Strategy: Traditional Bank Getting into the Payment Service Game
How do we complete with Square and Stripe?
2023 KeyBank/XUP Payment Project
The Project Focus in UX Process
The Problem – Fintechs rule in digtial payments
KeyBank had small businesses as customers for their accounts. However, they chose Square or Stripe for payment setup. Why? And how can we change it.
The startup XUP Payments was a startup acquired by KeyBank in 2021. The $187 billion asset bank bought the fintech to streamline its commercial payments business.
Business Goal
XUP Payment was KeyBank’s solution to bring payment devices to small businesses—a one-shop set for getting one’s business up and running.
My Role
My role was to mentor and guide the UX/UI team in designing platforms to onboard new businesses (In-branch or online).
We research the current and competing customer service experience from the first sales meeting to the onboarding process.
As a lead, the overall goal was to work with the stakeholders and guide the design team to implement needed product changes.
CX/UX Research
How do we cross-promote?
We Defined the ‘Who’ are customers are:
Customer = Businesses. User = Office Managers or Owner (depending on size)
We defined ‘How’ customers interact with payment services: What the overall best journey experience was from beginning to end? We built partnerships with independent software vendors, like Epic Systems, to reference KeyBank financial services like credit card payments.
Research Breakdown
Persona
Found Gap and our Opportunity in the ‘Learning’ Stage –
From the journey map, one of the was a key discovery was office managers’ heavy task to weigh the benefits of moving to another bank and make the arguement to their boss.
What are the headaches? How long will it take? Are the rates and services better than the other bank?
….Are we really getting a deal?
Results
We found that traditional banks have an advantage with direct customer service. KeyBank’s strategy is to build community and personal relationships with businesses. We need to build on our trust by starting with an easy onboarding process and access to help either in the branch, on the phone, or online.
In-person and direct phone calls to a personal banker within the area are not offered with fintechs.
I advised we build phases of communication and not just build one UI design step of a pre-filled form in an email campaign.
We strategized by:
1. Design a marketing campaign with the ISV partner. Trust through their software management provider and outline central reporting and embedded finances.
2. Leverage our partner’s notification with their system to contact KeyBank.
2. Setting up a ‘How Can We Help’ contact. Once they sign up with payment services, An assigned relationship manager would directly email and reach out to talk to the Office Manager of the business.
3. Leverage our partner’s survey notification to ask about their banking services. What would they like to improve? (lower fees, same-day payment, etc.).
4. The relationship manager would be the contact one. We would leverage pre-forms and documentation to empower him to send and expedite the process.
