Bank Linking & Data Sharing Consent –Redesign

Role: Senior Product Designer

Platforms: Mobile + Web

Company: Tarabut (Open Banking Platform)

Duration: 3–4 months

1. Overview

I led the complete redesign of the bank linking and data-sharing consent experience for an open banking platform used across multiple GCC banks. The goal was to simplify the journey, increase trust, and improve conversion while staying fully compliant with each bank’s regulatory and technical constraints.

This redesign became one of the largest and most impactful projects in the product, influencing how users link their bank accounts and approve access to financial data across the region.

2. The Problem

Before the redesign, the bank-linking flow faced several challenges:

  • Users didn’t clearly understand what data they were sharing and why.

  • High drop-offs occurred at the consent screen.

  • Banks had different mandatory requirements, leading to inconsistent user experiences.

  • The legal text was long and intimidating.

  • The design lacked the trust and clarity expected in a financial interaction.

As a result, conversion rates were lower than expected, and onboarding new banks took longer due to inconsistent UX patterns.

3. Goals & Success Metrics

Primary Goals

  • Improve understanding of the consent step

  • Reduce drop-offs during bank linking

  • Increase user trust

  • Create a scalable experience adaptable to multiple banks

  • Improve the speed of onboarding new financial institutions

Success Metrics

  • Higher completion rate

  • Fewer user errors and fewer customer support complaints

  • Shorter time to complete linking

  • Faster internal integration for new partner banks

4. My Role & Responsibilities

As the Senior Product Designer, I led:

  • UX research & journey analysis

  • Competitive benchmarking

  • Concept creation (3 different design directions)

  • Wireframing & final product design

  • Usability testing (new + returning users)

  • Collaboration with Compliance, Engineering & Product

  • Establishing scalable, reusable UX patterns for partner banks

5. Research & Analysis


User Journey Breakdown

I mapped the entire flow from bank selection → authentication → data sharing, → successful connection.

Key findings included:

  • Long legal paragraphs created hesitation

  • Users struggled to understand what exactly they were granting access to

  • Some banks required additional fields, breaking the consistency

  • Confusion when selecting multiple accounts

  • Lack of trust cues during sensitive steps. This analysis guided the redesign decisions.

6. Concept Exploration

Before moving into the final solution, I designed three different concepts, each solving the problem from a different angle:

Concept A – Simplified Consent

Focused on breaking down permissions into small, digestible parts with clear explanations.

Concept B – Visual Clarity & Trust

Introduced strong visual hierarchy, trust elements, and better spacing to improve readability.

Concept C – Reduced Steps

Explored a shorter, more guided journey to minimize friction.

These concepts helped the team choose the right direction before committing to the final UI.

7. Final Design Solution

The final solution combined the strongest elements from each concept:

  • Clear hierarchy of steps

  • Simplified and humanized consent language

  • Structured permissions with short explanations

  • Scalable layout adaptable for different banks

  • Better indication of progress

  • More intelligent handling of multi-account selection

  • Unified design patterns across the entire flow

  • Flow diagram

  • Parts of the UI blurred

  • Icons or wireframe shapes

  • High-level screens without text

8. Usability Testing

We ran comparative usability testing between the previous design and the new redesigned flow.

The results were clear:

• 77 percent of participants preferred the new experience.

• Users completed the journey faster and with fewer questions.

• The consent screen became significantly easier to understand.

Key Results

  • Users understood permission types faster

  • Legal text became less intimidating

  • Trust increased significantly

  • Users completed the flow with fewer questions

  • Hesitation at the consent step decreased

9. Impact & Results

The redesign produced measurable improvements:

  • +27 percent increase in completion rate

  • Noticeable drop in consent-screen abandonment

  • Faster onboarding of partner banks due to reusable UX patterns

  • Better user comprehension and fewer support tickets

  • Higher user trust during financial interactions

10. Future Opportunities (Concepts Explored)

These are advanced ideas I explored but intentionally kept out of the final release:

  • Voice or AI-assisted bank search

  • “Powered by SAMA” trust indication

  • Icons explaining each permission

  • Dynamic account selection based on use case (salary, transfers, payments)

  • Displaying balance & currency for clarity

  • AI or a human help assistant during the flow

  • Smart ordering of banks (trending → recent → alphabetical)

  • Personalized experience for returning users

These ideas can be revisited in future iterations.

11. Final Takeaway

This project was not about redesigning two screens.

It was about redesigning trust, clarity, and consistency in one of the most sensitive financial journeys.

The work created a foundation that scales across multiple banks and markets, improves user confidence, and accelerates open banking adoption.

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