Aligning Customer Experiences Following a Fintech Acquisition

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.

Chellenge

KeyBank acquired XUP Payments to strengthen its small business payments offering. The acquisition introduced new products, workflows, and customer expectations that needed to be integrated into the broader banking ecosystem.

Approach

Stakeholder workshops
User research
Journey mapping
Information architecture
Service blueprinting
Cross-functional alignment

CX/UX Research

How do we bridge the two companies?

We defined the customers are:
Customer = Businesses. User = Office Managers or Owner (depending on size)

We defined how customers interact with payment services: What was the overall best journey experience from beginning to end? We built partnerships with independent software vendors, like Epic Systems, to reference KeyBank’s financial services like credit card payments.

We defined what makes KeyBank different and what XUP brings with services: We conducted internal research, including interviews with stakeholders. We also created a competitive analysis.

Key Insight

Customers did not think in terms of separate products. They expected a seamless banking experience regardless of which platform or team delivered the capability.

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?

Outcome

Research revealed that traditional banks hold a key advantage over fintech competitors through trust, relationship-based service, and direct access to local banking support. While fintechs offered speed and convenience, business owners still valued having a dedicated banker who understood their needs and could provide personalized guidance.

To capitalize on this advantage, I recommended a relationship-driven onboarding strategy that combined digital convenience with proactive human support. Rather than relying solely on a single email or pre-filled form, the experience was designed as a phased engagement model that:

Leveraged trusted ISV partnerships to introduce KeyBank services.
Integrated contextual outreach and education within partner platforms.
Connected customers with dedicated relationship managers early in the onboarding journey.
Used customer feedback and business goals to personalize banking recommendations.
Streamlined documentation and onboarding workflows to reduce friction while maintaining a high-touch experience.

This approach aligned digital onboarding with KeyBank’s core differentiator: trusted relationships and personalized service for small businesses.