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About
Westpac is?
One of Australia’s largest banks.
What was the project about
This project sat within the consumer lending and property ownership space and aimed to make buying, owning, or investing in property simpler and more transparent for customers.
What did I focus on?
When I joined, the team had already validated that digitising the process would deliver value. My role was to shape what that looked like across single and joint applicants—covering both investors and owner-occupiers—and test each weekly with real customers.
I led the effort to translate a manual, branch-led process into a digital experience, requiring multiple rounds of testing and validation, stakeholder workshops, and close alignment with risk, legal, and engineering teams.
I then supported delivery for what was to be multiple banks and brands, working within a tech stack that was modernising but not yet modern, pushing for upgrades to the decision engine and alignment with Westpac’s Global Experience Language (GEL). In parallel, I designed the staff experience—a portal connected to the customer interface that allowed lenders to set up loan scenarios and seamlessly hand them over to customers. When issues arose, support staff could view exactly what the customer saw, making troubleshooting faster and more accurate.
PRODUCT
Westpac
ROLE
Senior product designer
Contributions
User testing, Wireframes, Prototyping, Interface & Interaction Design
DATE
October 2015
The product
Westpac Wonder was an up-to-date customer profile connected to a real-time risk decision engine. It uses regulator-approved responsible lending practices to give customers a clear understanding of their borrowing options.
Each interaction with the bank — from a loan to a credit card — added to the customer’s profile. Which the risk engine would use to calculate a live lending figure, such as the principal amount a customer can borrow. As customers update information like salary changes or external credit cards, that lending figure adjusts instantly.
This approach replaces static calculators and repetitive forms with a living profile that reflects each customer’s financial position. It helped customers see exactly where they stand and what they can do next.
Problem
Before Wonder, every customer went through the same slow process — whether they were new to Westpac or long-term customers.
Step 1:
Fill out a paper form, which required lots of information that the bank already possessed.
Step 2:
Submit this form to a banker in branch, with supporting documentation such as proof of identity and assets.
Step 3:
Wait for a credit decision to be made, with fingers crossed that they received the outcome they wanted.
figure 1: The process
“I need help to understand my options. I want my banker to be there when I need them, in the right way, with the right information.”
Customers
Customers felt uncertain and wanted transparent, timely guidance. Length current process often meant that houses moved without them, leaving many feeling powerless and frustrated.
Another pain point was misplaced optimism, customers would get their hopes up only to learn later that they weren’t eligible for the loan they expected - in many cases
Staff
Bankers were overloaded with manual tasks and had little time for relationship-building.
“I spend 80% of my time focused on the paperwork to apply and 20% meeting with new customers. I’m buried in admin.”
Approach
Aligned with stakeholders across Westpac to refine product scope and feasibility
Mapped journeys for three archetypes first-time buyers, renovators, and investors
Conducted user research to uncover pain points in the property journey
Created end to end flows for new home loans portion of Wonder.
Tested prototypes I designed with customers, iteratively on an almost weekly basis.
Worked with internals teams to ensure components were compliant for the GEL (global experience language)
Closely supported development team throughout delivery phase
Goals
Competitive differentiation: Build a property platform that gave Westpac an edge over rival banks, by positioning clarity and transparency as part of the value proposition.
Operational efficiency: Reduce branch staff time wasted on unqualified loan applicants.
Customer experience: Prevent negative experiences by helping people understand borrowing capacity upfront.
Outcomes
Customers could explore their options and at their own pace anywhere there was internet.
Joint customers could fill in their section at different times and locations.
Customers could verify their options and borrowing amount (including tailored pricing) based on their profile which made transparent data points that the bank used to make a decision.
For the first time get approval in principle online and instantly.
Outcomes
"Top ups" average days to receive funds down from 25 days to 3days, with many happening within 24hours.
17,000 onboarding completions to Wonder within 6 months
226 new loans created through the service
700 warm leads from customers who requested a call-back while they were completing the form.
We were not only the first bank in Australia but the word!
2016 - Retail Banking
Innovative
Mortgage
Product
WINNER
2016