Banking Agreement Design
One platform for a process that ran on emails
A top-5 US bank processed 15,000 control agreements a year across 13 teams and 16 tools, almost entirely by hand. I led research, blueprinting, and UI design for the platform that replaced it.
What I Owned
-Led end-to-end UX design across a 6-month engagement
-Conducted 15 user interviews across 12 key roles to map pain points
-Created current-state service blueprint and designed the format
-Built framework relevant for prioritization matrix and worked with stakeholders to define MVP scope
-Designed future state workflow and UIs of digital intake forms, status tracker, and routing system
-Presented wireframes and iterated with cross-functional stakeholders
What is DACA?
A DACA is a three-party agreement that lets a lender monitor and control a borrower's bank account as security for a loan through the bank.
Deposit Account Control Agreements (DACA) are a critical piece of commercial lending infrastructure - they're the legal mechanism that gives a lender security over a borrower's bank accounts. At this bank, which manages treasury services for over 44,000 corporate clients including two-thirds of the Fortune 500, DACAs touch a significant portion of the commercial lending portfolio.
The Challenge
The existing process of setting up a new DACA agreement, modifying or terminating it involved 13+ teams using 16+ tools with a alck of streamlined process.This led to processing times of 3+ weeks, frequent errors, and frustrating employee and customer experience.
Outcomes
Smart intake form
Every request accounted
Instant agreement + tracked submission
Rules set once + escalation built in
Rules hand over + reasons come with it
Reduction in Processing Time
Pain Points Resolved
Linear Flow
How did we get here?
15 interviews across 12 roles, a current-state blueprint all 13 teams saw together for the first time, and a prioritization workshop that expanded scope from UI to process redesign.
User Research
Current State Blueprint
Feasibility Session
Priorotization Workshop
Future State Blueprint
UI Design
User Research
Who I Designed For
Sally Sales
- Retain client trust with timely status updates
- Reduce dependency on manual tracking
- Zero visibility into DACA request status
- Inconsistent communication across departments
- Centralized tracking with automated client notifications
Robert Rapport
- Minimize back-and-forth with RM
- Reduce repetitive data entry across systems
- Getting details from RM into the banks ecosystem via emails
- What do tp next vary by the kind of DACA
- Unified intake form with auto-populated fields
Charlie Corrector
- Reduce review cycles and rework
- Meet the banks compliance needs
- Needs to constantly send documents back for completion of corrections
- Case-by-case reviews
- Built-in validation and guided document templates
Izzy Tater
- Accurately input details in the system to ensure actual money moves correctly
- Audit the work of other implementors before it goes live
- Information scattered across multiple systems
- Manual cross-referencing slows execution
- Consolidated dashboard with automated verification
Every persona - from client-facing RMs to back-office implementers - was working with limited acces to information. Status updates required emails, calls, and cross-referencing multiple systems. This became the north star for the redesign: one system, full transparency, end to end.
Current State Blueprint
Creating a blueprint stitched the workflow or the teams together and I was able to identify the challanges arising due to handoffs between different team.
For the first time all teams saw the entire process end-to-end and worked together to create a better flow.
Prioritization Matrix
Scope Modification
75%+ of "must haves" were process-related challenges. The scope was modified to improve process and flows along with the UI design.
Three Pillars of the Dream State
Digital Migration
Smarter Tech
Efficient Backend
Two Phases
The bank was going through a modernization effort which for us meant that some impreovements will have to wait. However, the users wanted some of the solutions to be implemented ASAP.
I created two phases of solutions to account for time it will take to bring about the changes
Designs
Each screen was designed to solve a specific process pain point identified in the blueprint.
Digestible Information
Digital Intake Form
Prioritized and clustered information so users find it easy to fill forms. Drop-downs and search capabilities let users choose the right option, eliminating validation errors downstream.
Full Visibility
Status Tracker
A shared dashboard showing every DACA request's status in real time. All teams can see where things are without sending emails or Teams messages.
Guidance & Nudges
Contextual Support System
Relevant documents, guides, and reference images are surfaced right where employees need them - helping teams make informed decisions, respond to customers faster, and eliminate unnecessary back-and-forth.
Automated Handoffs
Smarter Workflows
Automated backend routing sends details to the right teams based on request type. No more manual forwarding or guessing who needs to act next.
Single Source of Truth
Unified Dashboard
All DACA information lives in one trackable system. Implementers no longer juggle multiple tools - everything they need is in a single view.