How to Design a Fintech SaaS for the IFC (World Bank Group), that Meets the Needs of Banks Worldwide?
GreenOS is an innovative loan management SaaS built for bank loan departments worldwide. Backed by the IFC (World Bank Group), the GreenOS team is a fintech startup from China, founded by loan specialists from finance industry.
Results
- Prototype Design through IFC Review: Complete the GreenOS app’s interactive prototype in 2 weeks, ensuring it meets the needs of the bank’s clients, IFC, and the GreenOS team.
- Complete GreenOS SaaS System Design in 4 Weeks: Deliver the design for the app, SaaS platform, and backend within 4 weeks, ensuring simplicity and ease of use while helping GreenOS manage training costs.
- Improved Design and Development ROI: By creating a flexible, scalable design system, I completed what was initially a 6-month design task in just 4 weeks, cutting design and development costs to less than a third of the original estimate.
Challenge 01
The challenge #1 was to design the GreenOS app’s UI and create an interactive prototype within just two weeks, with no market analysis, user research, or reference designs to guide us.
What made the task even more challenging was that GreenOS’s users were from bank loan departments across different countries, my direct collaborator was from a Chinese fintech company, and the design had to win over decision-makers from the IFC (World Bank Group).
First Principle
Traditional methods like Design Sprints couldn’t meet a tight timeline like this. Instead, I focused on what matters: pinpointing three critical design decisions that would shape the app, then created the UX and UI using proven design patterns. The three key priorities I set—specific user, typical environment, and crucial experience—come together like this: an Indian bank employee, at a client’s factory, completing a loan review smoothly and securely.
Challenge 02
Challenge #2 was designing the full GreenOS ecosystem, which includes the mobile app, SaaS platform, and backend. GreenOS integrates several loan risk management tools, so the system features multiple user roles, workflows, and interfaces.
To streamline usability and minimize training costs, the mobile app and desktop system must ensure a consistent or similar user flow and interaction design.
Challenge 03
Challenge #3 was to minimize design and development costs. GreenOS is a complex SaaS platform for banking professionals and an innovative financial tool system. Its complexity and innovation require fast iterations of product and UX design.
Typically, clients would need to hire full-time designers to continuously refine the design over time, which creates significant costs for the GreenOS team.
