Aya Bank · via Nearform
Aya - Banking App
A proof of concept mobile banking app for a Myanmar bank modernising to compete with the likes of Revolut, delivered as an MVP that won the client.
- Concept → MVP Designed end-to-end
- 5 Disciplines aligned in workshops
- Bespoke System Built to their brand guidelines
- New Client The MVP won Aya Bank
The Brief
Context
Aya Bank, a banking company based in Myanmar, set out to modernise their customer-facing systems to compete with the changing marketplace of online banking platforms like Revolut. My mission was to work closely with their stakeholders to develop a proof of concept for a new mobile banking app.
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Responsibilities
- Develop a proof of concept for a new customer-facing mobile banking app.
- Work closely with Aya Bank's stakeholders throughout.
- Modernise their digital offering against competitors like Revolut.
Employed by Nearform, I was tasked with designing a proof of concept built to win the acquisition of Aya bank as a new client for Nearform. Every screen needed to convince the client that the product was both desirable and buildable, so the work balanced ambitious creative direction with grounded, shippable thinking. Working directly with the bank's own people, rather than at a distance from them, was what made that possible. The concept had to reflect their market, their brand and their constraints, not a generic idea of what a banking app looks like.
Alignment
Rallying everyone around one vision
To establish rapport with the client and clarify the goals for the app, I conducted intensive workshops with contributors from many sectors, including product, IT, legal, branding and marketing.
- Ran intensive workshops with stakeholders across five disciplines.
- Rallied them around a singular vision for the product.
- Agreed clearly defined goals and metrics of success.
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Each discipline arrived with a different definition of what success looked like. Product, IT, legal, branding and marketing all had a stake, and without a shared view the concept would have pulled in five directions at once. Running the workshops intensively, and early, turned that into an advantage. It built the rapport the engagement needed, and it left the project with one agreed vision and defined metrics to design against.
Systems
A bespoke system, built to their brand
I collaborated with Aya Bank's branding and marketing team to produce a bespoke design system that complied with the company's brand guidelines and visual aesthetics, and that evolved as the project progressed.
- Built a bespoke design system with their branding and marketing team.
- Complied with existing brand guidelines and visual aesthetics.
- Designed the system to evolve alongside the project.
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Working alongside their brand team meant the app never had to be retrofitted to the brand later; it was built inside those guidelines from the start, which is a large part of why the concept read as credible rather than speculative. Treating the system as something that would keep evolving also mattered. As new flows and pages were conceived, the system grew with them instead of being frozen at the first screen.
Structure
Flows and pages, conceived as it grew
New user flows and pages were conceived as the project progressed, so the concept held together as a coherent product rather than a set of nice screens.
- Defined the core banking journeys from conception to MVP.
- Added new flows and pages as the concept developed.
- Kept every journey realistic and buildable.
Impact
Outcome
The final MVP delivery became the basis to successfully acquire Aya Bank as a new customer, and to continue the project in full.
- Delivered an end-to-end MVP of the mobile banking concept.
- Won Aya Bank as a new client for Nearform.
- Secured the engagement to continue the project in full.