Empowering Financial Literacy and Trust through Personalized UX Design

Alex Hachey, VP, Sr. User Experience Design Manager at T. Rowe Price

Alex Hachey, VP, Sr. User Experience Design Manager at T. Rowe Price

In an era defined by information abundance, the finance industry has witnessed an influx of investment data inundating social media and financial websites. Concurrently, quantitative and qualitative studies have unveiled a disconcerting trend: a rapid decline in financial literacy across the United States. With each generation, the retirement savings gap has widened, highlighting the urgency for simplified financial education and accessible investing products. As traditional pensions fade and inflation erodes the retirement savings of millions of Americans, the need to demystify financial processes has never been more pressing.

As information fatigue leaves many Americans perplexed and hesitant about investment decisions, it’s unsurprising that average investors harbor pent-up emotions about investing. Moreover, the societal taboo surrounding wealth discussions inhibits rational dialogue, leaving individuals without a trustworthy plan for investing and wealth management.

Recognizing these challenges, a paradigm shift in financial literacy has become increasingly imperative. As a UX Design Leader with a passion for making financial literacy and investing more accessible for individual investors, this highly emotional, high-stakes environment is the “perfect storm” for a design-led transformation of digital investing experiences.

My colleagues and I at T. Rowe Price are achieving this as we introduce personalization into our Individual Investor account servicing experiences. Personalization, in essence, is information contextualized. Amid the information deluge and ensuing fatigue, investors yearn for authenticity and context. Numeric data alone lacks meaning for average investors. Hence, the inclusion of context empowers investors with a deeper understanding, boosting confidence and informed decision-making.

"By embedding personalization into the user journey, we intend to transform ordinary client relationships into Primary Investing Relationships (PIR’s)"

We intend to challenge the notion that confidence and trust can only be achieved by decades-long relationships with financial advisors. We believe that trust and confidence can be earned with proactive communication that enables investors to understand and realize their unique potential. While many investors log into their accounts to view the “what” in their portfolios, we dare to contextualize the “what” with the “why” and guide investors toward “how” they can better achieve their goals. As we reinforce their confidence with every milestone achieved, we believe we will build client trust. To deliver the delicate balance of personalization at scale, we will need to master the product design fundamentals:

1. Understanding our clients

Empathy research and design-thinking methodologies have helped us understand our clients like never before. This is still not enough to achieve personalization at scale. We must bake into our products a system-level understanding of their financial dreams. We must activate our attitudinal segmentation models to communicate with clients in a manner that feels authentic and appeals to their decision-making styles.

2. Designing for accessibility and inclusivity

Everyone should have the right to retire with dignity. Achieving financial dreams should not be a privilege for the few. To design a retirement system that works for everyone, we must use language and design experiences that everyone can understand. Accessible design is good design, regardless of whether you are physically or cognitively impaired. Investing in one’s financial goals is uniquely personal; it should be designed for people of all backgrounds.

3. Building for simplicity and clarity

Motivating ordinary people to set aside their income for any purpose is difficult. The best way to prompt behavior when there is less motivation to do so is to make the behavior itself easier. Simpler transaction experiences and guides that demystify and facilitate financial processes can offer bite-sized education to reinforce confidence and task completion. Prompts that amplify account anomalies or condition positive investing behavior using “baby-steps” tactics can help initiate and tailor investing experiences to an individual’s unique pace and ability.

4. Seamless omni-channel experiences.

We must meet our investors where they are and deliver a consistent, holistic experience. Our digital experience, communication strategy, phone channel support and marketing must be fully orchestrated and optimized across every channel. The signals and interactions captured across channels will guide and inform an individual’s subsequent journey, improving the quality of the client experience with every touchpoint.

By embedding personalization into the user journey, we intend to transform ordinary client relationships into Primary Investing Relationships (PIR’s), acting as the lead investment firm across their total investment accounts. This kind of relationship promises increased investments, retention, and future consolidation of wealth. It’s all about cultivating trust through information with context. The convergence of data and context enables users to perceive us as partners, giving our advice and prompts greater influence.

A path to customer acquisition and a larger share of the wallet within banking and wealth management hinges on dedicated financial partnerships. Through thought leadership, contextual information, and proactive communication, we empower clients to understand, learn, and make confident choices for their future. This cycle of prompting behavior and reinforcing value will extricate average investors from the quagmire of financial illiteracy, bridging the retirement savings gap and catalyzing economic progress for millions of Americans.