Contriibia
Designing a Trusted Group Savings App
Project type: End-to-end Mobile app
Role: UX & UI Designer and Researcher
Tools: Figma, Zoom, Notion
Duration: 2 months
Background
Our collaboration began when founders Shakir and Lateef approached our UX team with a mission deeply rooted in cultural heritage: to digitally preserve and enhance the centuries-old tradition of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs).
Having witnessed firsthand how these community savings circles fostered trust and provided critical support for life milestones and unexpected hardships, they also recognized systemic challenges, security vulnerabilities, member reliability issues, and cumbersome manual tracking.
Through immersive stakeholder interviews and contextual inquiry, we gained profound empathy for both the communal value of ROSCAs and the frustrations users faced.
Design Thinking Framework
Our Human-Centered Approach
We applied the Design Thinking framework to transform an ancient financial tradition into a secure digital experience
Empathize: Deeply understanding trust/security concerns through user interviews and competitive analysis.
Define: Synthesizing core challenges around group dynamics & financial transparency.
Ideate: Generating inclusive solutions through collaborative workshops.
Prototype: Building user flows focused on security and simplicity
Test: Iteratively refining through multiple usability sessions.
This structured approach guided our market investigation, ensuring every design decision would address real user needs in a competitive landscape.
Competitive Analysis
We audited 4 key players in communal finance to identify market gaps and differentiation opportunities for Contriibia:
Our competitive audit of digital savings solutions revealed a critical gap in North America
Traditional banks offered individual-focused products
No platforms addressed community-based savings needs
Key differentiators emerged: trust architecture, group transparency, and cultural relevance
This market gap framed our user interviews; we needed to understand why existing solutions failed to meet communal savings needs.
User Interviews
To better understand our users, we conducted interviews with potential participants in the US and Canada. We then synthesized the insights using an affinity map, helping us organize and make sense of the rich data we gathered.
These conversations were eye-opening. Many people had never heard of group savings or found the concept confusing. Others were hesitant to trust strangers with their money. Despite their different levels of familiarity, one message came through loud and clear: users wanted a solution that felt simple, secure, and transparent.
Research Synthesis
💡 100% needed a clear value proposition
Users wanted to understand the benefits of group savings versus saving alone and ensure it aligned with their goals.
🤝 100% emphasized trust and transparency
They didn’t need to know members personally but needed proof of reliability through detailed profiles and payment histories.
⚖️ 100% had financial hesitations
Concerns included trusting others, data security, feeling "locked in," and unexpected life changes affecting contributions.
🔒 100% valued platform security and credibility
Users needed assurance that the app was secure, regulated, and backed by trustworthy reviews.
📊 100% wanted clear communication and tracking
They expected real-time tracking, payment reminders, transparent group order management, and flexible payout options.
What we learned shaped our core personas and helped us define clear design opportunities.
Personas
Synthesizing these patterns allowed us to bring our user to life through one detailed persona, ensuring our solutions remained deeply human-centered and grounded in real needs.
Using this persona as our guide, we developed and prioritized a feature list tailored to address their key needs and concerns.
After completing our research and defining our persona, we had a long list of features we wanted to develop, along with many additional requests from stakeholders.
Feature list
Onboarding process
New User Registration
Linking Bank account
Group Creation + Joining Functionality
Automatic Contribution Functionality
Automatic Payout Functionality
Transaction History
User Profiles
Learning hub
Customer Support + Help Center
Real-time Notifications
User Trust Scores
Group Communication Features
Flexible Payout Order Functionality
Multiple Language Support
Premium Features
Goal Setting Features
Gamification and Incentives
Personalized Savings Recommendations
Credit-building Services
Additonal Educational Content
Financial Consulting Services
Feature Prioritization
To bring clarity to our priorities and manage scope for our MVP, we used the MoSCoW Method.
Must have (critical for the product to work), Should have (important but not essential), Could have (nice-to-haves), and Won’t have (not a priority for now).
This helped us align as a team on what was essential for launch, what could enhance the experience later, and what features would add unexpected delight in future iterations.
After prioritizing key features, we mapped out Contriibia’s primary user flows to shape the app’s structure. We organized essential actions into a clear, streamlined sitemap to keep the experience intuitive and easy to navigate.
Sitemap
User Flow
After mapping the structure and user flows, we moved into low-fidelity wireframes to visualize core interactions.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
With a clear understanding of the problem and our users’ needs, we began prototyping. Our goal was to create an MVP that prioritized accessibility, trust, and ease of use. Here’s how we approached it:
Onboarding:
We knew that many users would be unfamiliar with group savings, so we designed an onboarding process that clearly explained the app’s purpose, benefits, and functionality. We also emphasized user safety and introduced the credit score-building feature as an added incentive.
Group Creation:
Creating a savings group should be as easy as sending a text. We designed an intuitive flow that allowed users to set up groups quickly and manage them with ease.
Sign-Up:
The sign-up process needed to be secure yet simple. We minimized the number of screens and used clear, easy-to-understand steps to build trust from the very beginning.
Trust & Rating System:
To address users’ concerns about trust, we introduced the Contriibia Score—a rating system based on on-time payments and user reviews. This feature gave users visibility into group members’ reliability, helping them feel more confident about who they were saving with.
Low Fi usability testing
Participants: 5 young adults interested in personal finances and savings
Format: remote & in person moderated sessions
User testing on the low fidelity wireframes confirmed that our core design resonated well, especially the onboarding flow’s overall ease and the appeal of features like credit score improvement. However, several areas need refinement:
What worked well:
The onboarding flow was easy to follow and well-received.
Users were drawn to key features like credit score improvement.
Overall, the core concept resonated with users.
What needed refinement:
Terminology: Terms like “contribution cycle” and “payout” were unclear—users requested simpler language or supporting visuals.
Onboarding: Users wanted progress indicators and a more streamlined setup process.
Group settings: Preference for private over public groups, with more customization and control.
Dashboard & Navigation: Needed to be more intuitive, with clearer structure and enhanced visuals.
Security & Trust: Users wanted more transparent communication around security features and trust scores to build confidence.
Branding
We defined the app’s visual identity, including the color palette, typography, and logo, to create a cohesive and engaging experience. The goal was to make the app feel modern, trustworthy, and approachable.
With the core structure established and branding approved by the client, we moved into high-fidelity mockups.
Iterations: Hi Fi Wireframes
Sign up
These screens brought the product vision to life while aligning closely with user expectations, ensuring a smoother, more intuitive experience. The refinements focused on simplifying decision-making, improving visual consistency, and highlighting what matters most to users.
Group Creation
After gathering insights from our first round of user testing, we translated the updated user flows into high-fidelity wireframes that addressed key pain points around navigation, task clarity, and content hierarchy.
One of the core features I worked on was the group creation flow, an essential part of helping users organize and manage collective contributions.
Based on feedback, I streamlined the process into clear, digestible steps that guide users from naming a group to setting goals and inviting members. The goal was to reduce friction, encourage collaboration, and make setup feel approachable, even for first-time users.
Onboarding
To ensure our designs continued to align with user needs, we conducted a second round of usability testing using high-fidelity mockups.
Hi Fi Wireframes Testing
Participants: 5 young adults interested in personal finances and savings
Format: remote moderated sessions
We did a round of user testing and found some interesting insights and opportunities for improvement
✅ What Worked
Onboarding, sign-up, group creation, and joining tasks were all completed successfully by users.
Users appreciated group customization options and the credit score improvement feature as a motivating factor.
The app’s core functions were intuitive and easy to navigate.
Joining groups and viewing member profiles was straightforward.
⚠️ Pain Points
Onboarding navigation and scrolling were confusing for some users.
Dashboard lacked clarity and engaging visuals to track contributions and group progress.
Credit score feature and trust scores were unclear, causing confusion and privacy worries.
🔧 What to Improve
Simplify onboarding with clearer navigation, progress indicators, and community benefit explanations.
Redesign dashboard with clearer data visualization and labels for easier tracking.
Clarify credit score and trust score features with transparent, user-friendly explanations.
The feedback we received helped us identify areas for improvement and guided the next round of iterations to further refine the user experience.
Implementing Feedback & Finalizing the Design
The insights gathered from user feedback guided key improvements to the app.
Onboarding Clarity: While users completed onboarding successfully, enhancement to navigation cues and providing clearer explanations of community benefits and group savings are needed to ensure users fully understand the platform’s value from the start.
Group Features & Financial Clarity: testing revealed that key financial details (such as contribution amounts, insurance terms, and platform fees) needed clearer wording. To build user trust and confidence, we focused on refining this language to make financial commitments more transparent and easier to understand, especially for those engaging with credit-building tools for the first time.
Visual Appeal & modernization: While users found the functionality intuitive, feedback pointed to areas where the visual design felt outdated and lacked engagement. To address this, I focused on modernizing the UI introducing a more dynamic layout, vibrant visuals, and an inviting aesthetic. I used a clear grid system to ensure consistency, alignment, and visual hierarchy across screens, helping create a more polished and cohesive experience.
🌟 The Outcome: A Strong Foundation
The final MVP prototype was enthusiastically received by the client. It successfully addressed core user needs, prioritized trust and clarity, and laid a solid foundation for future growth. While this MVP marked a major milestone, it was just the beginning. The client envisioned many future enhancements to help Contriibia stand out even more in the market.
🚀 What’s Next?
While the MVP is a strong starting point, there are exciting opportunities ahead. Future iterations could focus on:
Strengthening security and transparency
Communicate data protection measures more clearly, adjust the timing of sensitive requests (like bank linking), and offer detailed explanations of trust scores and credit features to build user confidence.Refining dashboard and group management
Create a more engaging, informative dashboard with visual progress indicators and clearer group status tracking, empowering users to easily understand and manage their savings journey.Deepening engagement and celebration moments
Make milestones like payouts more rewarding and memorable with celebratory visuals, and explore features that encourage sharing achievements in a privacy-conscious way.Expanding features for differentiation
Explore advanced customization, new community-driven features, and financial wellness tools to further differentiate Contriibia in the market and keep empowering users to reach their goals together.I’m excited to see how Contriibia will continue to evolve and proud to have helped lay the foundation for its journey.
Reflection
This project was a valuable learning experience that helped me grow both as a designer and a collaborator. Some key takeaways include:
Reinforced the importance of defining scope and prioritizing features when building an MVP.
Highlighted the value of clear, empathetic communication, especially when working with clients new to UX/UI.
Emphasized the impact of aligning stakeholders around core user needs to accelerate testing and iteration.
Challenged me to collaborate effectively with other UX designers, learning how to:
Divide tasks strategically based on our strengths
Present our work cohesively as a team
Identify and lean into my own strengths as a designer
While the team collaboration process was a learning curve, it ultimately strengthened my confidence and prepared me for future cross-functional work.
