Group savings lack transparency and communication, making it difficult for members to stay aligned.
When saving together didn’t work
In 2025, my friends and I planned a trip to Barcelona. We aimed to save and book flights and a hotel by the end of the summer. However, none of us managed to save on time, and the trip never happened.
This motivated me to improve the group savings experience.
User interview
Pain point
Unclear group savings progress
When people save individually, they are unsure if others are on track, making it difficult for the group to stay aligned.
Pain point
Uncomfortable group discussions
Conversations about money or changes to group plans can be uncomfortable, which makes it difficult to coordinate a group savings plan.
Insight
Accountability motivates saving
Saving with others creates a sense of accountability and responsibility that motivates people to save.
How do existing apps support group saving?
I conducted a competitive analysis to understand how existing products support group savings progress and help members stay connected.
Most apps focus on collecting money after a payment is made instead of supporting ongoing group savings experiences, or are designed only for individual savings.
Testing user flows
Through sketches and wireframes, I explored how users might track group progress and support members falling behind. Then, I conducted usability testing focused on two goals:
To find out whether users could track their group's overall and each member's progress.
To find out whether users could complete the support flow.
Adding micro animation
During user testing, users glanced through the savings summary. I added micro animations to the savings graph and refined the layout to draw more visual attention, ensuring users review their summary before confirming their contribution.
Before
After
Creating an emotional connection to a shared goal
Participants felt the design looked too much like a banking app and came across as cold rather than collaborative.
Based on this feedback, I moved away from bright colours and illustrations and switched to neutral tones with photography to shift the focus away from money and toward the shared goal and group connection.
Initial concept
All 5 participants successfully tracked individual and group saving progress.
All 5 participants identified which members were falling behind and completed the "help a member" flow without errors.
Solutions
Celebrate group milestones together
It celebrates group savings at set milestones and encourages members to stay motivated to keep saving together.
Prevent last-minute due date changes
Sometimes it takes more time to finish saving. The due date review predicts when users will complete their savings based on savings history and suggests extending the deadline early to avoid last-minute changes.
Style guide
Components
