Lendr
Cutting Lendr's KYC Drop-off by 50% Across Nigeria's Gig Economy
A full redesign of Lendr's onboarding and loan activation flow. Replacing a trust-eroding, drop-off-heavy KYC process with one that earned user confidence at every step.
My Role
Lead Product Designer
UX Research · Interaction Design · Visual Design · UX Copywriting · User Flows · Prototyping
Deliverables
User Journey Maps
Wireframes & Prototypes
High-Fidelity Designs
Microcopy & UX Writing
Usability Test Reports
Team
Product Manager
2 Frontend Engineers
1 Compliance Officer
Data Analyst
Customer Support Lead
Timeline & Platform
10 weeks
Mobile — Android-first
iOS parity
Figma · Maze · Notion
THE PROBLEM
Lendr had great top-of-funnel numbers. Everything after that was broken.
Lendr is a mobile-first digital lending platform targeting young professionals and gig economy workers in Nigeria — people who are credit-worthy but underserved by traditional banks. Downloads were growing. Cost-per-install was competitive. On paper, growth looked healthy.
But somewhere between app install and first loan disbursement, Lendr was haemorrhaging users. 68% of users abandoned during KYC. Only 19% of users who completed signup ever received their first loan. Support tickets were dominated by the same three questions: what documents do I need, why was I rejected, and is my information safe?
"We were spending on acquisition and losing it all on the other side. The problem wasn't awareness, it was trust."
The business goal was straightforward: increase activation rate from 19% to at least 35% within one product quarter. Getting there required understanding why users were leaving — and designing an experience that gave them a reason to stay.
EXISTING FUNNEL DROP OFF
App Installation
100%
Phone Verification
81%
Personal Details
63%
Employment Info
44%
Document Upload
29%
Converted to paid
21%
Converted to paid
19%
DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH
Listening to the users who left.
I started where the data couldn't, in conversation. Eight remote interviews with users who had dropped off during onboarding, recruited via a follow-up email campaign. The support team's ticket backlog was treated as a research artefact. And the funnel data was mapped step-by-step with the data analyst to find exactly where users were abandoning and why.
Unpreparedness mid-flow
Users were surprised by document requirements halfway through the process BVN, work ID, and bank statements were asked for without any advance warning.
"I didn't know what to bring ready. I just closed the app."
The app felt interrogative
The tone of the KYC screens read like a police form. Users described feeling surveilled and mistrusted, the opposite of what a lending relationship needs to feel.
"It felt like the app didn't trust me. I didn't trust it back."
No preview of the destination
Users had no idea how much they could borrow before surrendering personal data. They were being asked to invest before understanding the return.
"I didn't even know how much I could get. Why would I share all that?"
Bank statement = full access fear
Most users believed that uploading a bank statement gave Lendr direct access to their account. This misconception was never addressed in the original flow.
"I wasn't sure they wouldn't take money from my account."
The JTBD reframe
Through synthesis, the true job emerged: users didn't want a loan — they wanted financial capability without shame. The design had to make them feel capable, not scrutinised.
Design for dignity, not just efficiency.
THE EXISTING EXPERIENCE
What the old flow got fundamentally wrong
Before a single wireframe, I mapped and critiqued every screen in the existing onboarding flow. The problems weren't cosmetic, they were structural. The flow was designed for the business's data collection needs, not the user's emotional journey.
BEFORE: WHAT BROKE TRUST
No preview of loan amount before KYC began, users had no incentive to continue
Document requirements appeared mid-flow with no warning — caused immediate abandonment
Copy was clinical and interrogative, it felt like a government form
Bank statement upload screen had no trust signals, no encryption badge, no privacy explanation
No progress celebration between sections — users felt stuck in an endless tunnel
AFTER: WHAT BUILT TRUST
Soft eligibility check shows personalised loan offer before KYC begins — gives users a reason to continue
"Get Ready" screen lists all required documents upfront — users prepare before starting
Every screen rewritten in warm, conversational language — feels like a helpful friend, not a bank
256-bit encryption badge, plain-language privacy note, and open banking alternative on statement screen
Milestone confirmation animations between each completed section — keeps momentum alive
UX COPYWRITING
Words were part of the design
One of the highest-leverage changes in this project wasn't a layout decision, it was a copy decision. Every screen in the KYC flow was rewritten from scratch, guided by a single rule: if it sounds like a government form, rewrite it. The tone shift from clinical to conversational had a measurable effect on completion rates.
BEFORE
"Submit biometric verification"
"Submit your Bank Verification Number"
"Your data is processed in accordance with our privacy policy"
"Complete KYC to unlock full account features"
"Bank statement required: 3 months minimum"
AFTER
"Take a quick selfie so we know it's really you"
"Your BVN helps us confirm your identity, it doesn't give us access to your account"
"Your information is safe with us. We will never sell it or share it without your permission."
"A few more details and your account will be ready"
"We use this to understand your income, so we can offer a loan amount that actually works for you"
KEY DESIGN DECISIONS
Five decisions that moved the needle
01
Loan Eligibility Preview - Earn Before You Ask
Instead of opening with a wall of form fields, the new flow begins with a soft eligibility check — just phone number and employment type — and immediately shows the user a personalised loan range they qualify for. This single change reframed the entire KYC process from a bureaucratic obligation into a worthwhile path toward a concrete reward. Users who saw their eligibility amount first were 2.4× more likely to complete the subsequent steps.
ACTIVATION . MOTIVATION DESIGN
02
Document Preparation Screen - Eliminate mid-flow surprise
Before the document upload section begins, users now see a dedicated "Get Ready" screen — a simple checklist of exactly what they'll need and a time estimate of 4 minutes. This screen eliminates the most common drop-off cause entirely: users being caught mid-flow without their documents. Progress is saved automatically so users who leave to find a document can return exactly where they left off.
FRICTION REDUCTION . FLOW ARCHITECTURE
03
Trust Signals at High-Anxiety Moments - Front-load reassurance
Research identified the three highest-anxiety touchpoints: the selfie screen, the BVN entry screen, and the bank statement upload screen. Each was redesigned with proactive trust signals, a dedicated "why we need this" explanation screen before the camera request, an encryption badge and plain-language privacy note on the statement screen.
TRUST DESIGN . ANXIETY REDUCTION
04
Milestone Celebration Animations - Maintain momentum through a long flow
A multi-section KYC flow carries a natural risk of fatigue. After each major section is completed “identity confirmed, employment verified, documents submitted” users see a brief animated milestone screen before moving forward. This breaks the psychological experience of a single long tunnel into a series of smaller wins. Completion rates across each subsequent section improved after this change, suggesting users were entering each new section with higher motivation.
INTERACTION DESIGN . MOTIVATION
05
Post-Disbursement Referral Hook - Time the growth loop precisely
The referral prompt is positioned immediately after the first loan disbursement confirmation screen — not in the app settings, not in a marketing email, but in the highest-satisfaction moment of the entire user journey. Research in behavioural product design consistently shows that users are most likely to advocate for a product in the moment immediately after a positive outcome. Referral conversion from this placement significantly outperformed a previous email-based referral campaign.
GROWTH DESIGN . RETENTION LOOP
The numbers after 6 weeks
61%
Up from 29%
KYC completion rate, the single most important upstream metric
41%
Up from 19% — exceeded 35% target
Activation rate, users who received their first loan disbursement
6.5 mins
Down from 11 minutes
Average time to complete KYC. A faster path to first value
-72%
From 340 to 93 tickets per week
Onboarding-related support tickets. Clarity replaced confusion
The five screens that tell the story
SCREEN GALLERY
WELCOME SCREEN WITH
LOAN OFFER PREVIEW
DOCUMENT PREPARATION
HOME SCREEN
LOAN REQUEST
DISBURSEMENT
CELEBRATION
REFLECTIONS
What this project taught me
WHAT WORKED WELL
Involving the customer support team in the research phase was the single highest-leverage decision. They had months of qualitative data from user complaints that had never been translated into design decisions. Their knowledge reduced our research time and sharpened our problem framing significantly.
WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
I'd push to A/B test the loan eligibility preview screen earlier in the process. We assumed it would work based on interview data, but having quantitative validation sooner would have accelerated stakeholder confidence and potentially led to faster iteration cycles.
WHAT THIS TAUGHT ME
In fintech, trust is the product. You can have the fastest flow in the world, but if a user doesn't feel safe, they won't convert. Every design decision has to answer a single question: does this make the user feel more or less confident about what happens next?
"Designing this product taught me that the most important UX problems aren't layout problems or interaction problems. they're trust problems. And trust is built or broken in the smallest moments: a word choice, a badge, a camera request with no explanation."
— Emmanuel Amaechi, Lead Product Designer
Let’s build something
people actually use
I'm currently open to full-time roles and select freelance engagements in product design. Particularly in Fintech, Neobanking, and B2B SaaS. If you're working on a product where onboarding, activation, or retention is a growth lever, I'd love to talk.