Background
In many parts of Africa, access to financial services remains fragmented and exclusionary; especially for small businesses and young individuals without stable income records. Traditional banks often enforce rigorous requirements and delay access to essential services like loans, savings, and investment tools.
Rex emerged as a modern Neobank to close this gap. Designed as a mobile-first financial platform, Rex offers a fast, secure, and intuitive way to open a free bank account, save, invest, and get instant micro-loans; all from a smartphone.
My Role
I served as the Lead Product Designer, responsible for:
Information architecture and journey flows in conjuction with the CTO and PMs
UX prototyping
UI design across mobile and web screens
Collaboration with PM and CTO
Developer handoff and QA support
Core Problem
The current banking experience for many African users is:
Inaccessible (lengthy account registration, rigid requirements),
Unreliable (unstable digital infrastructure and poor customer service),
Fragmented (separate apps for loans, savings, and investments).
Rex set out to solve this by building one platform that:
Works seamlessly for both individuals and small businesses,
Allows users to fully manage money, from daily banking to future-focused saving,
Provides fast access to credit with transparent terms.
Key Requirements
To meet user needs, the platform had to:
Enable instant onboarding (KYC-compliant but frictionless),
Offer secure and intuitive navigation for everyday banking tasks,
Make loans easy to access and repay, even for first-time borrowers,
Build trust with first-time fintech users,
Scale reliably with thousands of concurrent users.
Approach & Process
User Research
The Customer Experience Team Interviewed 10+ individuals and small business owners from Nigeria and Ghana to understand frustrations with traditional banking.
We also conducted surveys focused on digital trust, preferred repayment cycles, and saving behavior.
Key insight from our research: Many users were skeptical of digital banks due to poor experiences with failed transactions and loan scams.
Persona Development
Primary Persona:
Name: Chika (Age 29) – Fashion entrepreneur in Lagos
Needs: Quick loans during cash flow gaps, savings tools for tax season
Frustrations: Traditional banks take too long, and fintech apps feel risky
Secondary Persona:
Name: Jide (Age 22) – University Student in Abuja
Needs: Free bank account, daily spending limits, occasional loans
Frustrations: Difficulty understanding complex banking language
Competitive Analysis
Competitor | Strengths | Weaknesses | Key Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
Kuda | Seamless onboarding, clean UI, fee-free banking | Limited investment/credit products | Great for basic banking but not for long-term wealth building |
Opay | Extensive transactional features, agent network | Cluttered UI, security concerns | Strong presence, but lacks elegance and trust for serious financial planning |
Carbon | Fast loans, well-built credit infrastructure | Cold UI, limited brand trust for new users | A strong loan engine but not lifestyle-friendly |
Moniepoint | Robust infrastructure for SMEs, excellent reliability, strong field network | Less intuitive UI for individuals, more business-oriented | Great backbone for small businesses, but lacks aspirational consumer UX |
Opportunity Identified
While Moniepoint and others dominate in agent banking and SME servicing, there's a gap in the market for a mobile-first, trust-rich consumer banking platform that:
Appeals visually and emotionally to young professionals and solopreneurs
Offers flexible credit with clear language
Combines daily finance with long-term goals (save, invest, grow)
This is where Rex positions itself, not just as a tool, but as a financial growth companion.
App Layout & Features
Free Bank Account Setup :
Fast KYC and account activation with BVN/ID
Dashboard Overview
Real-time balance, recent transactions, savings, spendings, investment & loan
Save & Earn
High-yield savings plans, flexible withdrawals
Micro-loans
Personalized credit scoring, instant disbursement, daily/weekly repayment
Investments Module
Curated options Fixed Deposit and Target Savings
Spending & Bill Payment
Track monthly expenses with categorized insights (food, transport, utilities, etc.)
Pay electricity, water, cable, internet, and mobile bills from one screen
Schedule recurring payments and get due-date reminders
View spending trends over time (with weekly or monthly insights)
Referrals & Rewards
Invite friends and earn bonuses
Tiered reward system based on engagement and transaction volume
Solution Design & UX Considerations
Used a card-based layout for clear separation of banking functions
Onboarding featured progressive disclosure (start with basic info, ask for more later)
Integrated trust signals (FDIC coverage info, customer testimonials)
Built dark mode support for battery efficiency and visual preference
Designed loan sliders for easy custom repayment terms
Design Challenges & Solutions
Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
Gaining user trust in loans and investments | Showed real-time interest rates, visual repayment timelines, and used friendly illustrations |
Reducing onboarding drop-off | Broke KYC steps into smaller flows with contextual tooltips |
Mobile performance with low connectivity | Optimized images and interactions, ensured fallbacks for slow networks |
Results & Impact
Although still in beta, early tests with 100+ users revealed:
+42% completion rate on onboarding vs. the previous MVP
90% satisfaction on first-time user surveys
+18% increase in savings activity in the first month
Average loan approval within 2 minutes
Success Metrics Achieved
Onboarding Drop-off: Reduced from 37% → 15%
Loan Access Rate: 70% of users accessed micro-loans within 7 days
Daily Active Users (DAU): +60% after launch
Scalability & Growth
Backend and design systems structured to accommodate:
Multi-currency support
Wallet limits for small business tiers
Push notification engagement for savings goals & loan reminders
Increased Engagement
Users appreciated:
Clean dashboard layout for quick overviews
Save-to-invest feature that combined long-term saving with return-on-investment planning
Reward system that encouraged daily use and referrals
Conclusion & Next Steps
Rex is redefining trust and ease in African financial tools. Future product iterations will focus on:
Offline wallet functionality
QR code payments for merchants
Credit builder reports for users to improve financial literacy and loan limits
Lessons Learned
Fintech trust = visual clarity + transparent messaging + fast feedback loops
Don’t underestimate the power of copywriting in converting users (especially for loan products)
Designing for Africa means lightweight UX, low-data mode, and empathy-first interaction design