Tesco Bank wanted to reimagine how customers apply for loans, turning a slow, repetitive process into a fast, reassuring, and human experience. Many customers found the existing journey confusing and time-consuming, with inconsistent screens, repetitive questions, and no way to pause and return later.
The goal was ambitious but clear:
Make applying for a loan feel as simple and trustworthy as shopping with Tesco itself.
To achieve this, we set out to rebuild the loan onboarding journey from the ground up, a consistent, scalable design system that could support not just loans, but every future Tesco Bank product.
The old loan process asked too many questions, had no save-and-return option, and lacked the consistency customers expected from a trusted brand like Tesco. Drop-offs were high, and accessibility gaps meant some customers couldn’t complete the journey at all. We needed to create a simpler, faster, and more transparent experience that built confidence at every step.
Make applying for a loan feel as simple and trustworthy as shopping with Tesco itself.
As Lead Product Designer, I guided the end-to-end redesign of Tesco Bank’s loan onboarding journey, from research and UX flows to interface design and prototyping. I worked closely with product managers, developers, copywriters, and accessibility specialists to unify the customer experience, reduce friction, and build a scalable foundation for future banking products.
I analysed customer data to find where people dropped off and why. I also reviewed other banks’ journeys and conducted usability testing to uncover moments of confusion or frustration. These insights helped us pinpoint the biggest opportunities: simplify navigation, remove redundant questions, and give customers more control over their experience.
I rebuilt the application around clarity and flow. Each question had a clear purpose, with friendly, human-centred copy and visual cues that guided customers through every step. I also introduced save & retrieve, allowing people to pause their application and continue later, a major improvement that directly addressed one of the top customer pain points.
To bring the vision to life, I built a full responsive prototype that could be tested and experienced by both stakeholders and developers. This hands-on approach built confidence and alignment early, ensuring every decision was tested and validated before launch.
Throughout development, I partnered with engineers to fine-tune details, from error states to accessibility compliance. The final system included dynamic personalisation using existing Tesco customer data, consistent UI patterns, and a unified brand voice that felt simple and trustworthy.
The redesigned Next-Gen Loans Application was launched, and it was Tesco Bank’s first major step toward fully modernising its digital financial journeys.
Customers could now:
Behind the scenes, the new platform laid a scalable foundation for all future Tesco Bank digital products, ensuring consistency and adaptability across teams and releases.
Impact
My design transformed Tesco Bank’s loan application into a faster, clearer, and more human experience, reducing drop-offs, improving completion rates, and establishing a scalable design foundation now used across multiple banking products.
This project reminded me that designing for finance isn’t just about forms and flows, it’s about creating calm in moments of complexity. When people apply for a loan, they’re making an important decision; our job is to make that experience feel clear, safe, and effortless.