Chase Mobile App | kebin robin

WEEKLY
SPENDING RECAP

A passive financial check-in feature for Chase that helps everyday users understand their spending without stress, setup, or judgment.

What?

A weekly spending recap feature added to Chase's mobile app to help users understand their finances through passive, plain-language summaries with no setup or budgeting tools required.

For who?

Designed for everyday Chase users. Especially paycheck-to-paycheck users and ESL users who want clarity and reassurance without complexity.

My role

UX/UI designer responsible for user research, interviews,persona development, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.

Project Duration

4 weeks

Tools

Figma — Usability Testing — Interview Synthesis

What Chase needs

A feature that increases weekly engagement, builds trust in the app, and reduces anxiety-driven support calls without requiring users to set up budgets or configure anything.

What users need

To know if something went wrong. To understand what changed. To avoid surprises. To feel in control without having to dig through data to get there.

THE SOLUTION

A guided weekly check-in. Nothing more

A lightweight, linear recap flow that walks users through their week in three steps. No setup. No goals. Just a plain-language summary of what happened and whether its normal.

Flow 1 — Normal spending

Your spending is right on track

When spending is within usual range, users get a category breakdown, a week-over-week trend, and plain-language reassurance. The recap ends with an optional path to the Spending Planner but it's never required.

Flow 2 — Above-usual spending

Spending spiked.. here is why

When spending is higher than usual, the messaging shifts tone without alarming the user. It names the category, gives context, and offers optional charge review or dispute paths — all calmly.

Charge Review and Dispute

Investigate without leaving the recap

Users can drill into any charge, confirm it looks right, or initiate a dispute — all from within the recap flow. Both paths are clear and supportive, with easy return paths back to the summary.

How I did it

5 interviews. 1 important pivot.

I conducted multiple rounds of user interviews with five participants across different financial profiles. From hyper-engaged daily checkers to monthly-only ESL users.

Nancy

Paycheck-to-paycheck. Relies on text alerts. Avoids the app when anxious.

"Don't let me get surprised."

Martha

Intentional planner. Tracks weekly. Experiences stress around

big spending moments.

"Help me stay disciplined."

Ryan

Checks Chase 2–3x daily. Googles merchant codes. Frustrated by vague labels.

"Make this smarter."

Nate

Schedule-based. Spreadsheet user. Rarely confused but
dislikes vendor changes.

"Just let me control it."

Sindy

ESL user. Monthly checker. Focused entirely on bill confirmation.

"Just make sure my bills are paid."

The pivot.

Early interviews skewed toward confident users, which revealed something unexpected. Even experienced users rely on passive tools (alerts, timelines) rather than active budgeting. The problem wasn't a beginner budgeting gap. It was a clarity and reassurance gap across all user types.

Original hypothesis

Beginner budgeting tools for new-to-banking and ESL users

Research-supported reframe

Passive financial understanding for users who want confidence without active management

What Users Actually Needed

1. Confidence ≠ clarity

Even financially literate users experience moments of doubt when transaction information is unclear. Trust breaks when the app can't explain itself.

2. Banking apps are emotional regulation tools

Users check their accounts to reduce anxiety — not to plan. Frequent app use is driven by reassurance-seeking, not financial management.

3. Passive visibility beats active dashboards

Nobody wants to configure categories or set up budgets. Users want the app to understand their finances for them and surface what matters.

4. Language friction exists for everyone

Unclear merchant names and financial jargon create confusion even for native English speakers — it's just normalized. For ESL users, it's a blocker.

5. Stress spikes during exceptions

Overwhelm doesn't happen during routine checks — it happens when something is unclear or unexpected. Design should help users navigate those moments.

Personas

Three personas emerged from research, each representing a distinct relationship with financial anxiety and app engagement. Despite their differences, all three needed the same thing: clarity and reassurance — not more features.

Naomi Rivera

Paycheck-to-paycheck · 34 · NJ

Monitors constantly but it causes stress, not confidence. Avoids checking when money is low.

Needs emotional safety, not budgeting tools.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Two lo-fi iterations established the flow structure and fixed an early navigation problem before any visual design was applied.

V1. Core flow established

Mapped the 4-screen primary flow and alt flows for charge review and dispute. Navigation used small arrow icons — low affordance, easy to miss.

V2. Navigation fix + content refinement

Replaced icon buttons with explicit labeled CTAs: "Next" and "View Charges." Category label on Screen 2 refined from Food → Travel to better reflect a realistic scenario.

Usability Testing

Two lo-fi iterations established the flow structure and fixed an early navigation problem before any visual design was applied.

Task

Enter the weekly recap

Understand weekly spending summary

Review what changed and why

Review and verify a specific charge

Exit the recap and return to accounts

Result

✓ Completed without help

✓ Completed

✗ Inconsistent — critical gap

I feel more in control when I see this laid out.

— Nancy

I'm usually stressed about money, but this makes sense and feels accurate.

— Danny

Critical fix

"Back to accounts" added persistently to every screen in the flow.

Added

User Flow 2 designed for above-usual spending with distinct tone and messaging.

Refined

Charge review screen expanded to show two stacked charge cards for more context.

Outcomes

Both usability participants verbally expressed relief — not stress — when reviewing the prototype. The feature encouraged financial reflection and a desire to engage, not avoidance.

"Seeing this makes me want to be more mindful next week." — Nancy

This validated the core hypothesis: when users understand their spending, they feel in control — and they want to keep engaging with their finances. Clarity isn't just a UX win. It's a retention strategy.

What I'd do differently
Recruit participants aligned with the target persona earlier. Test the abnormal spending flow with a third participant to validate tone. Explore a Spanish-language variant to address ESL needs more concretely.

If taken further
Longer-term trend views (30–90 days), deeper Chase budgeting tool integration, and A/B testing on reassurance copy across spending scenarios.

Reflection

The most important shift in this project happened before any wireframe was drawn. My original hypothesis — that the problem was beginner budgeting — was wrong. Research corrected it. That pivot made the work stronger.

I learned that designing for emotional safety is just as important as designing for usability. Small choices in language, hierarchy, and tone change how users feel about their own financial behavior. A feature that makes someone feel calm instead of stressed is doing real work.

This project also taught me to trust restraint. The best version of this feature is the one that does less — no goals, no setup, no advice. Just clarity.

Want to see the full prototype?

The full interactive Figma prototype is available — or let's connect and talk through the process.

View Figma Prototype

Back to Work

WEEKLYSPENDING RECAP