Empowering Digital Banking for BMO's US Customers

I led the end-to-end redesign of BMO’s consumer banking platform, transforming a legacy experience into a modern, scalable solution. By improving usability and consolidating design patterns, the project delivered a significant increase in client satisfaction and new business growth.

impact

  • Client Satisfaction:

    • ↑ +12 point increase in NPS (Net Promoter Score).

    • ↑ CSAT score climbed from 3.4/5 to 4.0/5.

    • Qualitative Feedback: Users consistently praised "clearer navigation," "easier account switching," and a "cleaner, more modern UI" that felt "more like a bank website."

  • Business Growth:

    • New Revenue Channel Enabled: Successfully introduced the first cross-sell capabilities within the authenticated experience.

    • ↑ Increased Traffic: Saw a significant increase in traffic to cross-sell landing pages, driving new interest and leads.

  • Accessibility:

    • Enhanced Equitable Access: Addressed critical accessibility barriers (e.g., problematic focus order, screen reader issues with old collapsible elements) by implementing directly accessible card systems and robust component patterns.

the challenge: a digital experience stuck in the past

Our legacy consumer banking platform was hindering both users and business growth. Users wrestled with an outdated UI, a clunky 50/50 split layout burying crucial information, and confusing navigation that eroded trust. For the business, it meant missed opportunities, specifically the absence of cross-sell capabilities within the logged-in experience, impacting new account openings. We needed a fundamental transformation.

research & insights

  • Customer interviews revealed critical usability and trust issues, including:

    • An overwhelming sentiment that the existing interface was outdated and unreliable.

    • Difficulty navigating due to the dual navigation back-arrow.

    • Getting unstuck in key task flows.

  • I conducted a site audit to get a sense of the complexities of the experience and to define a strategic path forward.

    • A detailed sitemap helped to understand the scale of the challenge.

    • The identification of page types (Detail, Hub, Task Flow, System Feedback) served as a blueprint for a set of scalable templates.

    • An interaction audit clarified the feasibility of design adjustments, including identifying existing components like a "drawer-style" modal that would remain untouched due to technical constraints.

design strategy

  • Spatial Efficiency: Utilize purpose-driven layouts to maximize efficiency and usability.

  • Intuitive Design: Streamline navigation and interactions that reduce friction and cognitive load.

  • Brand Trust: Leverage a modern visual language and cohesive patterns to reinforce brand credibility and foster user trust.

  • Growth Enablement: Strategically identify and integrate contextual cross-sell opportunities to empower business growth.

ideation

Armed with robust research, I moved into defining the platform's new structural and interaction paradigms, translating insights into tangible design concepts

  • Redefined content hierarchy, prioritizing key financial data.

  • Explored multiple structures, leading to the 70/30 dynamic layout (wider primary content area, narrower contextual column), validated by user preference for its "familiar" feel.

  • Began developing scalable card systems to replace problematic collapsible content.