Onboarding Redesign

Overview

Abhiloans (by Knab Finance) is a fintech platform trusted by over 500,000 Indians that lets users borrow against mutual funds, shares, and bonds — getting funds disbursed within 4 hours without impacting their credit score. I redesigned the onboarding flow to make the journey from sign-up to loan application fast, intuitive, and friction-free, directly targeting the high drop-off rates in the existing multi-step process.

The Challenge

The existing onboarding required users to navigate too many steps before they could even begin a loan application. The interface was cluttered, progress was unclear, and users frequently dropped off at key moments — particularly during KYC verification and securities pledging. For a product that promises loans in 4 hours, the onboarding felt anything but quick. The challenge was to make a process that involves financial compliance feel effortless.

Process

1. Drop-off Analysis
2. User Interviews
3. Flow Mapping
4. Friction Audit
5. Progressive Disclosure
6. UI Design
7. Usability Testing

Approach

I started with Hotjar recordings and funnel analytics to pinpoint exactly where users were dropping off and why. User interviews revealed that the biggest frustrations were around unclear progress, redundant data entry, and anxiety about financial steps. I redesigned the flow using progressive disclosure — showing only what's needed at each step — with clear progress indicators, inline validation, and contextual guidance that reassured users about security and compliance at every stage.

Key Contributions

• Analyzed drop-off data and heatmaps to identify the highest-friction steps in the funnel
• Conducted user interviews focused on trust, anxiety, and cognitive load during financial onboarding
• Redesigned the multi-step flow into a streamlined progressive disclosure pattern
• Added clear progress indicators so users always knew where they stood
• Designed inline validation and contextual help to reduce errors and support anxiety
• Created a security-first visual language that reinforced trust at every financial step
• Validated the new flow through moderated usability testing with target users

Outcome

The redesigned onboarding significantly reduced time-to-first-loan and improved conversion rates through the application funnel. Users reported feeling more confident during the process, and the new progressive disclosure pattern became a template for other flows across the Abhiloans platform. The work helped the platform better deliver on its core promise: quick, hassle-free loans against securities.