Entrepreneurs using VTB Business need services for everyday business tasks. Many partner services were purchased within banking but used on external sites. Research and feedback pointed to more seamless journeys and bundled subscriptions. My role was to redesign purchasing and management flows on web and mobile, add new features, design new services and support both individual and bundled purchases.
Timeline
1 year
Team
Product manager, business analyst, frontend developer and me as product designer, working with a systems analyst and leaders of related channels.
Users
VTB Business platform users
Design system
Built entirely with VTB's internal design system.
Platforms
Mobile app and web
My role
I worked as a product designer across two teams focused on selling non-banking services through web and mobile banking, improving existing services and launching new ones. I partnered with the product manager and business analyst to map user journeys.
The wider design team included an art director, two other product designers and an intern. Each designer worked with a dedicated product team; we collaborated on presentations and keeping design files current.
>20 tests
conducted during my time on the team
2 channels
Web and mobile
16 products
in my area of responsibility
3 services
launching with the team
Product direction for 2024-2025
Redesign purchasing and management journeys
Auto-renewal, recurring payments, plan management and upgrades
Create services within the banking platform
Company checks, Dossier and government inspection alerts
Create VTB ID
A banking account sign-in for all services
Sell service bundles
A basket within banking so customers can purchase multiple services together
My areas of work
Bundled subscriptions
Research and concept development
Taking initiative within the team
Creating a competency map and establishing a research process
Target experience
This was the first initiative I took on and a focus throughout my time at VTB.
New online banking features
Essential functionality for web and mobile banking.
A major service update
Reconsidering the service experience after a partner change.
Launching a new service
Working through a challenging security approval process.
The service marketplace in web and mobile banking
Service activation journeys in web and mobile banking:
16 services available to purchase
Market context
In 2024, VTB offered 36 non-banking services, second only to Sber by number of services.
Product category
VTB
Sber
Tinkoff
MTS Bank
Legal services
Procurement
Accounting
Sales
Insurance
Logistics
HR services
Commerce
Marketing
Market analytics
IT
Telecom
Competitor analysis
I completed competitors' journeys myself and reviewed VTB's existing research.
Findings
A seamless experience
Customers value using services within banking, without switching to external products.
Transparency
Service landing pages need clear, detailed explanations of what is included.
A trial period
Short trials were the most promising sales approach for our users.
Control
Users need to know how to cancel. Uncertainty about cancellation is a major barrier to subscribing.
User profile
The marketing team had researched the target audience.
60%
of business platform users activate non-banking services
42%
of entrepreneurs give employees access to online banking
50%
of decisions to activate a service are made by employees
In-depth interviews
I conducted over ten in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs to understand their need for non-banking services. The interviews confirmed that demand existed.
I don't want to manage the accounting myself; that's why I employ an accountant. She asked for 1C access and works there. I'm hesitant to add services when I don't understand how to cancel them.
Valera
Director at Smart Clothing
I use Alfa's services and like them. I've given one manager access to run individual and company checks, and delegated accounting to another manager.
Ilya
Director of a gaming club chain
Relaunch a service
We relaunched one of the best-selling services using customer feedback.
Timeline
One month for design, research and approvals.
Team
Product manager, business analyst, frontend developer and me as product designer, working with a systems analyst and leaders of related channels.
Users
VTB Business and Company Checks users
Design system
Built entirely with VTB's internal design system.
Entry points
Four entry points: the marketplace, quick actions, the reliability indicator and the supplier payment flow.
Process
Research the existing journey and identify pain points
Gather requirements and sketch solutions
Test designs
Refine and obtain approvals
About the service
Company Checks was one of the bank's best-selling services and the only one available entirely within banking.
User pain points
Users complained that company check reports contained too little information.
Persistent advertising also frustrated customers, including those who had already purchased the service.
The report was not always immediately visible after purchase.
Users could not see their subscription status.
The home page indicator for a customer's own company was also unclear.
We decided to change partners and launch an improved service.
Entry points
Four entry points to the service in online banking
Search page
Added access to service information, including the subscription expiry date and plan details.
Check results
Previously, subscribers and trial users saw the same results page, with advertising above the report download button. We moved the report CTA to the top and removed advertising for subscribers.
Testing
I tested the new designs and shared user expectations with the product owner to inform future planning.
Success criteria
We planned to measure whether a sample report improved purchase conversion from the landing page and check results. We also wanted to compare activation clicks by indicator status and reduce support requests.
More details: April 2025
The project is covered by a pre-release NDA. I can discuss further details in an interview where permitted by the confidentiality agreement.
Other work
Building a research culture
Design decisions were often met with scepticism, and research was uncommon. Formal studies took a long time to approve, so I recruited a participant group and introduced regular prototype testing.
Presentations
Customer communications and internal reporting presentations were also part of the design team's work.