UX: high-net-worth banking customers, London UK

When a client of ours asked us to support them for a project for a well-known global bank, we were keen to help. FieldworkHub are well versed in market research for the financial services sector, and as this was a particularly tough recruit, we revelled in the challenge.

Our client was hoping to run usability sessions with users of some of their more exclusive banking apps in the UK, specifically with London-based participants. Each recruit was required to be a high-net-worth individual (or HNWI), four having assets between $2 and $10m USD and two having assets of $10m+. They were also required to be ‘dual banked’, meaning they have a retail relationship as well as an investment relationship with the bank.

We also followed a specific exclusion list. We interviewed no rejectors of the bank’s brand, no financial-related roles, no one working in digital media, design, market research, user experience, psychology and other related fields.

The FieldworkHub team arranged for technology checks with each participant to verify each had the necessary equipment in which to conduct each usability session, which would be held online via Zoom. Each participant was also carefully vetted using digital fingerprinting, IP checks (to make sure they were based in the UK) and their net worth verified through publicly available professional data. We also verified they were valid customers of the global bank’s investment app and could deliver high quality insights on their personal experience while using the app. We used our extensive knowledge of financial research to make additional recommendations during the screening process.

This profile proved especially difficult to pin down, given their intense daily schedule and frequently shifting work timelines. The FieldworkHub team was on hand to rearrange missed interview sessions where necessary, and managed both our moderators and participant’s time so that the interview schedule would suit everyone involved. Some respondents displayed hesitancy discussing matters around personal wealth, but thanks to the reassurance from our team that the research objectives were focused solely around app usability, happily continued with the research.

We excelled our client’s expectations by delivering a full recruit on schedule, despite originally agreeing the project would be delivered on a best-efforts basis. One curious discovery our client had not anticipated was that non-detractors of their brand would have negative thoughts on the usability and accessibility of the brand’s banking apps. They were delighted to receive such valuable feedback by which to improve their future technology product offering.