Opening a Fixed Deposit is easy. Feeling sure about it is not. Before committing their money, people wanted clear answers to three questions: what will I get back, how long is my money locked, and what happens after it matures. In the existing flow those answers arrived late, or on screens away from the decision. I redesigned this mobile banking experience around that moment, so returns, tenure and what happens after booking are clear before anyone commits.
A storyboard of the problem, not a documented session.
Three questions before committing
Grouped from the two interviews. The existing app answers these questions late, or not on the screen where the decision is made.
Before redesigning anything, I walked the live app end to end and captured every screen in the FD path.
Dark steps are where confidence breaks down.
Screens captured from the live ICICI Bank app, for reference only. Independent review, not affiliated with or commissioned by ICICI Bank.
How might we make FD creation feel more transparent, understandable and confidence inspiring?
Mobile banking users who already use FDs
Interviews
What the two interviews showed
Varun Kumar, 27, Chief of Staff, Bangalore
Meera Pandit, 32, Finance HR, Pune
Two interviews are a small sample. They frame the problem and do not size it.
What research showed, and what it changed
Across both, people expected a simple digital journey with fewer steps and clearer guidance.
People did not struggle to create an FD. They struggled to feel sure.
Bring the answers to the moment of decision.
Three principles for the redesign.
What you will receive is clear while you decide.
Compare tenures without decoding terms.
The last step informs people, it does not rush them.
The deposit, review and custom tenure screens.
What is Fixed Deposit, one amount screen, a plan sheet, review, book.
Prototype note. Rates and financial values shown are illustrative. They are not financial advice or live banking information.
Why. People wanted to know what they would receive before they committed, so the answer sits beside the amount instead of on a later screen.
Why. Options were hard to compare and the terms added doubt, so every plan shows its rate on one row. More flexibility can mean more complexity, so simple choices come first and custom tenure appears when people want more control.
Why. FDs felt rigid and people were unsure what they were agreeing to, so one review step repeats the terms and Book FD becomes the only commitment.
Trade offs
Showing maturity, gains, rate and yield earlier adds transparency and adds density.
Custom tenure gives control, and it can make choosing harder.
A review step is one more step, and it makes the commitment explicit.
Design considerations, not measured outcomes.
Business impact was not measured. This is an independent concept tested as a prototype. The changes above are design outcomes, not measured results.
What I would validate next, future work, not results
Can people explain how much they receive at maturity?
Can they explain why they chose a tenure?
Can they finish the flow without help?
Does showing outcomes earlier change abandonment?
Do they understand renewal and what follows booking?
Also to check, whether "upto 0.50% more" for senior citizens reads as precise enough, and whether short tenure codes such as "6M 1D" are read correctly.
The answers were always somewhere in the app. Now they are where the decision happens.
On a separate calculator, or at the last confirmation
Beside the amount, as you type
A chart, a slider and about ten fields
Plans and rates in one column
Clear late, at the last step
One review, then Book FD
How it helps
These are design outcomes. Business impact was not measured, and nothing here is a tested result.
In financial products, simplicity is not just fewer screens. It is less uncertainty at the moments that matter.
Independent concept, not affiliated with or commissioned by ICICI Bank. Rates and financial values are illustrative.