TOYOTA FINANCE

Project

Toyota Finance had a fragmented set of brands and business systems for car finance, and required a consistent, streamlined process for online car loan applications that could be rolled out across their finance brands.

My Role

Lead UX Designer

Toyota Finance is comprised of several white-labelled brands for car finance and insurance.

The project goal was to develop a universal set of application and claim processes using components that could be re-styled to match any of these brands, as well as importing make, model, year, and price data on any vehicle from dealerships within the Toyota Finance network.

DISCOVERY

In developing an approach to the project I undertook:

  • a discovery workshop with project stakeholders

  • a landscape review of competitors and comparators

  • workshops with business analysts and back-end tech teams

Outcomes:

A set of user-flows that would minimise manual data entry for customers and finance managers, while complying with the requirements of legacy finance systems.

Early prototypes and copy were developed and tested with customers, using Toyota Finance’s PowerTorque sub-brand, for comprehension and ease of use.

INSIGHTS

Early tests demonstrated that many customers:

  • were confused by the terminology of car finance, and

  • were concerned about the time and effort required to apply for a vehicle loan.

Outcomes:

To optimise the loan application process, I

  • streamlined the steps required and developed a simple introduction to each step of the process to provide clarity and reassurance to customers on the information and time the process would require.

  • Additionally, users were provided with on-screen progress indicators to help them understand which steps of the process they had completed.

APPROACH AND IMPLEMENTATION

Working closely with a UI Lead, I developed:

  • set of templates for generating an initial quote for vehicle finance.

  • flexible modules for completing the full application process for joint loan applications and users with complex finances.

The customer journey was focused on:

  • helping applicants understand what was required before they began an application

  • providing clear and simple instructions for customers to help them feel comfortable with the process

  • requiring as little input and effort from customers as possible throughout the journey

  • giving finance managers the required details to complete the process without needless contact with applicants.

Outcomes:

A set of interface modules and form elements were developed that could be easily re-skinned and styled for any of Toyota Finance’s other brands, providing a design system framework that could be applied across their entire business and digitise many of their existing offline processes.