Overview
When I joined the project, the fintech app's onboarding had a 40% drop-off rate at the identity verification step. Users were abandoning the app before ever seeing its core value. My goal was to understand why, and redesign the experience to dramatically improve completion.
The Problem
New users were required to complete KYC (Know Your Customer) verification before accessing any features. The flow asked for documents upfront, with no context on why they were needed or how long it would take.
Key issues identified:
- No progress indicator — users didn't know how many steps were left
- Document upload instructions were unclear and often failed silently
- The app gave no sense of what waited on the other side of verification
Research
I ran a combination of methods to understand the problem deeply:
User Interviews
Spoke with 12 users who had dropped off during onboarding. A recurring theme: "I didn't know if this app was trustworthy enough to share my ID with."
Funnel Analysis
Using Hotjar session recordings and analytics, I identified that 80% of drop-offs happened on the document upload screen, not the ID entry screens.
Competitive Analysis
Reviewed onboarding flows from Revolut, Monzo, and Wise — all of whom front-load trust signals and contextualise the verification step.
Key Insights
- Users need to experience value before being asked to give something
- Trust signals (security badges, plain-language explanations) reduce friction
- Progress visibility reduces abandonment significantly
Design Process
Information Architecture
I restructured the flow so users could explore the app's core features (in a limited "guest" mode) before being prompted to verify. Verification was reframed as unlocking features, not as a gate.
Prototyping & Testing
I built three variations of the verification screen in Figma and ran unmoderated tests via Maze with 40 participants. The variant with an inline progress bar and a "Why we need this" expandable section performed 2x better on task completion.
Final Design
The final flow included:
- A 4-step progress indicator visible throughout
- Plain-language explanations for each document type
- A trust strip citing encryption and regulation compliance
- An optimistic UI pattern — advancing the screen immediately while the upload processed in the background
Outcome
After shipping the redesigned onboarding:
- Drop-off reduced by 40% on the verification step
- Day-7 retention increased by 18% (users who completed onboarding were sticking around)
- App Store reviews mentioning "easy to set up" increased significantly in the following quarter
What I Learned
The biggest lesson was that trust is designed, not assumed. Users aren't reluctant to share their ID — they're reluctant to share it with something that feels uncertain or unclear. A few well-placed words and a visible progress bar made a material difference.