Digital Banking: Empathy Map for Kendra
Digital Banking Experience: An empathy Map for Kendra- Kigali millennial
Financial Platform: Mobile Banking App (Bank of Kigali)
Device Type: Smartphone
Target Audience: Millennials (ages 20-40)
User Research Approach
To understand the pain points of this target audience, I conducted desk research across newspaper articles, industry reports, and social media engagements. The following profile represents the experience of young people using the Mobile Banking apps.
Meet Kendra
Her Mobile Banking Experience
Kendra, age 28, is a marketing associate living in Kigali, Rwanda. Her mobile banking app is indispensable for managing daily expenses, supporting family, and tracking progress toward personal goals. Kendra’s digital journey highlights unique challenges—and opportunities—for building trust and engagement.
Key Pain Points & Insights
- Trust is fragile: Transaction Errors and payment failures disrupt Kenda's day and erode her confidence in the app.
- Beyond PINs: Kendra values biometric aunthentification ( fingerprint, face ID) for enhanced security and a peace of mind.
- Proof of payment matters: Accessing documentation should be instant and transparent—no extra effort required.
- Self-service autonomy: Seamless onboarding and empowering workflows features foster satisfaction.
Opportunities for Design Improvement
These actionable focus areas arose while mapping Kendra’s daily banking journey:
- Stability First: Invest robust error handling so transactions never disrupt her daily routine.
- Empower the User: Make recovery and support options clear, quick accessible and minimal friction.
- Proactive Financial Wellness: Integrate easy to use features for expense tracking, budgeting, and insights—all just a tap away.
- Engagement Drives Loyalty: Consider rewarding positive behaviors (saving, learning) with fun, gamified elements.
Summary Table: Kendra’s Experience & recommendations
| Reliability | Crashes, update prompts | Stronger technical foundation |
| Security | Wants biometrics, not just PIN | Offer multiple authentication options |
| Documentation | Struggles with payment records | Instant, easy access to receipts |
| Autonomy | Enjoys self-onboarding, dislikes lockouts | Enable Intuitive, empowering workflows |
| Engagement | Wants app to feel rewarding, not just functional | Introduce gamified, fun elements |
Reviews
5 reviews
Hey, I took a look at this material and I have to be honest - this is too little to give meaningful feedback.
I got one screen with an empathy map and a description of persona. The problem is, I don't see:
- actual design solutions
- user flows
- prototypes or wireframes
- specific UI proposals for the identified problems
What I can say about what's here:
The empathy map looks ok - personas are grounded in the Rwandan context, pain points sound credible (those crashes during payments, lack of transaction proof, account recovery issues). It's a good starting point.
But then... nothing. You have a list of problems and "opportunities for design improvement", but where are the actual design solutions? Where are those screens with improved payment flows? Where's the biometrics in onboarding? Where are the financial tracking features?
What I need to actually help:
- Figma with concrete screens and flows
- Prototypes showing how you're addressing Kendra's pain points
- Before/after - what exists now vs what you're proposing
Without this, I can only nod, but I can't give you feedback on the design because there simply isn't any here. Sorry, but I'd rather be honest. 😊✌️
Really great job here! This is really in depth and well presented. The empathy map is well designed, I'm glad you talked about the research that it was based on. It's always preferable to actually interview someone even if it is friends or family, but your desk research seems thorough enough that it's not uninformed.
Amazing work!
Very detailed article, great job!
Good work! Your empathy map is well-structured, intuitive tool to understand and share the user needs.
You summarize the desk research about a digital banking app. And the empathy map for Kendra is based on the mentioned research.
It would be more powerful to conduct qualitative research about users. And create empathy map upon analyzing the qualitative research.
All in all, you did well.
Your design shows a strong understanding of modern UX/UI principles. The layout feels clean and well-structured, with excellent visual hierarchy and spacing. The color palette is balanced and consistent, creating a professional and trustworthy mood.
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