.
Moreover, the document upload section doesn’t specify file size or format requirements, leading to errors when users submit incorrect files. Clearer guidelines are needed to improve the overall user experience.
Current Experience
To understand users' pain points, aspirations, and challenges, we conducted user interviews. The participants were divided into two categories: the first included users from Tier I & II cities, while the second consisted of individuals residing in Tier III & IV cities.
Although over 15 interviews were conducted, no concrete evidence emerged regarding the challenges users faced while engaging with the portal. This was because all users had been assisted by customer service throughout the process, which mitigated potential difficulties.
User Research
Stakeholder Insight
Since the insights received from users were largely inconclusive due to the assistance they received during the process, we decided to reach out to individuals from various departments who were supporting these users. Stakeholder interviews were conducted across different levels of the organizational hierarchy, ranging from relationship managers to regional heads.
User can’t track the status of their application, and there’s no alert if they upload incorrect information—it’s really frustrating
The forms are too lengthy, and users don’t always know what to enter in the fields or how to upload the required documents.
It doesn’t recognize existing or pre-approved customers, and there’s no easy way for users to reach a relationship manager for help.
Competitive Analysis
While we had prior insights to guide us, we needed a focused approach to structure and communicate the unique features of a DIY home loan platform. This meant detailing process steps, outlining loan requirements, and emphasizing the benefits of applying independently, while simplifying complex financial terms.
While we had prior insights to guide us, we needed a focused approach to structure and communicate the unique features of a DIY home loan platform. This meant detailing process steps, outlining loan requirements, and emphasizing the benefits of applying independently, while simplifying complex financial terms.
To achieve this, we analyzed four major DIY platforms—Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, and Bank Bazaar—to understand best practices for clear communication and effective user guidance.
We found that Bank Bazaar and Kotak Mahindra Bank particularly excel at educating users before they begin. These platforms prioritize providing essential loan details, eligibility requirements, and terms upfront. By delivering concise, clear information early on, they empower users to make informed financial decisions, reduce confusion, and foster a seamless, confident application experience.
Kotak Mahindra Bank
A new user is quickly informed about the four distinct steps required to complete the application. Each step is clearly outlined, allowing users to focus on one specific area or type of information at a time. This approach enables them to fill in each field with ease, minimizing distractions and enhancing their concentration.
SBI & HDFC Bank
Both HDFC and SBI DIY home loan portals offer a clear four-step process for new users. HDFC emphasizes focused navigation on specific tasks like eligibility assessment and document submission, while SBI highlights streamlined application flow. This approach enables users to confidently complete their home loan applications with ease and clarity.
Design Decisions
The team highlighted the importance of identifying customer pain points and gathering insights from sales representatives managing customer concerns. This approach enabled us to create a scalable experience framework to address user challenges across different loan products.
As we defined the primary use cases, our design team stressed the need for scalable requirements to guide future solutions. Using insights from user research and real-world data, we established design principles to ensure every decision aligned with user needs as we transitioned into the brainstorming phase.
1
DOCUMENT REQUIREMENT Should Be Immediately Clear to the User
2
FORM FIELDS Should Be More Descriptive for User Clarity
3
LACK OF CONSISTENT INFORMATION on Application Closure and Restart
Document Guide
The user is given information about all the documents that need to be uploaded, along with a detailed description of what each document should contain.
Personal Information Hierarchy
The user is prompted to complete all essential fields in the application. The accordion layout highlights the required information, allowing users to fill in what they have readily available without needing to navigate back and forth.
Document Upload Solution
A clickable breadcrumb navigation was proposed to give users the flexibility to upload documents they have readily available. Each upload screen is designed to include pictorial guidance and specific date details, helping users select and upload the correct documents with ease.
Personal Information Hierarchy
Design Constraints
The main challenge in redesigning the portal arose when the client requested that we retain all aspects of the current design—layout, typography, illustrations, and navigation—leaving us with only limited flexibility to make minor adjustments within the form itself. However, we developed an alternative solution as a proof of concept (POC) that incorporated current trends in Fintech.
Proof Of Concept
