Our client wanted to build a digital bank to stand out from what’s currently available in the Hong Kong and the wider Asia market. As one of the most successful fintechs in East Asia already with presence in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Indonesia, WeLab was well placed to branch out from its digital lending business and into banking. But with 155 traditional banks and 7 other freshly licensed virtual/digital banks already competing for customers in the region, launching in such a saturated market required a compelling and user-centric business model.
The real challenge lay in creating an experience that was culturally relevant to the people of Hong Kong. Growing a strong customer base is difficult for any startup, but given the low levels of switching when it comes to bank providers (especially in the region) it’s even more taxing for new entrants to financial services.
WeLab were determined not to simply ‘lift and shift’ the successful challenger bank models from the West - they wanted to create a user experience specifically for the local Hong Kong people.
In just 7 weeks, we designed a product for WeLab to take to the Hong Kong market.
We began by studying Hong Kong’s rich cultural backdrop, paying particular attention to the belief systems that influence the behaviour of local people. This cultural insight helped us to understand how we could add value to customers’ lives through digital banking.
Working with the WeLab team, we dissected what it means to be a ‘good bank’ in a constantly evolving industry. What some of the world’s most successful challenger banks have in common is their undying focus on customer Jobs to be Done (JTBD) - over and above product features - and we were keen to replicate this. Using Pulse, our comprehensive database of the best fintech user journeys from around the world, we compared other businesses' user flows and brand propositions for inspiration.
We defined the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) for people in Hong Kong. We identified the customer’s struggling moment and the push and pull forces that move them from one financial product to another. Identifying the most desirable customer outcomes allowed us to prioritise which features and what kind of experiences would have the biggest impact on peoples’ financial management.
Armed with this research, we moved into a design sprint. With a small team from WeLab, we ran some design activities to help us extract the best ideas from around the room. Having a range of job titles and levels of seniority in the room enabled us to design something relevant to the everyday customers and differentiated in the market. Plus, we were able to transfer our knowledge and experience to the WeLab team to help them in their journey to get this product to market.
After the design sprint, we created the first draft of the Minimum Lovable Product, as well as offering recommendations on roadmap features and user journeys.
Armed with this research, we moved into a design sprint. With a small team from WeLab, we ran some design activities to help us extract the best ideas from around the room. Having a range of job titles and levels of seniority in the room enabled us to design something relevant to the everyday customers and differentiated in the market. Plus, we were able to transfer our knowledge and experience to the WeLab team to help them in their journey to get this product to market.
After the design sprint, we created the first draft of the Minimum Lovable Product, as well as offering recommendations on roadmap features and user journeys.
Our strategic insight and advisory support set the client on a strong trajectory, backed with in-depth research, an upskilled team and a culture that fosters continuous growth and innovation.
One of the key recommendations we made was a community savings feature. Early on in the process, we identified a cultural preference for community-based finances in the East. Given that savings rates were relatively low in Hong Kong, there was scope to boost this rate by offering pots for tight-knit groups to combine and grow their money at a higher savings rate.
It’s worth noting that, since our work ended, the challenges WeLab have faced go way beyond most other new ventures. Working through the region’s civil unrest and then the COVID pandemic shows how strong the team is to launch a bank so quickly, and how proud we are to have worked with them.
Despite these obstacles, WeLab has seen impressive uptake and growth of its banking platform. They reportedly acquired over 10,000 customers within just 10 days of launching. Going forward, whether they can continue to attract high volumes of customer deposits will be a good measure of the digital bank’s success.
We’re proud not only to have helped WeLab add real value in creating a differentiated digital banking proposition in an increasingly competitive market, but also to have upskilled the team and prepared them to take the next steps in the growth of their business.
Following the Design phase, 11:FS worked with Citizens Access to define their strategy for the new proposition. This involved working through some rapid concept and user testing sessions to ensure the service design helped the customer overcome the problem identified in the JTBD analysis.
11:FS moderated workshops with the Citizens Access team to define the purpose of the new proposition, its core values and the tone of voice the brand should adopt. The outputs of these workshops were combined with the cultural insights to enrich the Stories to be Told and thus their product marketing and brand strategy.
We tested different ways the brand could pitch the new proposition and arrived at a compelling direction for the Citizens Access team.
Finally, leveraging 11:FS’ vast experience of getting digital banking products to market quickly, the team defined a Minimum Loveable Product (MLP) prototype, roadmap and set of execution principles. This left the Citizens Access team with a clear direction on how to design a new breakthrough proposition and get that into the hands of their customers quickly.
Taking the 11:FS findings and ideas to the core of the offering, Grab set about building the app. In December 2019, it announced the launch of its Grab Pay Mastercard that sits at the core of its super app.
The GrabPay Mastercard is a significant step in Grab Financial’s strategic vision. It is the region’s first numberless card with access to an expanded rewards network and seamless Grab payments integration. It allows users, regardless of whether they have a bank account, to transact securely and easily online or offline, at nearly 53m merchants worldwide that accept Mastercard cards.
As an extension of the GrabPay wallet, it is highly secure with card details stored securely within the Grab app. It also has an in-app lock card function that is PIN-protected, allowing users to instantly suspend payments for lost cards.
Where super app’s go from here is only going to get more interesting. With Singapore and Malaysia both announcing their own Virtual Banking licences, the big tech companies from Asia are well placed to help the most underserved and over charged in ways that traditional banks can’t.
We’re proud to have played a major part in those developments through our collaboration with GrabPay on the launch it’s Mastercard.
