TSB — RETAIL BANKING APP

Closing the gap with focused actions

65% of new TSB current account customers were adopting the mobile app — but far fewer were completing the actions that make a customer sticky. I led the research and design of an in-app activation checklist to guide new customers through the key moments that turn a sign-up into a genuine banking relationship.

65% of new TSB current account customers were adopting the mobile app — but far fewer were completing the actions that make a customer sticky. I led the research and design of an in-app activation checklist to guide new customers through the key moments that turn a sign-up into a genuine banking relationship.

My role

Lead UX / Product designer

Platform

iOS and Android

Audience

New customers

Status

Live

Impact at a glance

£2.07m

Projected annual balance growth

57→60%

Account funding target within 30 days

42→45%

PoS transaction target

4x

More likely to become main banker

£2.07m

Projected annual balance growth

57→60%

Account funding target within 30 days

42→45%

PoS transaction target

4x

More likely to become main banker

01

01

My role

Research-led, end-to-end ownership

User research

Led research to identify which activation actions had the greatest impact on long-term customer retention

Journey design

Designed the full checklist experience — states, progression, prompts, and contextual nudges in the app

Commercial framing

Built the business case for each activation event, quantifying the income and balance impact of each action

End-to-end delivery

Sole designer from discovery through to build-ready specs and live launch on iOS and Android

02

02

Problem

Opening an account is not the same as becoming a customer

65% of new TSB customers were adopting the mobile app — but adoption alone doesn’t create a banking relationship. The data showed a clear gap: only 57% of new customers funded their account within the first 30 days, and only 42.6% made a Point of Sale transaction in the same window. These customers were at high risk of becoming dormant before they’d experienced the real value of the product.

65% of new TSB customers were adopting the mobile app — but adoption alone doesn’t create a banking relationship. The data showed a clear gap: only 57% of new customers funded their account within the first 30 days, and only 42.6% made a Point of Sale transaction in the same window. These customers were at high risk of becoming dormant before they’d experienced the real value of the product.

“Customers who switched their main banking to TSB were almost four times more likely to become long-term main bankers. The design problem was getting them there.”

Reframe

From “improve app adoption” → “design the moments that turn a sign-up into a genuine banking relationship within 30 days”

03

03

Research

Using research to identify the right four actions

Before designing anything, I ran user research to understand which actions new customers found most meaningful and most likely to make them feel settled in their new account. The research also validated which activation events correlated most strongly with long-term retention in the data — ensuring the checklist was grounded in both user behaviour and commercial evidence.

Before designing anything, I ran user research to understand which actions new customers found most meaningful and most likely to make them feel settled in their new account. The research also validated which activation events correlated most strongly with long-term retention in the data — ensuring the checklist was grounded in both user behaviour and commercial evidence.

Four actions emerged as the clear priorities, each one a meaningful step toward TSB becoming a customer’s main bank rather than a secondary account.

Transfer money into your new account

Done

Switch to TSB from your old bank

Done

Set up a standing order

To do

Add your card to your digital wallet

To do

04

04

Commercial case

Each action had a quantified business value

The activation framework was underpinned by a rigorous commercial case, each action tied directly to a projected income or balance impact, making design decisions easy to prioritise and defend with stakeholders.

Fund account within 30 days

Baseline

57%

Target

60%

£2.07m annual balances · £29k income

Switch within 30 days

Baseline 16.5% → Target 17.5%

88 additional switchers per month · 4x more likely to become main banker

Card to digital wallet

Baseline 50% → Target 65%

Increased daily engagement and app stickiness

05

05

Outcome

A live activation system with measurable commercial targets

The activation checklist launched as a live feature in the TSB mobile app for all new current account customers. Each activation event was tracked against baseline metrics with clear commercial targets — giving the product team a framework to measure impact and iterate against over time.

The activation checklist launched as a live feature in the TSB mobile app for all new current account customers. Each activation event was tracked against baseline metrics with clear commercial targets — giving the product team a framework to measure impact and iterate against over time.

What I’d do differently

With more time I’d have pushed for A/B testing the checklist against a control group to measure uplift directly. The commercial projections were strong but a controlled experiment would have given us much more precise data on which individual actions drove the biggest impact on retention.

With more time I’d have pushed for A/B testing the checklist against a control group to measure uplift directly. The commercial projections were strong but a controlled experiment would have given us much more precise data on which individual actions drove the biggest impact on retention.

Thanks for taking the time.

If you’d like to talk through my work, I’d love to hear from you.

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