Case Study • Launched Product

Designing an onboarding
that earns trust
in under 5 minutes

How we shipped a digital first credit card onboarding experience centered on autonomy, transparency, and self-service turning “fear of credit” into confident activation.

People don't avoid credit because they don't want it. They avoid it because they don't trust it.

Our job was to replace anxiety with control—without sacrificing fraud prevention or compliance.

My Role

Principal Product Designer (UX/UI)

Led end-to-end onboarding design from discovery to launch: flows, IA, UX writing, high-fidelity UI, interaction specs, and implementation QA. Partnered with 1 PM, 1 PO, and 10 devs.

Responsibilities

• Funnel strategy + user flows

• KYC UX (error recovery, retries, clarity)

• Offer/terms comprehension design

• Dev handoff + build QA

Team

Platforms

iOS/Android

Status

Launched

Key Insights

We designed trust like a feature— predictable, transparent, and user-controlled.

Trust is the primary conversion lever

Users associate credit with fear: hidden fees, unauthorized charges, and losing control. Anxiety spikes at identity + terms steps.

Design decision: Radical transparency: preview everything (fees, limits, timelines), show progress and what happens next at every step.

One flow must serve very different archetypes

Security-first, benefits-driven, skeptical users… the same onboarding must feel safe AND simple for all of them.

Design decision: Progressive disclosure + adaptable microcopy: reassurance, benefit framing, and fallback support at the right moments.

Design Principles

Principles that protected conversion

Control by Default

Make users feel in charge at every step

Transparent Outcomes

Remove uncertainty with clear states

Fast, Not Rushed

Speed with clarity—never confusion

Safe & Compliant

Fraud prevention without punishing legit users

The Product

Credit Card Onboarding

Time to complete

~ 15 min

Time from zero to card on the way

Completion rate

46%

Users are given an outcome (offer or rejection).

NPS

One of the highest for a digital banking experience in El Salvador

Module 01

Foundations of Trust

Setting clear expectations and validating identity through a seamless, biometric-first approach that prioritizes security without sacrificing speed.

The Entry Point

Predictable Start

A comprehensive checklist and 5-step progress indicator reduce cognitive load and abandonment by answering 'what's next?' before the user even starts.

Identity Verification

Smart Validation

Biometric identity verification with real-time guidance ensures high pass rates while reinforcing the product's premium security standards.

Module 02

The Credit Offer

Transforming the complex decision of credit into a moment of celebration, with transparent terms and guided selection of high-value rewards.

Real-time Decision

Approved Offer

Instant decisioning with a clearly visualized credit limit and rate. We use a countdown timer to drive conversion and highlight the offer's exclusivity.