From Insight to Action: Redefining How Gen Z Banks
TEAM
Manuni Dhruv - UX Strategist and Interaction Designer
Jahnavi Kolakaluri - Product Designer and Strategist
TIMELINE
August 2024 - May 2025
SKILLS
UX Research and Strategy
Rapid Prototyping
Interaction Design
OUTCOME
Developed and presented high-fidelity prototype to 10 stakeholders at Capital One
Understanding the challenge
Capital One is the 9th largest U.S. bank, with 69 million potential Gen Z customers, many of whom will stick with their first bank for 17 years. But…
-
97% of Gen Z use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration.
-
Yet, social media creates doubt, helplessness, and FOMO-driven overspending.
-
Financial advice is often generic, non-actionable, or mistrusted.
How can we help Capital One's Gen Z customers make more informed financial decisions?
By designing features that bring context, personalization, and confidence to their financial journey.
Money Psychology Quiz
The quiz acts as a gateway to a more linked, contextual experience of the Capital One banking app. It is designed to provide joy and mystery to users, while also encouraging them to take action within the app as they embark on their financial literacy journey.
“I really like the idea [quiz], because it feels like a great first step when starting the financial literacy journey.”
Transaction Insights
What if you could get more out of your transactions? This feature supercharges transaction information so that users can find trends, stay on top of payments, and can keep an eye on budgets.
“I would actually use this; it would give me a better view of how my spending habits are over time.”
Launchpad AI
Users who struggle to apply financial concepts they encounter to their personal situation can consult with Launchpad AI to receive actionable plans built around their data.
“I really like this feature, because I use a lot of external sources to get this type of information. It's cool that I can get this info directly in the app."
Research & Discovery
80 survey responses
To learn about the financial and social media habits of various subgroups of Gen Z.
4 diary study participants
To learn about how social media impacted the thoughts and feelings of various Gen Z customers.
6 user interviews
To learn about Gen Z's biggest financial concerns and what products/strategies they currently use to educate themselves.
50+ sources for literature review
To surface trends that might not have come up in our limited research scope yet.
8 Capital One features audited
To understand current features offered by Capital One that build financial literacy.
10 apps for comparative analysis
To understand current industry standards around financial literacy and to gain design inspiration.
Content-rich, Skill-poor
Gen Z regularly encounters financial advice online but struggles to put it into practice. This creates a gap between knowing what to do and having the skills to actually do it.
Content stirs up emotions
Social media exposes Gen Z to constant financial content. This often stirs emotions of doubt, helplessness, and contemplation about their own financial decisions.
Insights
Transitions shape finances
Gen Z often goes through major life changes, such as moving or starting new jobs. These changes directly shape their financial needs and influence the actions they take.
Iterations while staying close to users
Ideate
Based on our findings, we did early ideation for features that could be incorporated into the Capital One app.
Reconciling User and Business Needs
We recognized that our spending-control concepts, while addressing user needs, were not aligned with business priorities. To evaluate trade-offs and guide the next stage of design, we created a feasibility matrix that considered multiple factors.
Lo-fi Prototypes and User Feedback
We created five low-fidelity prototypes and tested them with 70 Gen Z users to evaluate feature usefulness and intuitiveness. Insights from this feeback round led us to advance three concepts for further development.
Mid-fi prototypes and Expert Evaluations
We revamped and redid all three concepts. At this stage we talked to 12 experts in the fintech and UX fields to understand the usability and feasability of our prototypes.
.png)
Developing interactions that stick
Our goal with the mid-fidelity prototype was to experiment with interaction patterns and discover innovative ways to engage users with our ideas.
1. Turning a simple quiz into an engaging experience
What started as a straightforward quiz turned into an opportunity to explore how different interaction styles can shape engagement and clarity.
Bubble selection
Rotate interaction
Swipe to Select
Select one of two
Standard pill selection
Confusing because users don't know where they can click
These methods of engagement matched the users' mental models and hence were straightforward to use
2. Designing transaction insights that work the way users think
As we tested early concepts, it became clear that users struggled to find the right level of detail in their transaction insights. We responded by trying out new ways of presenting key information and simplifying the paths to access it.
Bite-sized insights on the transaction page itself
Surface-level insights didn’t offer much value, especially for users who wanted to track their habits over time.
VS.
Dedicated 'Transaction Insights' hub for in-depth insights
Users valued having a clear summary upfront, with the option to dive deeper into specific insights as needed.
How might we surface the types of transactions users care about most, in a way that feels clear and intuitive?
We learned that while they wanted precise details about their transactions, they also looked for guidance when things weren’t going well and reassurance when they were on the right track.
3. Designing AI experiences that build user confidence without eroding trust
We found that Gen Z expected AI to go beyond data analysis. They wanted it to explain new concepts, connect the dots, and suggest tangible actions they could take next.
Initial version just surfaced insights from your transactions
Increasing trust by choosing your own sources
Building confidence by learning about new financial topics
Taking actionable steps to work towards a goal with the help of AI
Building a high-fidelity prototype that Gen Z wants to use
1. Money Psychology Quiz
EMPHASIS ON DISCOVERY AND DELIGHT
We turned a standard onboarding quiz into something users actually enjoy. Through playful copy and interactive choices, the quiz learns about users while helping them reflect on their money habits.
ACTIONABLE NEXT STEPS
The results surprise, inform, and guide users toward actionable next steps.
CUSTOMIZE CATEGORIES
2. Transaction Insights
The app auto-categorizes your transactions while giving you control to reclassify purchases that don’t quite fit.
TRANSACTIONS AT A GLANCE
Get the most important details up front, before diving into specifics.
DYNAMIC SPEND VIEW
Spending Lens lets users explore their spending through filters that actually matter to them. It takes the manual work out of finding patterns and helps users make sense of their habits in seconds.
BUILDING MOMENTUM
Instead of overwhelming data, users get uplifting check-ins and achievable steps. These gentle nudges build confidence and awareness as they move toward their financial goals.
3. Launchpad AI
LEARN & PLAN WITH AI
Many users felt hesitant to ask basic financial questions, worrying they might sound inexperienced. Launchpad bridges that gap with AI-powered guidance that teaches, plans, and personalizes. It empowers users to explore new concepts and take confident steps toward their financial goals.
Takeaways
Navigating feasbility in fintech
We began with bold ideas about blending social media and banking for Gen Z. Conversations with experts and an understanding of financial regulations forced us balance innovation with feasibility, pushing us to design creatively within real-world constraints.
Turning ambiguity into clarity
The intersection of Gen Z, social media, and finance was vast. Using feasibility matrices, user feedback, and mentor critiques, we learned to narrow scope and translate ambiguity into actionable design decisions systematically.
Designing AI Experiences that build trust
Working with AI in fintech taught us that intelligence alone is not enough. Users need to trust the system before they act on its advice. The key is to design AI that feels transparent, supportive, and human, helping users build financial confidence without creating dependency.
This project tested our creativity and patience but taught us so much along the way. We came out of it with a stronger appreciation for how Gen Z navigates money and financial confidence.
In-depth Review
If you would like to see the nitty-gritty of research & design explorations that went into crafting this experience, please click here! I normally walk people through this in an interview environment or in a coffee chat.