Albert started as a personal money savings app. It quickly transformed into the Neobank it is right now. I joined the team as they were launching the checking account called Albert Cash. As startup tend to build lean and move fast, the initial version of the feature only offered a basic debit card access point to the money in your account.
In joining, I focused in building features to ease money movement in and out of the app; sending checks, depositing a checks, and switching one’s direct deposit to the app.
TL;DR
I designed ways for people to move money in and out of the app.
My Role
Product Designer — Discovery, User Research, Design
Sending a check
Send a check to an individual or business by mail all through the Albert app. Using the Lob API, people will be able to enter a name and mailing address and send checks to individuals or businesses.
Research & Insights
According to the Federal Reserve
• Checks still amount for 12% of all non cash payments
• Mainly used for rent & bills
• Demographic skews older
Benefits of using checks for payments
• Still valid non-digital dependent method of paying
• Inclusive to the small population not online
Monitor
Usage was very low as expected with sending checks now a days
So, why start with this feature?
• Low impact, but also low effort.
• Operationally, we already had an API integration that we used to send checks to people if they were unable to withdraw their funds due to issues with their linked accounts.
Depositing a check
Sending checks it’s only half the feature until you’re also able to receive them. Working with the UrbanFT API to help process and validate the checks themselves, people are now able to scan a check into their Albert Cash account.
Research & Insights
According to the Federal Reserve
• Even though we expect checks to go away soon, there are still some people that receive their paychecks via physical checks.
Benefits of using checks for payments
• It’s an easy and convenient way to deposit a check without going to the bank or ATM.
Monitor
Usage is low but consistent
• People are still receiving physical checks from employers.
Identified a problem
• We have seen an increase in returned checks due to duplicate presentment
• We have the weaker claims even though we were the earlier deposit because our endorsement is “for mobile deposits only.” Instead of “for mobile deposit at Albert only”
Direct deposit switch
One of our biggest additions to encourage Albert Cash as a primary bank account is by implementing automatic direct deposit switching. Partnering up with AtomicFI, this process was simplified incrementally.
Research & Insights
Clear business impact
• One of the main revenue flows for Albert Cash is interchange
Also create more loyal customers lowering our churn rate.
Clear user benefit
• Faster & more secure method of receiving a paycheck
