Get Paid to Pay-off Debt
Kelly Jiang
Debbie is focused on building financial freedom products to provide borrowers with the resources they actually need to ditch their debt once and for all.
My Role:
As the Lead Product Designer, I collaborate closely with the founders and engineers to ensure a high-quality and quick implementation. I started working on Debbie pre MVP launch in Jan of 2022 till today. My focuses since have been exploring ways to make financial wellness rewarding and easy to understand through a clear user experience. I have helped design core experiences for all the fundamental features in the current product.
Background
Debbie is an app focused on guiding borrowers on their financial wellness journey towards debt freedom. Some points that make Debbie different from other financial apps:
Ability to link accounts and track debt live
Get personalized goals and build healthy money habits
Earn money rewards for paying off debt and qualify for rate savings
Debbie users have paid off 4x more debt than the average borrower, as well as saved around $100/month on average.
This app is a stunning contribution to society that would it have been introduced to me at some earlier point would've set me on a great financial path. The gamification of something boring like debt payoff is a powerful tool to being debt free. I've already paid more than I normally would've, and not any amounts that would ruin me but definitely more contributions that I otherwise would've. I'm really blown away by the good natured people that decided to build a platform like this. I couldn't give a high enough rating and the App Store could use about 100 more apps with as benevolent intentions as this.
Onboarding & Account Linking
As part of the app's onboarding process, I designed a user-friendly and secure experience that enables individuals to conveniently link their credit cards and spending accounts within the Debbie app. Account linking allows for users to receive personalized goals and visually presented analysis of their progress in paying off debts.
Personalization & Habits
One significant aspect that I focused on was enhancing the personalization and habit-forming elements of the Debbie app. Each week, users are presented with specific tasks and financial challenges aimed at fostering positive money habits. By successfully completing these tasks, users make progress towards achieving debt freedom.
Rewards Gamification
Have you ever heard of a platform that pays you to pay off your debt? Debbie allows users to earn cash rewards for achieving their goals. One of the pain points that many individuals encounter is the lack of motivation and accountability. To address this, I worked on designing an intuitive experience that incorporates personalized learning module pathways, debt payoff streaks, and savings streaks that reward users upon completion. These features help users overcome the hurdles of staying motivated and accountable during their debt repayment journey.
Impact
The app waitlist grew from 500 to 18k+ since launch in 2022 and won Best of Show at FinnovateFall 2022 tech conference.
Debbie is currently available in the Apple & Android app store and has been onboarding thousands of new users off the waitlist. Since launch, this app has helped people save around $200k+ and paid-off around a total net debt of $500k+.
Based on numerous feedback calls, we have also discovered that Debbie consistently ranks as the most widely utilized financial app among our users.
Press Release
So far the lessons are Debsational. I absolutely love this app to Deb. Carpe de Debs. The extra incentives I receive for using this app make the Debian in me so Debonair!!!
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Posted Jun 7, 2023
Debbie is a financial wellness companion app focused on building financial freedom products to provide borrowers with the resources they actually need.
