Facilitating gold loans through a self serve machine
Project Type
Professional project at Rupeek Fintech Pvt Ltd
My Role
UX Researcher and Designer
Methods
Concept testing, field research, semi-structured interviews, wireframing and prototyping, usability testing
Deliverables
Personas, Storyboarding, Usability test reports, Journey mapping, Overall UX research reports
Tools
Figma, Klaxoon, Confluence, MS Teams
01
Context
Gold Teller Machine (GTM) - A self serve machine for instant gold loans.
In the Indian context, gold is a very important asset that is used as a collateral for short term monetary requirements. With a massive gold loan demand , the purpose of the GTM was to make credit accessible across the economic pyramid, multiple geographies (Tier 1,2,3 cities, remote locations)
How to get a loan from the GTM?
The end state of the product would facilitate real time disbursal of a gold loan via automated gold evaluation within the machine. However, the turn around time to build the machine capability would span over a few quarters. Users would interact with the machine to deposit their gold, however, they would receive the amount after 2 hours (after manual gold testing).
02
The Problem
The concept of the Gold Teller Machine, being quite novel, required research and testing in a natural environment.
Objectives :
Assess how customers perceive the Gold Teller Machine concept
Evaluate customer trust in the process/machine- Identify elements that build trust as well as factors that contribute to a trust deficit.
Assess usability of hardware and digital interface
Develop strategies for launching a minimum viable product (MVP)
03
Outcome
Contributed to the launch of the product and helped in scaling to 1000 transactions within a quarter
04
Concept Testing
(Field Research)
Objective
Study users' response to a concept similar to the GTM and test time tolerance of a customer to receive the loan amount
Identify trust parameters to deposit gold and leave the bank premise
Identify a market strategy
Method
On field semi-structured interviews
Sample size- 20 (Live customers who walked into the branch for a transaction)
Structure of research
A scenario similar to the GTM was created:
“Visit the bank branch, where a loan manager will verify your identity. He will then collect your jewels and provide you with an acknowledgement receipt. Within 2 hours, your gold will be appraised, and one of our executives will visit you to obtain your signature on the final pledge card. The loan amount will be credited to your account within seconds.“
In this scenario, customers visiting the bank branch for a gold loan were asked follow-up questions based on their acceptance or rejection of the loan, to investigate their decisions.
Key Insights
Trust and time tolerance
There is no fear of leaving gold for 2 hours amongst Rupeek customers. This process would be acceptable if:
i. There is no urgency for the amount.
ii.Once customers from competitors learn more about the brand or conduct transactions with Rupeek, they will develop greater trust
Lower Rate of Interest- Market strategy
One of the propositions made was a lower interest rate for this process. However, this was a failed hypothesis, lower rate of interest was not much of an attraction. Customers identify the benefit of a lower interest rate to be marginally low.
05
Concept testing with the first prototype
Objective
Evaluate the GTM concept using the initial prototype and analyze any friction points
Study users' interactions with the hardware and the digital interface
Method
Semi structured interviews
Usability test at the research lab
Sample size: 20
Structure of research
Demographic and behavioral segmentation
Gold loan background
Concept introduction
Task analysis
Concept feedback
VOICE OF USERS
Positive attitude towards GTM
"We can use this without having to interact with anyone or going to the bank."
"It can be used on weekends, post working hours."
"It is very quick and easy to operate."
"We don’t have to dedicate an entire day or put other things on hold to get a loan, this saves time."
"I trust the brand (Rupeek)."
Negative attitude towards GTM
"We cannot interact with a person in case of issues or for negotiation."
"I’m not comfortable to wait for 2 hours."
"Security of jewels/ jewels condition in the machine is uncertain."
"There might be technical glitches ( gold getting stuck, server problem)."
First prototype
07
Usability testing with the second prototype
Key findings:
Manual capture of ID photos caused confusion and required assistance, indicating a need for automated or clearer instructions
Missing error prevention messages led to user frustration and input error
Participants struggled with the ABCD keyboard, spending excessive time searching for letters
Unclear input field patterns hindered task completion
Slow transfer of jewels and lack of system status caused apprehension
Ways to build trust
The acknowledgement receipt containing a good quality color image of the jewels serves as reliable proof.
Clear communication to be made regarding what happens to the customer’s gold after depositing it in the machine.
08
Pilot Launch
Once the product was launched, I evaluated the end to end user journey
Conversion Funnel
Leads were generated through customer care/opener agents.
Total number of leads generated: 107
Number of transactions completed: 30
Conversion funnel
09
Reflections
Converting customers who trust manual handling of gold to be comfortable with putting their gold in an automated machine to avail loans was complex. I learned how to identify the apprehensions and motivations of customers and deliver design and business insights.
This project gave me an opportunity to utilize my design aptitude as a researcher, designer, and architect while curating the overall physical and digital experience of the Gold Teller Machine. Being a novice and the only researcher/designer when I was onboarded, I gained exposure by observing and learning from seniors and independently driving my research activities. Given the time and resources, I would have liked to make research more collaborative with all stakeholders.
