POP Mobiili - Mobile Banking App

POP Mobiili is a mobile banking application developed for POP Pankki in Finland.

The app brings together everyday banking services such as accounts, payments, loans, investments, insurance, and customer communication in one mobile experience.

The goal of the project was to redesign and expand the existing application while maintaining compatibility with the bank’s legacy infrastructure and strict regulatory environment.

Over several years, the product evolved into a comprehensive financial platform used daily by thousands of customers.

I worked as the lead product designer responsible for shaping the overall product structure and user experience across the application.

My role went beyond designing screens and interactions. I worked closely with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to translate business requirements and technical constraints into a product structure that could scale over time.

A large part of the work involved bridging the gap between legacy banking infrastructure and a modern mobile experience.

I also played a key role in aligning stakeholders and guiding product decisions across teams.

To keep the product consistent and scalable over time, we established a few working foundations across design and development.

A shared design system was built using high-fidelity mockups that reflected the current state of the product. It allowed faster alignment with stakeholders and reduced iteration cycles.

Additionally, a structured workflow connected design, development, and QA processes. A dedicated “fundamental mockups” layer reflected the production state of the application, giving both designers and engineers a single reference point and making it easier to keep implementation aligned with design decisions.

This helped maintain consistency even as multiple features were developed in parallel.

The product became a central digital channel for the bank, supporting everyday usage across accounts, payments, investments, and communication.

During the same period, the bank reported significant growth in key financial metrics, including over 20% growth in core activity indicators and a 126% increase in profit.

While these results were driven by multiple factors, improvements in the digital product experience supported customer adoption and engagement.

Designing POP Mobiili meant working within a complex environment shaped by both technical and market-specific constraints.

The Finnish banking ecosystem differs significantly from other European markets. Many services rely on national authentication systems and legacy infrastructure that cannot be easily modified.

At the same time, the product needed to integrate multiple financial services — banking, investments, insurance, and communication — into a single coherent mobile experience.

The key challenge was not the interface itself, but structuring a complex financial system in a way that made sense to everyday users.

To manage this complexity, the application was structured around several major functional domains. The intention was to create a system that could grow as new services were added while keeping everyday interactions simple.

The core structure separated key areas such as accounts, payments, loans, investments, insurance, and communication. This made it easier to scale the product without losing clarity for users.

Users interacting with financial products have very different levels of knowledge and confidence. Some know exactly what they want to do, while others need guidance.

To support both, the experience was intentionally segmented into multiple paths. Experienced users could move directly to actions, while less experienced users were guided through flows that helped them understand available options.

This made complex financial services easier to understand without limiting efficiency.

The original navigation relied heavily on hidden structures such as the hamburger menu, which made key features harder to find.

The navigation was redesigned around a bottom navigation bar that exposed the most important areas of the application. This made core functionality immediately accessible and reduced the need for exploration.

Authentication was one of the biggest friction points in the original experience.

Users relied on external tools such as code sheets or separate authentication devices, which made simple actions slower and more complicated than needed.

The long-term direction was to bring authentication closer to the mobile experience and reduce dependency on external tools. Instead of forcing a full technical overhaul, we introduced a lighter model. Users could stay logged in and confirm actions using PIN or biometrics, while full re-authentication was required only periodically.

This significantly reduced friction while staying within technical and regulatory constraints.

The existing backend imposed strict limitations on how features could be implemented.

Instead of pushing for expensive or risky solutions, the focus was on balancing speed, reliability, and cost. The product relied on native platform components rather than heavily customized UI. Advanced animations were avoided, and the app was optimized for mobile usage only.

This allowed the product to evolve faster without increasing delivery complexity.

One of the clearest examples of how these decisions worked in practice was the investment module.

Investing is one of the most complex areas of consumer finance. The aim was to make investment products more accessible without oversimplifying the decisions behind them.

Three primary paths were defined:

• Direct selection — for experienced users.
• Portfolio expansion — for existing investors.
• Guided exploration — for beginners.

This allowed users to enter the experience at different levels depending on their confidence.

We also explored a concept that supported users who wanted to learn before making decisions.

The idea was to combine educational content with practical guidance.

The flow included:

• Basic knowledge (videos and articles).
• Choosing the right fund.
• Understanding performance.
• Learning the purchase process.

Although not implemented, it reflected the broader direction of making financial products more understandable.

The investment experience was structured around a simple model. Users who knew what they wanted could proceed directly. Others could explore or use guided flows.

This reduced cognitive load and made the experience more flexible.

Early feedback showed that users better understood the investment process and felt more confident making decisions. The separation between direct actions and guided exploration reduced confusion and made the experience easier to navigate.

This created a clearer path from exploration to action and made the experience more approachable for less experienced users.

Working on POP Mobiili reinforced how important product structure is when designing complex systems.

Most of the key challenges were not about individual screens, but about structuring the product so it could scale and remain understandable.

The project also highlighted how infrastructure, regulation, and market context shape product decisions.

Over time, we developed a clearer vision for how the experience could evolve further — including deeper service integration and more personalized interactions.

Even though later changes shifted focus toward maintaining the platform, the project showed how a well-structured product can become a central channel for both customer experience and business growth.

Many of these decisions required balancing user needs, technical constraints, and business goals.