Project · 2020/212020/21Digital service

SwiEasy

International transfers without opening an account, with costs shown upfront and live tracking

For people with loved ones and important matters abroad.

Corporate partner PostFinance Visit website ↗Cohort 2020/21Theme Finance & insurance

Key fact: 27prototypes built and tested
Team: 5 master students
Universities: Hasso Plattner Institute University of Potsdam Linköping University
Disciplines: IT Systems Engineering · Innovation Management · International Management

The project · from brief to prototype

What happened, step by step.

Challenge

PostFinance was losing international transfer customers to cheaper, smoother FinTechs. It asked how to reinvent transfers for private customers: availability, tracking, usability and transparent costs.

What the team learned

Users want the full cost upfront and to see where their money is at every step. Opening a new account deters them, and trust in a Swiss bank beats FinTechs.

What they built

SwiEasy is a mobile and web service for international transfers without a PostFinance account. Users pay by card, bank account or at the post office, see cost and exchange rate before sending, and share real-time tracking with the recipient.

How it evolved

Step 1Voice-guided Transaction Nanny: users liked simple input but feared misunderstandings.
Step 2Transparent Transfer: cost control and tracking were valued; an exchange-rate forecast confused older users and was dropped.
Step 3RUBIK interface test: users preferred the quick, easy flow, so the final version became the simplest.

Results

56 interviews and 27 prototypes built and tested over the project.
Final prototype tested with PostFinance digital champions, employees and Swiss users on an online platform.

Impact

The team handed over recommendations on a user-centred approach, speed and cost, and app languages. The corporate partner called it the starting point for PostFinance.

In their words

This is the end of the project for the student team, while it is also the starting point of PF.

Corporate partner, PostFinance

Full project text

The team’s original texts from the project page.

A new app that provides an easily accessible, effortless, transparent, and trackable international bank transfer experience for people in Switzerland.

Challenge

How might we reinvent international money transfer in terms of availability, trackability, usability, and transparent costs for private customers? Borderless life becomes more regular, including occasionally international payments. International Money Transfer (IMT) is a matter of qualifying global life and maintaining meaningful relationships. However, IMT has been deemed a hassle process containing many pain points, such as security concerns, hiding cost, complicated data input, and uncertain transaction process. PostFinance, one of Switzerland's leading financial institutions, has historical significance and offers affordable prices to its customers. However, recently PF continuously loses customers leading to decreasing revenue when it comes to IMT services. To address these issues, PF wants to reinvent the IMT experience for people in Switzerland.

Solution

Our intensive research shows that Swiss usually trust their banks. However, since opening a new bank account is considered troublesome, even if another bank like PostFinance has a better offer, Swiss usually do not bother to change their bank services. Therefore, we introduce SwiEasy: an available IMT service for everyone. No need to register for a new bank account, users can access a handy, effortless IMT service that has fewer clicks and data input assistance. Plus, SwiEasy supports multiple payment options. Users can pay with their credit cards, own bank account, or even pay at the Post Office. Last, but not least, SwiEasy is transparent. It shows exchange rate, cost as well as real-time status tracking that can even be shared between users and recipients.

Impact

SwiEasy will benefit both users and PF. It helps people to access secure, effortless, and transparent IMT services. On the other hand, it guides PF to fit both existing and potential customers´ needs. Easy access, effortlessness, transparent cost, and traceable transaction process make the IMT service less troublesome and more trustworthy. Hopefully, PF can retain more satisfied customers with SwiEasy. In addition to the main APP functions, we introduce a marketing plan that helps users to discover PF IMT service easily and encourages users to share their experience with others in need.

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