Schwab Empathy Mapping

Target audience for the Charles Schwab app:

• People that want to invest their money on their own
• People who use this app for their bank
• Beginners and long-time investors

Pain points:

• The app is complex especially for new users. It can be overwhelming especially because a lot is at stake when money is involved.
• The information, charts and symbols can be a lot for any user, especially new, to take in.
• New users or users that don’t use the app that often may get confused at the app jargon. There’s a learning curve for figuring out what all the terms and charts mean.

User delights:

• User can switch from dark to light mode depending on their surroundings.
• The app uses facial recognition, which makes it easy to sign in and makes it feel secure.
• The account summary page shows a chart and numbers in red and green to indicate how well your stocks are doing.
• User can look at the markets tab to gain insights into what to invest in.

Conclusion:

The app is designed more for experienced users. The overwhelming interface (especially on a small phone screen) can lead new users to feel nervous and confused. Some elements are helpful, like the charts and red and green numbers, but elements such as the market page and terms like “transfer” and “trade” can lead to more confusion.

The app feels secure knowing how many other uses trust them with their finances. The facial recognition helps to make the user feel safe and comfortable right away. Trust is arguably the most important factor when working with money, so getting users to feel at peace with your product is key.

Suggestions:

• Since this app is tailored more to experienced users, I suggest adding an FAQ video section for the app basics. Having a place that new, returning and experienced users can refer to will help with confusion and the nervousness that some users have when it comes to investing.
• The interface can be overwhelming for beginner users. There are a lot of charts, number, symbols and terms to understand, and a user must understand the basics before they feel comfortable enough to use the app and invest their money. I suggest simplifying the accounts page of the app. There are terms, symbols and actions that seem confusing for a new user. A new user wants to see their account information and know how to invest their money, making this as simple as possible will help them do this.
• There is a lot of industry jargon on this app, which can lead to a new user feeling out of place and deter them from using the app. Adding a terms or help page where new users can go to have things explained to them could help them to feel confident about using the app.