Fynny: Empowering youngsters to tackle debt repayments
A 0-1 process with a Netherlands-based startup to build an app that empowers users with better context-based financial literacy, and action-based tools to stay on top of their debt payments. Conducted generative and formative qualitative and quantitative research with Government agencies and co-designed the app from scratch.
September 2024 to January 2025
Finance B2C
Pratt, NY, USA X Client Collaboration
CEO Client Team, Development Team, 4 UX Designers
Figma, Optimal Workshop, Hotjar, Maze
My Role
Conducted generative research using methods like desk research, contextual inquiries, interviews with user group and Netherlands Municipality debt specialists, Ecosystem service mapping.
Formulated key features with the clients, and tested the information architecture strategy using methods of card-sorting and A/B Testing.
Conceptualized the main financial management user flows.
Started the UI and Design System base and co-created main screens to be developed.
Impact created
Streamlined the debt repayment process, leading to a 22% increase in sponsor funding by addressing key pain points identified during user research.
Improved usability by 30%, as measured through task success rates, by refining information architecture and financial management flows based on tested strategies.
22%
Increase in sponsor funding
2.3 m+
Potential users catered to
4+
MVPs conceptualized and tested
Fynny: Simplifying Debt Management for Dutch Youth
In the Netherlands, approximately 47% of youth aged 18 to 25 face debt, largely stemming from mandatory health insurance payments to the government. Missed or late payments lead to penalties, creating a cycle of financial stress that young people often endure alone. Recognizing the gravity of this issue, Fynny was born. Collaborating with the Netherlands' largest debt collection agency, Flanderjn, the CEO conducted extensive research with 45,000+ youth to understand their debt-related behaviors and challenges, highlighting the need for a user-friendly, empowering solution.
Project Overview
As a key contributor to Fynny’s mission, I co-designed the app to simplify complex financial processes and make debt management accessible and engaging for young people. Working collaboratively, I helped rethink the information architecture and craft intuitive task flows for financial literacy and management tailored to the target audience.
From conceptualizing core features to co-creating foundational screens, I ensured the user experience aligned with the needs of the audience. I also contributed to the design system’s development, focusing on scalability and consistency. Through this collaborative approach, I helped shape a platform designed to empower Dutch youth to regain control of their finances with confidence and ease.
Understanding the Problem Areas
Netherlands faces a serious rising debt challenge for its younger population.
Debt for basic expenses
33.3%
of respondents struggled with health insurance payments, highlighting significant pressure on this essential expense.
Attitude towards financial help
15.6%
of respondents admitted, "I feel ashamed of needing help," highlighting the cultural stigma surrounding seeking assistance.
Lack of financial literacy
38.2%
think that using services like 'Buy Now Pay Later' does not feel like taking on debt.
Data from the research conducted by Flanderijn in March 2024 from a group of 45,000 pilot users in collaboration with Fynny.
The research gave light to 8 behavioral personas youngsters in the Netherlands embody in the context of financial behaviors.
How can Fynny help?
We understood these persona characteristics concluded by the pilot research in detail so as to design features and UI for the app that caters to all of these behavioral patterns. We prioritized this in our design decision making as we realized the target user group of 18-40 years acts in multiple ways when it comes to dealing with their finances. A Planner would operate very differently in the app than a Spender persona. We also begun focusing on ways Fynny will help these personas and their intersections after understanding their mental models.
Interviews with Netherlands Municipality officials, appointed Debt specialists and volunteer social workers revealed multiple missing system gaps.
The Design System was inconsistent across the website, leading to a disjointed user experience and a lack of cohesion. There were no standardized UI components, which made maintaining a unified visual identity difficult and impacted scalability.
Most young people focus on the little things day-to-day and don’t see the bigger picture until it’s too late, like when their card gets maxed out. That’s why budgeting is so important.
Young people learn differently, and most don’t have the financial knowledge they need. Look at TikTok—if it’s engaging and fits into their world, that’s where their attention goes
Willem Los
Debt expert @ Nationale Nederlanden (Insurance Company)
How can we assist our target users in addressing their debt issues through design strategies?
This interview gave us much deeper insights from a user’s point of view about struggles the youngsters are facing. From minor details to major issues we could visualize the features Fynny should have much better after this interview. From a functional, emotional, and technical point of view, we could make some bigger conclusions.
How can we assist our target users in addressing their debt issues through design strategies?
We conceptualized Fynny's potential features for strategic problem-solving.
The main question arose on how to concise the elaborate research insights, Fynny's goals, our design prioritizations to the user's benefits to strategize Fynny's feature library and its MVPs.
We came to a clear conclusion by charting out x leads to y and hence y must lead to z and came up with Fynny's key features. we also included the client and the primary external stakeholders in this final decision-making, revising core feature intents to align the teams at play.
The main app features hence stemmed from a core organizational intent and a core user-focused perspective.
Evaluative research revealed that users intuitively group financial tracking data with behavioral insights, while preferring educational resources and planning tools to be organized separately, guiding a more logical and user-centric navigation structure.
Users emphasized the need for the homepage to feature essential financial tracking data and progress updates for actionable daily use.
Users feel actionable financial features are most important to them.
Debt goal and Progress bar - 37% of users
Upcoming Payments Information - 12.5% of users
Monthly Financial Goal - 12.5% of users
Loan Simulation Calculator - 12.5% of users
Upcoming Payments Information - 12.5% of users
Income vs spending vs enough saving - 12.5% of users
We performed A/B testing to observe trends, drop-off rates, and task success rates.
We were concerned that heavy visual financial data presented right on-screen might overwhelm users, versus we had received a strong feedback to display user data realistically in the Home Page dashboard. We decided to test out two prototypes to understand which work better for the users as well as for the app's intent.
65.3% mis-click rates
37.5% drop-off rates
0% direct* success rates
...were observed when essential features were not prominently displayed on main pages, causing users to struggle with navigation and fail to achieve their goals. Card-sorting results confirmed that these features needed to be placed in primary, highly visible areas of the app.
All main action-based financial data and tools need to be on the Home page, and intuitive cross-links must be provided.
50% direct success rates
… indicates that when all financial data and action-based financial tools were clearly displayed on the home page and properly linked to relevant pages, users achieved their goals more quickly and easily. (V2)
Designing the pages as per what communicates the intent of the brand and its services the most
In group collaborative session strategized what each page should contain, the intent behind it, etc. This let me conceptualize based on values needed to be communicated, placements of different items, hierarchy of content, and overall design of the page in a strategic manner with a focused purpose.
The onboarding process designed in collaboration with the client team (not displayed below) concentrates on a behavioral quiz for Fynny to gain the behavioral profile on the user based on which they provide AI-based personalized recommendations.
Financial Management Flow
The intent of this flow is to guide users through actionable steps for effectively managing their debt while fostering healthy financial habits. By providing structured assistance and practical tools, the flow aims to empower users with the knowledge and resources needed to navigate their financial challenges. Additionally, it offers tailored financial tips to enhance users' financial literacy, enabling them to make informed decisions and achieve long-term stability.
Home page and Debt page showcase quick summaries of your financial journey.
The Journey overview page acts as the Homepage showcasing the users financial journey through payment goals progress, learnings progress, Actionable daily finance tips, and upcoming payments reminders.
The Debt tab showcases the payment plans, quick access to Simulation Calculators and Fynny Bot for contacting debt collection services, and charts for communicating your debt versus spending and income.
Fynny encourages healthy financial habits by suggesting personalized Budget Categorisation.
The budget page generates a clear budget based on the user's saving goals. The user can also edit specific categories. It showcases insights based on your spending and how you can practice better financial behaviors to combat debt and higher spending.
Simulation calculators empower users with confidence and control to make informed decisions.
Simulation calculators help users explore various financial scenarios by providing instant, data-driven insights. They enable users to test different strategies, such as adjusting monthly payments, estimating loan repayment timelines, or evaluating savings goals. These tools empower users to make informed decisions, fostering better financial planning and control.
"I receive so many letters with different debt deadlines from various agencies. I don’t know what I owe, who I owe it to, or when I need to pay them."
Hence, the payment plan consolidates the user's debt payment details in one place, ensuring they stay informed and never miss crucial payment deadlines.
Users have shared feedback that receiving letters from multiple debt collection agencies leaves them without a centralized place to track their obligations. This confusion often results in missed payments as they struggle to identify which agency they owe and how much. The payments page addresses this by providing a comprehensive overview of all their debts, payment deadlines, and agency details in one organized location. The payment plan consolidates the user's debt payment details in one place, ensuring they stay informed and never miss crucial payment deadlines.
The profile page holds access to important features and saved information to refer to again.
Micro-learning finance in small interactive bites helps users build user confidence.
Offering financial insights in bite-sized formats makes learning manageable and engaging, encouraging users to explore and retain information more effectively. By incorporating gamification into financial education, complex concepts become approachable, breaking down the intimidation often associated with managing finances. This playful, interactive approach not only deepens understanding but also fosters a sense of achievement, making financial literacy both enjoyable and impactful.
The app is currently under development and AI integration.
Please reach out to me for a Prototype Download link from the Development team.
Strategic Impact/ Achievements:
My key take-aways
Designing with core empathy in mind: Addressing sensitive issues like youth debt deepened my understanding of the need for empathetic, user-centered solutions that resonate with real-world challenges.
Impact of mixed-methods research: Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research demonstrated how iterative usability improvements can significantly enhance user experience and measurable outcomes.
Coordination with external stakeholders: Balancing cross-functional collaboration with external stakeholders and internal teams taught me the importance of clear communication, flexibility, and alignment in delivering impactful results.
