Lead with the rate.
Empty states and very small projections use static APY messaging, rather than celebrating an underwhelming dollar amount.
“Start earning interest with your first deposit!”
SELECTED WORK / 02 · DEPOSIT EXPERIENCE
Show the value.
Then ask for
the bank account.
Bank linking was the biggest drop-off point in Wealthfront’s Cash Account signup. I moved the deposit amount step ahead of it, so customers could see what their money could earn before being asked to connect their bank.
See the change in the journey ↓FROM 2.00% APY TO “WHAT COULD I EARN?”
Increase in initial deposit amounts
The unexpected behavioral resultPRIMARY GOAL / CONVERSION
Inconclusive.
New accounts opened increased 3.7%, but the lift was not statistically significant.
The experiment did not establish the conversion improvement we hoped for.MY CONTRIBUTION
UX strategy & execution · End-to-end product design
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Data science · Engineering · Product · Legal & compliance
01 / THE FRICTION
The biggest ask came
before the benefit.
80.6%
of Cash Account prospects didn’t fund their accounts. Across the signup journey, the highest drop-off occurred at bank linking.
Investing customers saw a personalized portfolio before connecting a bank. Cash customers went almost straight from contact details to bank linking—with little opportunity to understand why moving their money was worthwhile.
02 / THE PRODUCT DECISION
Let customers see the value
before asking them to act.
I moved the deposit amount step before bank linking. That gave us a place to demonstrate potential earnings before customers reached the point where most were leaving.
Investing
- Contact details
- Build a portfolio
- Link a bank
- Choose a deposit
Cash · original
- Contact details
- Link a bankHighest drop-off
- Choose a deposit
Cash · redesigned
- Contact details
- Choose a depositSee potential earnings
- Link a bank
03 / MAKING THE VALUE UNDERSTANDABLE
A percentage still left
the customer doing the work.
The first proposal highlighted a static 2.00% APY. I was concerned it still asked customers to calculate the benefit themselves: what does 2% mean for my deposit?
“Clients don’t feel confident understanding APY in general and feel concerned they’re missing out on additional savings opportunities.”
Finding shared by the Banking team · Survey and interviews from a separate project
That insight sharpened my direction: show the impact of the rate as a dollar amount. I worked with data science to confirm we could project interest, then designed the flow, content and animated earnings display around that tangible benefit.
04 / THE EXPERIENCE
From a rate
to a reason
to fund.
I designed the experience to respond to the customer’s deposit, translating the rate into potential annual earnings and adapting the message to the amount.
Recreated from original designs. Illustrative historical 2% APY; not a current offer.
9:41
How much do you want to deposit?
2.00% APY
WITH
2.00% APYStart earning interest with your first deposit!
Disclosures
Portfolio demonstration using the historical 2% APY shown in the original design. Illustrative annual earnings equal the entered deposit × 2%, assuming that rate and balance remain unchanged. This prototype does not open or fund an account.
AFTER · PERSONALIZED EARNINGS
A CONTENT SYSTEM, NOT A SINGLE LINE
Four tiers. One consistent benefit.
I developed a range-based content matrix to make the response relevant at different deposit amounts—and give engineering clear requirements and edge cases.
Recognize small steps.
Encourage progress without suggesting a small deposit is inadequate.
“Every bit adds up.”
Make the benefit exciting.
Turn the projected amount into an understandable, tangible upside.
“Hey, free money!”
Frame passive income.
Connect larger projected earnings to a sense of financial progress.
“Say hello to passive income!”
Historical 2% APY examples. The demo uses deposit × 2% for an illustrative year with an unchanged rate and balance.
MOTIVATION WITH CARE
Make the benefit clear.
Keep the choice with the customer.
I made the next action explicit—“To earn even more interest, you can increase your deposit amount”—without commanding a larger deposit. Legal and compliance review helped refine the projection language and disclosures for a rate that could change.
We used existing research, design critique and legal review to prepare this A/B test. We did not run a new round of user testing.
05 / WHAT THE EXPERIMENT SHOWED
More money deposited.
No proven conversion lift.
Initial deposit amounts increased 20%. The change in new accounts opened was +3.7%, but not statistically significant—so we did not establish the improvement in conversion we intended.
The deposit increase was worth exploring further. It suggested that showing a concrete benefit could influence how much people funded, even though the conversion result remained inconclusive.
06 / CARRYING THE LEARNING FORWARD
Make the numbers
mean something.
I worked with our marketing copywriters to bring that same approach to the pricing page: translate an abstract percentage into a tangible dollar amount, then give it an everyday point of reference.
As visitors adjusted their investment amount, the page showed the corresponding monthly cost and dynamic copy that put it in perspective. The principle carried forward: help people understand what a financial number means for them.
Original pricing-page example · Dynamic amounts and everyday comparisons made pricing tangible.
WHAT I CARRIED FORWARD
Make the benefit concrete. Share the insight. Give the next team a stronger starting point.
Explore the original content directions
CONTENT EXPLORATIONS
Finding the right
reason to keep going.
I explored ways to express the same benefit through growth, progress and passive income. The language needed to make projected interest feel immediate and understandable at the point of deposit.
Original content explorations · Select to view at full size