Digital Onboarding For Business Banking

In its pursuit to become the leading digital bank in South Africa and a business bank of note, a prominent, digital-first retail bank took a significant step forward by acquiring a well-known commercial business bank. Recognising the need to digitise the newly acquired business banking platform, the financial institution embarked on an ambitious journey to transform its customer experience. Retro Rabbit joined forces with the bank, leveraging our design and engineering expertise to revolutionise the onboarding process for their new business banking division.

Challenges Faced

Challenges

Transitioning from Paper-Based to Digital

Converting a 10+ page paper-based onboarding process into a fully digital platform posed a considerable challenge. We needed to completely reimagine the entire process while ensuring a seamless, low-friction transition for customers.

Catering to Diverse Business Ownerships

With a wide range of business ownership types - including sole proprietors and multi-director enterprises - we needed to create a unified onboarding experience that accommodated the unique operational and legal requirements of each category.

Overcoming Security Concerns

Balancing convenience with rigorous banking security, we had to address the potential risks associated with using alternative profiles for sign-ups and ensure a safe, fully compliant account opening process.

Streamlining Complex Workflows

Simplifying the multi-director signing process, facilitating secure information sharing, and enhancing data encryption were among the key hurdles we faced during the design and later engineering phases.

Engineering & UX Solutions

To tackle these challenges head-on, we devised a comprehensive strategy focused on improving the user experience (UX) and optimising the digital onboarding journey through the following solutions:

Data-Driven Simplification

By leveraging relevant data services and simplifying mandatory questions, we significantly reduced the number of fields and forms customers needed to fill out, radically streamlining the frontend experience.

Enhanced Director Signing Process

We introduced tracking features that enabled customers to send real-time signing status updates to other directors via email, simplifying the complex multi-party signing chain.

Seamless Document Integration

We engineered automated document upload features that allowed customers to submit bank statements instantly, enabling faster backend verification and reducing manual data entry.

Personalised Onboarding Journeys

We designed separate, customized user journeys for sole proprietors and multi-directors. Through personalized recommendations, we provided customers with tailored product offerings, enhancing engagement from day one.

Facial Recognition Technology

To enhance security and eliminate biometric friction, we implemented facial recognition technology, enabling corporate customers to securely sign all legal contracts with a single digital interaction.

Results

The outcomes of our collaboration with the pioneering financial institution were truly remarkable. We successfully designed and engineered the first fully digital business platform for the bank's new business banking division.

During the testing phase, the high-fidelity prototype received outstanding feedback, with customers giving it an average score of 9.25 out of 10. Additionally, the onboarding process was revolutionised, reducing the total business account opening time to under 10 minutes. The new platform empowered South African business owners to navigate compliance seamlessly with maximum efficiency.