Case study
Redesigning digital loan management
Transforming the loan management experience through comprehensive digital self-service
About the company
Nedbank Group is one of South Africa's four largest banks. Through its wide range of clusters the group offers a wide range of wholesale and retail banking, insurance, asset management and wealth management services.
Although its primary market is in South Africa, the group has presence in the rest of Africa, Middle East and Europe.
company
Nedbank
location
South Africa
industry
Banking, Fintech
audience
Retail banking clients
Platform
Web and Mobile
Year
2017-2018
duration
8 months
Project overview
Nedbank aimed to digitise and simplify the entire personal loan lifecycle for its customers. A comprehensive suite of digital loan management features was introduced to allow users to view, monitor, and manage their loans directly through the mobile and web apps, eliminating the need to call the call centre or visit a branch for most tasks.
The challenge
Customers found it inconvenient to manage their personal loans through the existing methods (calling the call centre or visiting a branch. These methods were time-consuming, provided fragmented information, and often led to long wait times for simple inquiries or actions. Nedbank identified an opportunity to improve customer experience and empowerment by enabling a self-service digital loan management hub.
User pain points
Difficulty accessing a consolidated view of their loan details
Long wait times to get simple questions answered or to request documents
Inconvenience of having to call or visit a branch to settle a loan or get a statement
Lack of clarity on the process for various loan-related actions
Goals
Customer-centric goals
Provide a seamless, intuitive, and centralised way for customers to manage their personal loans
Ensure customers have a clear view of their loan balance, and available options
Foster trust and financial control through transparency
Business goals
Reduce dependency on call centres and branches for common inquiries and transactions
Lower operational costs through digital self-service
Encourage widespread use of digital loan management features across platforms
Research & Discovery
User research
The target audience consisted of Nedbank customers with active personal loans. Through comprehensive research, we identified critical pain points and user needs that would inform the design direction.
Technical constraints
Integration with core banking systems while ensuring robust security and compliance
Competitive analysis
Other banks in South Africa offered limited digital loan management capabilities
User needs
A single, reliable source of truth for all loan information with the ability to perform key actions digitally
User needs
A single, reliable source of truth for all their loan information
The ability to perform key actions digitally, on their own time
Clear, upfront information about amounts, due dates, and processes
Design process
The loan hub concept
Designed a centralised Loan Details page as the single access point for all loan-related information and actions. This hub concept provided users with an overview dashboard, transaction history, settlement flow, and payment management options.
Key Design Decisions
Adoption
For complex actions like settlement, used a step-by-step wizard to break down the process and build user confidence
Clarity and Transparency
Designed clear data visualizations for balances and payment schedules, with plain-language labels
Centralisation
All loan information and actions were consolidated into one easily accessible section of the app
Action-oriented design
Made the primary actions prominent and easy to find
Results and impact
The digital loan management experience successfully transformed a traditionally opaque and inconvenient process into a convenient, transparent, and user-empowering journey.
60%
of loan settlements processed digitally within 6 months
Significant
decrease in call centre inquiries related to loan management
Improved
customer satisfaction for digital banking experience
Key achievements
Within 6 months of launching the Settlement Request feature, 60% of all loan settlements were processed digitally
Call centre inquiries related to general loan management decreased substantially
Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty scores related to digital banking experience
Positive reception for the convenience, transparency, and sense of control over loans
Business impact
Reduced operational costs by decreasing reliance on call centres and branches for routine loan inquiries and transactions
Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty scores related to the digital banking experience and loan management
Customer feedback
Positive reception for the convenience, transparency, and sense of control over their loan
Users specifically appreciated having 24/7 access to their loan information and the ability to perform actions without human intervention
Reflections and learnings
Challenges
Creating a unified and simple user experience while integrating with complex backend systems.
Educating customers about the new digital capabilities and shifting behaviour from call-to-click.
Key learnings
Phased rollouts allow for learning and iteration, reducing risk.
A user-centric, centralised design is more effective than building disparate features. Customers value a holistic view of their financial products.
Clear in-app communication and guidance are essential for driving adoption of new self-service features.
Future improvements
Proactive notifications
Alert users about upcoming payments, rate changes, or potential savings from early settlement.
Financial wellness insights
Provide tools and visualizations to help users understand the impact of their loan and plan for repayment.
Flexible repayment options
Allow users to easily adjust payment dates or amounts within policy limits.
Conclusion
Nedbank’s digital loan management experience successfully transformed a traditionally opaque and inconvenient process into a convenient, transparent, and user-empowering journey. By centralizing information and enabling key self-service actions, the project not only solved critical customer pain points but also demonstrated the significant business value of digitizing core banking services through a user-centered design approach.
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