Designing Digital Onboarding for Business Banking

In its pursuit to become the leading digital bank in South Africa and a business bank of note, Capitec Bank took a significant step forward by acquiring Mercantile Bank, a well known business bank.

Recognising the need to digitise their business banking platform, Capitec embarked on an ambitious journey to transform their customer experience. Retro Rabbit joined forces with Capitec, leveraging our expertise to revolutionise the onboarding process for their new business banking division.

Challenges Faced

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 reimagine the entire process while ensuring a seamless transition for customers.

Exploring new technologies and services

Integrating cutting-edge technologies and exploring innovative services was crucial to developing a robust and future-proof digital banking platform.

Catering to diverse business ownerships

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

Overcoming security concerns

Balancing convenience and security, we had to address potential risks associated with using social media for sign-ups and ensure a safe and secure account opening process.

Streamlining complex workflows

Simplifying the director signing process, facilitating information sharing, and enhancing data security were among the key challenges we faced during the design and later engineering phases.

Solutions

To tackle these challenges head-on, we devised a comprehensive strategy that focused on improving the user experience (UX) and optimising the onboarding journey. Our solutions included:

Data-driven simplification

By leveraging relevant services and simplifying questions, we significantly reduced the number of fields and forms customers needed to fill out, streamlining the onboarding process.

Enhanced director signing process

We introduced features that enabled customers to send signing status updates to other directors via email, simplifying the complex director signing process.

Seamless integration

We allowed customers to upload their bank statements, enabling faster verification and reducing manual data entry.

Personalised onboarding journey

Through personalised recommendations, we provided customers with tailored product offerings, enhancing their onboarding experience and promoting engagement.

User journey customisation

We designed separate user journeys for sole proprietors and multi-directors, ensuring a seamless and tailored experience for each category.

Facial recognition technology

To enhance security and streamline the signing process, we implemented facial recognition technology, enabling customers to sign all contracts with a single interaction.

Results Achieved

The outcomes of our collaboration with Capitec Bank were truly remarkable. We successfully designed the first fully digital business platform for Capitec Bank's new business banking division. During the testing phase, the prototype received outstanding ratings, with customers giving it an average score of 9.25 out of 10. Their feedback highlighted their strong desire to see the platform brought to life.

Additionally, the onboarding process was revolutionised, reducing the account opening time to under 10 minutes. The new digital platform boasted a simple, user-friendly design, empowering business owners to seamlessly navigate the process with ease and efficiency.