Escrow Express
Project Summary
Background
Escrow clients managed their escrow sub accounts through Capital One agents and the processes and tools that the agents used were outdated, clunky, and not intuitive. We were tasked with redesigning and converting the existing escrow management platform to an application called Escrow Express to enable our clients to self-service their sub accounts online, including opening and closing accounts, transferring funds in real time, and pulling the reporting they need on demand.
The Problem
How might we design and create an intuitive platform for escrow customers to self-service their escrow accounts?
Business Goals
Portfolio growth
Enable customers to self-service their escrow accounts
Open and close sub-accounts
Move money between accounts
Upload documents (i.e. tax forms)
Find and filter through multiple master accounts, sub-accounts, and transactions
Disburse remaining funds when an account is closed
My Role
Product Designer
Team
Product manager, 5 developers, 2 product designers
Who are we designing for?
Escrow agents in a variety of industries, i.e. property management, title companies, 1031 exchanges, law firms, and funeral homes, who directly manage sub accounts and funds
Broader user research about commercial and business customers was conducted at a larger scale (you can read my earlier case study about commercial bank research)
Diverge
Mapping User Flows
I mapped out each user flow to prepare for creating wireframes.
Cross-functional Brainstorm Sessions
For each of the user flows we had to redesign and rebuild, I worked closely with product and engineering to quickly come up with different ways we could approach the solution. Since we were working with a legacy system with a lot of complexity, it was crucial to get their feedback and ideas earlier in the process.
Quick Iteration and Feedback Cycles
After workshopping some directions, mocking up some high-fidelity designs was a relatively quick process due to being able to use our design system. When we could, we reviewed our designs with our clients in remote feedback sessions.
Converge
Usability Testing
We also tested our designs at the usability lab at the 1717 Innovation Center with proxy clients. The entire cross-functional team (product, engineering, and design) conducted the study, observed, and debriefed together.
Delivery and Impact
Escrow Express is live! Within 2 weeks of going live, we estimate that this platform has helped bring in an additional $100M in deposits to the bank and increased user efficiency by 60%. Users have continued to give incredibly positive feedback on the new experience and expressed that they want to work with Capital One more closely for future improvements. You can find the main product page here.