Bank Otkritie is a prominent commercial bank in Russia, operating over 440 offices across the country. The bank offers a wide range of services, including commercial activities, securities and currency trading, loans, and guarantees. At Redmadrobot, we worked with the project as a fully dedicated product team for about two years. We developed the core app functions from scratch and supported various banking business processes for entrepreneurs, such as payments, loans, deposits, and card maintenance, fully online 24/7.

Chat with support, main screen with activated products and transaction confirmation.

Product work

I joined the project as the second product designer in a team when they launched the initial version of the bank's mobile app. My main responsibility was to handle deposit products, cards, and some additional R&D topics. I had to thoroughly explore the topic of SME banking, which was new to me, and understand the complexities of its operations.

Based on various business requirements and technical restrictions, I designed a deposit calculator as a new approach to meeting these requirements. This calculator helps entrepreneurs understand different options for placing a deposit and determine the most beneficial choices for their business. Typically, users would need to investigate all options, consider them, and then try to match them to their needs, which can be mentally taxing. Instead, I proposed a different approach: when users indicate their needs, we simply show them the best-fit options.

Another feature I worked on involved implementing a support chat system. This system effectively handled numerous edge cases and involved working with private data. In addition, I enhanced interaction with business partners through a concept called "Tinder" for legal entities. This concept allowed entrepreneurs to search for potential business partners based on app suggestions. These contributions aligned with the bank's overall concept of caring about its customers and providing a humane banking service.

Operations history on the main screen and deposit calculator.

Results

The project received recognition and awards in several competitions, such as Golden App 2018, European Design Awards 2019, and Tagline 2019. Additionally, I played a role as a co-creator and final producer of the showreel that we submitted for the EDA competition. The idea of the video and the overall concept was to demonstrate that even a complex app, which is highly dependent on government regulations, can still be human-centered and emotionally pleasant.

Showreel for European Design Awards 2019

Later on, we transferred all of our valuable experience and knowledge to the in-house product teams of the bank. We provided them with assistance in the process of hiring new team members and establishing a robust and efficient in-house design practice.