Citi Mobile App

FintechMobile bankingUX scalabilitySystem constraints

Improving usability and scalability of Citi’s mobile banking experience across regions.

My Role
Lead Designer
Skills

User journey

HiFi Wireframes

Prototyping

Project length
3 months
Launch in
2020

Problem

Design a scalable and intuitive mobile banking experience while:

  • Supporting multiple regions with varying product requirements
  • Navigating legacy systems and existing UX patterns
  • Improving usability without disrupting existing user behaviour
  • Aligning across multiple stakeholders (product, tech, brand)

Role & Ownership

  • Led UX design for key flows within Citi’s mobile banking app
  • Identified usability gaps and proposed improvements across core journeys
  • Designed new interaction patterns within constraints of an existing design system
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams across regions to align on solutions

Constraints & Challenges

  • Existing design system limited flexibility for new interaction patterns
  • Multiple stakeholder approvals slowed iteration cycles
  • Regional variations introduced inconsistencies in product behaviour
  • Legacy architecture restricted certain UX improvements

Approach

I started by auditing existing user journeys to identify friction points and inconsistencies across flows.

Focused on improving:

  • Account overview clarity
  • Transaction and payment flows
  • Card management and controls

Instead of redesigning from scratch, I introduced incremental UX improvements that aligned with existing patterns while enhancing usability.

Where required, I proposed new layout structures that extended the current design system without breaking consistency.

Key Decisions

  • Balanced innovation with familiarity to avoid disrupting existing users
  • Introduced modular layouts to improve scalability across regions
  • Simplified complex financial data through structured information hierarchy
  • Designed within system constraints while pushing for incremental improvements

Impact

  • Improved usability across key banking flows without requiring full redesign
  • Enabled scalable UX patterns adaptable across multiple regions
  • Reduced friction in high-frequency user journeys
  • Facilitated smoother collaboration across distributed stakeholder teams