(01)
WHY THIS MATTERS
ABSA serves 59M customers across 11 official languages. 31% still chose branches over digital — not because they couldn't use apps, but because they didn't trust them for what mattered most.
My challenge: design a solution that reduces friction and wait times without stripping away the human trust that makes branches irreplaceable to millions of South Africans.
(02)
THE CHALLENGE
ABSA serves 59 million customers across 11 official languages. Despite heavy investment in
digital channels, 31% of customers still chose branches for high-stakes transactions — not
because they lacked digital access, but because branches represented trust, community, and
human accountability.
The brief wasn't "make the app better." It was: why do people still come in, and how do we
honour that while reducing the friction that frustrates them? I led the UX research and
design strategy for this hackathon challenge — framing the problem, directing the research
approach, and designing the solution architecture.
Success criteria I set at kick-off: wait time 23→15 min, satisfaction 6.2→8.0/10, 85%+ task completion for users 55+. These weren't aspirational — they were the acceptance criteria I used to evaluate every design decision throughout the process.
(03)
MY DESIGN STRATEGY
Most hackathon teams jumped straight to a digital-first solution. I pushed back on that
framing. The research showed that branch visits weren't a failure of digital adoption — they
were a deliberate choice rooted in trust. So I designed a hybrid system that made the physical
experience smarter, not just the app.
Five strategic pillars, each tied to a specific research finding:
• Queue Intelligence — Predictive wait times and appointment scheduling, reducing the
anxiety of "how long will this take?" that drove 40% of negative branch sentiment
• Preparation Assistant — Pre-visit transaction checklists that eliminated the #1 cause
of repeat visits: arriving without the right documents
• Cultural Concierge — Context-aware language and communication preferences across all
11 official languages, because trust is built in your mother tongue
• Progressive Trust — A graduated digital adoption model that kept branch staff as
trusted guides rather than obstacles to be bypassed
• Inclusive Accessibility — Designed for varying tech literacy and data constraints,
ensuring the 55+ segment wasn't left behind by the solution meant to serve them
(04)
THE RESULTS
The impact was measurable and meaningful. Users moved through branches faster, completed tasks
with confidence, and — critically — felt respected throughout the experience.
The key insight that validated the approach: emotional comfort predicted adoption better than
usability scores alone. When people felt the system understood their context — their language,
their situation, their dignity — they engaged with digital features they'd previously avoided.
That's a finding I've carried into every project since.
35% reduction in branch friction while preserving valued human interactions
87% task completion rate for users 55+ demonstrating inclusive design effectiveness
89% return intention — satisfaction lifted from 6.2 to 8.0/10
"The most important design decision I made wasn't a UI pattern — it was reframing the problem. The brief said 'reduce branch visits.' The research said 'people come to branches because they trust them.' Those are two very different problems. Solving the right one is what a lead designer does."
Lead UX Researcher & Designer · ABSA Hackathon, Trust-Centred Branch Experience
