Borrowing money shouldn’t be confusing.
Enhancing the borrowing experience at BMO
Creditor Insurance, Line of credit & Overdraft protection
Role: Design Lead, UX Research, UI Design
*Due to security policies, LOFI wireframes and problem solving approaches
are showcased instead of actual figma screens
Overview
I led UX for multiple borrowing products at BMO, including unsecured creditor insurance, overdraft protection, and cross sell journeys.
Each initiative was driven by analytics insights, product priorities, and strict legal requirements. Working closely with Legal, Analytics, and three Scrum teams across Canada and Poland, I focused on reducing drop offs, building user trust, and strengthening accessibility.
I also contributed to the BMO Design System, creating reusable patterns and ensuring WCAG compliance across all borrowing flows.
Key borrowing application journeys
Creditor Insurance
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Ran a UX health check using data analysis and user interviews to uncover hidden pain points in the enrollment journey
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Redesigned the flow to reduce friction, clarify eligibility, and align recommendations with Legal
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Overdraft protection
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Improved the review page and confirmation UX
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Optimized the PDF loading experience
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Line of Credit
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Used data insights to identify user pain points and drop-offs
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Conducted in depth traffic and drop off analysis using behavioral data tools
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Worked cross-functionally to validate feasibility with developers
Case Study 1 — Why “Copy & Paste” UX Didn’t Work
Context
Unsecured insurance users entered via marketing emails, unlike the secured flow designed for logged-in users. The team initially reused the secured framework for efficiency.
Problem
The mismatch caused confusion — users faced pre-filled personal info in an unauthenticated email flow, resulting in a 67% drop-off after the first screen.
What I did
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Redesigned the OTP verification and reference number check pages to be clearer and more reassuring for unauthenticated users
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Replaced full login with lightweight OTP entry, improving trust and ease
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Masked sensitive info to reduce hesitation
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Improved confirmation file download UX
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Coordinated dev teams across Canada and Poland for on time delivery
Impact
Increased completion and improved user confidence without compromising security.
Case Study 2 — How a Legal Screen Caused Massive Drop-offs
Problem
A legally required Bill C-86 disclaimer appeared before users even chose a product, causing confusion and early exits.
What I did
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Moved the legal screen after product selection.
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Made legal questions dynamic based on selected product.
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Added inline messaging to explain why the questions were needed.
Result
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Drop-offs significantly reduced (confirmed via funnel analytics).
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Legal team approved the dynamic logic.
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Improved user trust and completion confidence.
Case Study 3 — A Spinner Is Not Enough (Fixing PDF Loading)
Original requirement from Business & Dev Team
Users had to review and agree to terms inside a PDF before they could complete enrollment. The initial approach from the business and dev teams was to simply show a spinner while the PDF loaded in an iframe.
In practice, this meant users stared at a blank area with a spinner, with no clear indication of what was happening, how long it would take, or what they were supposed to do next. This led to confusion, premature exits, and compliance risks.
My Proposal & Implementation
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Display titles & text first: While the API loads, show Title & subtitle for Iframe container & acknowledgment (vs. everything being invisible before)
Impact: Users understand what’s happening instead of staring at a blank screen. -
Maintain consistent iframe size & add a status message
Display a spinner inside the iframe (same size as final PDF preview)
Add an informative message: "Loading the PDF preview may take up to 30 seconds. Please don't close or refresh the screen."
Impact: Prevents layout shifts & sets expectations clearly.​ -
Disable checkbox until PDF loads: Users cannot agree to T&Cs until the PDF is fully loaded.
Impact: Ensures compliance & avoids premature submissions.
Outcome : This approach improved user clarity, reduced frustration, and increased engagement, with data showing a significant drop in drop off rates.
Case Study 4 — Balancing Legal and UX in Cross-sell Design
Legal team’s requirement
There was a ‘Not Interested’ button inside the insurance banner that would close the entire page. Since insurance is part of the final step of the loan process, users might think the insurance is tied directly to their loan. Because of this, the legal team required a clear and easy way to exit. While the insurance team focused on keeping users engaged, the legal team insisted that users should always see a visible ‘EXIT’ option.
My Proposal & Implementation
UX challenge: Closing the whole page from inside the banner disrupted the user experience.
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Proposed solution : Added an Exit button outside the banner to provide a more intuitive way to leave the process, while ensuring the 'Not Interested' button only dismisses the banner instead of closing the entire page.
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Outcome : Successfully aligned UX with legal requirements, ensuring an intuitive design that met both user needs and compliance standards. The final solution provided users with a seamless exit option while preserving quick survey visibility, balancing business goals with compliance demands.
This may seem like a small update, but it required significant cross team discussions and iterations to strike the right balance between legal requirements, user experience, and business priorities.
Design with development, not against it
I stay involved throughout the software development lifecycle so that design decisions remain feasible, testable, and aligned with real implementation constraints.
Brainstorming & Research
Led UX workshops to align on pain points & opportunities. Aligned business goals with user needs
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Example: Facilitated a workshop with product owners and developers to identify friction points in the overdraft protection flow, which led to prioritizing improvements in the address search feature.
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Requirements analysis
Defined user flows & information architecture. Ensured feasibility with DEV team
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Example: Worked closely with developers to adjust the mortgage insurance enrollment flow after discovering API limitations, ensuring a technically viable and user-friendly solution.
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Ensured A11y compliance in all flows
Implemented accessibility best practices to meet WCAG standards across all user journeys.
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Example: Improved color contrast on key pages, ensuring users with visual impairments could easily navigate the insurance enrollment process by keyboard
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Integration & Testing (Visual review & UX QA)
Reviewed implementation to ensure visual and interaction design matched specifications.
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Example: Identified spacing inconsistencies and incorrect patterns in the pages during QA. Provided clear annotations in Figma and worked closely with developers to fine tune the final UI before release.
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Dev Feasibility & Rapid Prototyping :
Suggested UX friendly development ideas, reducing overall costs.
Shaping the Design System
for Scalable Experiences
Scaling borrowing UX through the design system
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Participated in weekly design system reviews focused on borrowing products
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Reused existing components whenever possible to keep the system lean
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Designed and validated new patterns for insurance, overdraft, and line of credit journeys
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Partnered with developers to define implementation details and usage guidelines
Aligning teams, not just screens – the real work behind UX
Legal & compliance collaboration
Partnered with the legal team to ensure UX decisions met regulatory requirements while maintaining a smooth user experience Facilitated reviews of consent flows and eligibility notifications in the insurance journey to ensure clarity and compliance.
Data driven decisions : analytics collaboration
Worked with data analysts to review drop off points in the borrowing journeys, validating pain points and prioritizing UX fixes. Conducted UX health checks before and after product launches, analyzing user behavior and implementing insights into future releases to continuously improve the experience
Accessibility enhancements
Ensured all updates aligned with WCAG standards, improving usability for all users, including those with disabilities Standardized contrast ratios, font sizing, and form interactions across borrowing journeys, ensuring a consistent and inclusive experience.
What I learned
I was about 70% happy with the experience at launch.
Considering where we started with fragmented journeys, outdated flows, legacy content from Marketing, and disconnected teams, I was proud of how much we improved key borrowing experiences at BMO.
I led UX for creditor insurance, overdraft protection, and cross-sell journeys across multiple entry points such as emails, dashboards, and self-serve. Although the experience improved significantly, I still saw room for refinement in visual clarity, accessibility, and performance. I helped shape a long term roadmap focused on iteration and system alignment.
Earlier phases of the project faced common enterprise challenges including scope misalignment, legacy system limitations, and legal bottlenecks. During retrospectives, we identified these blockers and addressed them by:
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Centralizing collaboration through Figma, Jira, and Confluence
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Improving communication with product owners and Legal
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Prioritizing user pain points using behavioral data and analytics
As the UX lead on the Borrow team, I worked closely with three dev teams across Canada and Poland, Legal, Analytics, and Content Design. I focused on integrating OTP authentication into the flow, optimizing confirmation file access, and making pre-approved journeys more intuitive from marketing email to enrollment.
Design decisions were never made based on preference. They were grounded in user behavior data, business priorities, and compliance. These improvements led to:
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Shorter enrollment time (1.7x)
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Fewer document access issues
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Clearer disclosures for all insurance products
This initiative also helped scale UX thinking within BMO by building stronger alignment across departments, even in a highly regulated space.