The Art of FinTech Onboarding
What should come first through the Onboarding phase? Instructions or User Authentication? How much should it take for onboard a user?
Modern technology and digital behaviors have conspired to create a new generation of customer’s experience, especially for new FinTech services. As a product/service provider in the FinTech space, customers get their first impression about your service during the onboarding process and that plays a significant role in acquiring new users and growing revenue. When users realize the speed, functionality, and convenience operating during the onboarding process, they are more likely to join and stay with you for a longer period. The onboarding process is your first engagement with your customer, and if you do it right, you are more likely to increase the conversion and adaptation rates of the service provided.
In the expanding world of FinTech, projects such as mobile wallets, payments apps, remittance apps, lending apps, crypto-currency etc. are rising all the time. The most direct way to get captive users is by having an overwhelming onboarding system with excellent user experience. Behind the scenes, aspects like touching points, transparency, simple language, step by step wizard, minimum user options and fluent process are the key factors to implement.
Opening a new bank account, for example, a traditional service provided by banks and other financial institutes involves multiple parties/departments within the organization like front office, operations, risk, legal, credit, compliance, tax and more. The engagement with different departments requires some efforts to complete the entire process. On average, it takes days to weeks to complete the onboarding. The time requires for driving to the bank, waiting in a long queue, speaking with assistants, wait for your background check and signing long paper contracts belongs to the past. Designing a frictionless onboarding journey enable the users to complete the process in minutes with a big appreciative smile from your user.
What Does The Current Customer Onboarding Process Entail?
Subject to the regional regulator, a typical FinTech related project usually takes the user through the following onboarding steps:
Filling an application
Download an app
User Authentication
ID scanning (followed by background check of KYC)
Liveness Challenges
Legal Consent
PIN and Security Management
Meanwhile, in the background, the system has many things to do. Starting by filtering the applications, validating the inputs, monitoring the user progress and configuring new user account at essential some service providers such as KYC, Authenticator, Processors etc.The Key Principles To e Considered
The Key Principles To Be Considered
Fluent and frictionless use case flow from A to Z
Security and Privacy
Compliance and regulations
Scouting for the right technology and service providers
Best user experience
Online support available
Omnichannel
Minimum touching points with the user
Marketing
Admin dashboard and monitoring capabilities
View The Experience From The User’s Perspective
Embracing a thoughtful onboarding experience is about aligning it to the culture, needs, and thoughts of your users. The users’ main concerns would be:
Can I trust them?
Can I use my mobile?
How much time will it take?
What are the fees I am expected to pay?
So, basically, it is all about Security/Privacy, Omnichannel, Functionality, Simplicity, and Costs. Accordingly, you should:
Use a simple and friendly language
Be transparent about the process
Guide the user one step at the time
Avoid offering multiple options to the user
Fluent and frictionless flow from A to Z
Use Case Decisions – What Step Comes First?
I have encountered this question in almost every project I had worked on in Payzos. Here are my thoughts:
Mobile number first. Having the user contact details in an early stage is important not only because you can approach and assist abandoned users, but mainly because you want to create security around everything you do, and that starts with the user authentication procedure.
Use two factors of authentication [2FA] even if it’s not mandated by your regulator.
Once the user is securely leashed to the system, a step by step wizard should take the lead. If adding a new payment method is part of the flow, leave it to the end.
Minimum touching points
Display minimum action options for the user. Multiple options get the user confused.
Keep It Simple Stupid.
Request minimum mandated data from the user – you will be able to collect the rest of the data after the onboarding.
Based on the user input, extract other user data from a background check output rather than from user input, aggregate it in a way it can be edited, evaluated and confirmed.
Security
Implement a secure-connection for every session with your user, even if it’s not mandated.
Use strong user authenticate even if it is not mandated
Avoid identity federation login and create your own credential database.
Use digital signature for high-risk events such as adding a new mobile number or sending money.
How To Complete Onboarding?
Ultimately, an effective onboarding strategy should center on an integrated, well organized, user journey flow, that is more user-centric than product-driven. What comes after the onboarding? A welcome email? Issuing online credentials? A new plastic card issued for the user? Clear instructions on what comes next are the final part of the onboarding process and should include any action item you wish your user to do. Drafting a set of adjoining integration services between your solution and your customer adds value to the overall experience.
Designing secured FinTech solutions, that’s our area of expertise!