Overview

Dhanlap, a FinTech company, offers Loans Against Mutual Funds (LAMF). Market volatility and RBI regulations led to unexpected loan disbursement fluctuations, leaving users frustrated and confused. As their Founding Product Designer, I spearheaded a UX redesign of the LAMF dashboard to enhance transparency and empower users.

Problem Statement

• Market volatility led to unexpected reductions in loan disbursals for 5% of Dhanlap's LAMF users. While seemingly small, this translated into a significant uptick in frustrated support calls.
• "I've got a loan for 10 lakhs, now I could see only 9 lakhs as a disbursable amount, what the hell happened to the remaining 1 lakh?" User confusion and anger threatened Dhanlap's reputation.
• This strained our limited support team and risked hindering ambitious growth goals, as trust is crucial in the FinTech sector.

User Impact

• Emotional Toll: Users experienced extreme frustration and anxiety due to unexpected reductions in their loan disbursal amounts.
• Financial Strain: The issue compounded during market downturns, as users were forced to either pledge additional funds or prepay loans, both unfavorable options in an already stressed financial situation.
• Damaged Trust: Even though the problem stemmed from external regulations, Dhanlap's brand reputation suffered as users faced unexpected setbacks through the platform.

Users & Audience

• Primary users: Existing mutual fund investors seeking short-term liquidity.
• Generally tech-savvy, but with varying levels of financial knowledge.

Process & Methods

• Market Research: Studied LAMF products, regulations, and common user pain points.
• Customer Support Insights: Analyzed support tickets to pinpoint specific areas of confusion.
• Competitive Analysis: Examined dashboards from other financial products for inspiration.
• Ideation: Sketched concepts, prioritizing clear communication (loan health meter).
• Iterative Design: Wireframes refined into high-fidelity mockups.

Solution

• Loan Health Meter: To address user frustration and empower proactive decision-making, I introduced the Loan Health Meter. This intuitive visual indicator, prominently placed for maximum visibility, provided real-time clarity on a user's loan status. It continuously updated, ensuring users were always well-informed.
• Familiar Terminology: Borrowing from the clarity of traditional loans, I employed terms like 'Credit Limit' and 'Drawing Power' to enhance understanding.
• Actionable Insights: Hover effects provided detailed breakdowns of key metrics, allowing users to delve deeper without cluttering the main view. Crucially, a prominently placed 'Prepay' button encouraged proactive loan management, aligning with Dhanlap's commitment to transparency and user empowerment.
• Support Integration: Recognizing that some users might need additional assistance, I included a clear 'Contact Support' button for easy access.

Outcomes & Impact

• Reduced Support Calls: After launching the redesigned dashboard, support tickets related to LAMF confusion decreased by an estimated 20-25%.
• Proactive Engagement: Users demonstrated increased engagement with the Loan Health feature, with a 15% increase in hover interactions.
• Positive User Sentiment: Informal feedback from the support team indicated a shift in user calls towards proactive clarification and prepayment exploration.
• Business Impact: The improved user experience played a part in increasing LAMF loan retention.

Key Components:

Achievements & Constraints

• NBFC Partnership: Successfully negotiated a 10% LTV margin with NBFCs, providing increased flexibility for some users.
• Problem-Solving Mindset: Explored alternative collateral solutions, demonstrating proactive problem-solving.
• Transparent Design: Acknowledged that overdraft users remained constrained, showcasing honesty and an understanding of the problem's scope.
• "Margin Shortfall" Concept: Introduced clear terminology and a user-centric Loan Health metric to empower users with information.

Next Steps: Iteration & Improvement

Addressing Inclusivity: Feedback indicates that some users still faced challenges understanding complex financial terminology. Next steps include:
Simplified tooltips for key terms.
Onboarding tutorial explaining Loan Health and LTV concepts.

Lessons Learned
‍
Adaptability & Prioritizations: Navigating the constraints of designing within a startup environment sharpened my ability to identify and decisively address the highest-impact UX challenges. Through careful prioritisation and creative workarounds, I delivered a solution that meaningfully improved user experience and addressed the business need of reducing customer support burden.
Efficiency & Impact: This experience highlighted the importance of streamlined design workflows. To maximize my impact, I began developing a basic design system, facilitating efficient UI creation. This freed up valuable time for deeper focus on user research, problem definition, and impactful ideation.