BVR Bank: why only 18% of users were active
Research-led UX for a bank’s mobile app, from 15 interviews and a survey to a tested prototype.
ROLE
Team lead, research & UX
TEAM
4 designers
TIMELINE
7 weeks
DOMAIN
Fintech, mobile app
Making everyday banking make sense.
Team project with a big client
01 / PROBLEM
A card people had. Not a bank they used.
Only 18.42% of BVR Bank’s users were active. Some used the card only for deals and stopped when the deals ended. Others used it rarely, or made transactions that legally required the bank to block the card.
02 / GOAL
Find what was holding the product back. Improve acquisition and retention.
03 / RESEARCH
Listen first. Then connect the dots.
Business interview
Heuristic analysis
Competitor analysis
Desk research
15 user interviews
Survey
15 INTERVIEWS / 4 CUSTOMER SEGMENTS / 20 QUESTIONS PER SEGMENT
83.3%
Clients need their salary deposited into the account to use the card more.
72.7%
Non-clients want more discounts and personalized offers.
45.7%
Non-clients didn’t know BVR is a separate bank.
“I transferred funds from my other card to a BVR account, which triggered financial monitoring. After confirming the transaction and repeatedly following up with the bank via SMS, I finally received a response two months later informing me that the bank had decided to close my account.”
Svitlana, 37
I turned the research into job stories, then three ‘How might we’ questions: better offers, clear legal limits, and clear credit repayment terms.
04 / FROM INSIGHT TO DECISION
What we heard. What we changed.
01
Users didn’t know repayment terms and dates
A payment calendar that shows all dates and lets users pay instantly
02
Accounts were blocked because of legal limits users didn’t know
An NBU limits page and a homepage widget with remaining-limit progress bars
03
Exceeding the declared income triggered blocks
A warning in the registration questionnaire
04
Weak tooltip onboarding and low activation
Story-style intro videos, then a top-up bonus (1₴ = 1 balobonus)
05
Users wanted more valuable offers
Exchanging bonuses for partner promo codes
05 / VALIDATION
Test it early. Make it clearer.
GUERRILLA USER TESTING
100%
Found the calendar easily.
60%
Were confused about entering the amount after tapping Pay.
40%
Didn’t understand the dots in the calendar.
I fixed these issues before the final design.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
“I like the idea of exchanging Balo bonuses for promo codes. It’s a lot of work, but we’ll test it out and see how it goes. Explaining the product through stories would also be great: it’s engaging, and we know it works.”
Kristina Karmazina, CEO of BVR Bank
06 / THE SOLUTION
Less uncertainty. More everyday value.
Payment calendar for tracking and managing credit limit payments
Seeing limits before reaching them to avoid account blockage
Story—like onboarding that encourages immediate user engagement
Redemption of Balo bonuses for promo codes at partner stores
07 / AI IN MY PROCESS
A little help with the heavy lifting.
I used ChatGPT to prepare question lists for the business and user interviews and to cluster interview artifacts during synthesis.
08 / MY ROLE AND WHAT I LEARNED
Leading together. Learning by doing.
I led a team of 4 designers and took part in every stage. Responsibilities were split evenly, so I ran some of the interviews myself while coordinating the team.
01 / Working with a mature product
02 / New frameworks: AARRR, Value Proposition Canvas, Lean Canvas, 4 Powers
03 / Leading a team
04 / Processing large amounts of data