ABOUT
The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and institutional clients.
Project: Schwab Mobile, Positions Transfer (iOS + Android)
Timeline: 18 Months
Methods: Remote Studies, Iterative Testing
Tools: Figma, Sketch, InVision, Mural, UserZoom
My Role: Product UX Design Lead
Clients needed a way to transfer stocks—partial or full shares—between their Schwab accounts on their preferred digital platform. Before this feature was available on web or mobile, users had to download, complete, and mail a paper request. At the time, only cash transfers were supported online. From a business standpoint, reducing paper submissions and inbound calls was critical to minimizing the costly, labor-intensive processing of paper journals.
We needed to design an experience that allowed customers to transfer positions (full and partial journals) on both iOS and Android. Additionally, we aimed to achieve feature parity between web and mobile, while identifying opportunities to expand digital capabilities, introduce new product features, and optimize the overall experience. Lastly, we modernized the UI across digital channels using reusable, scalable components within a new Figma design system.
• Improve the UX for clients attempting to self-serve on mobile app
• Reduce paper submissions and increase STP (straight through processing)
• Reduce inbound calls caused by manual processing of paper journals
• Remove the positions feature off legacy code base
• Rebuild a new module framework to support future integrations
• Complete TD Ameritrade's Thinkorswim® app integration for 2.5MM users
We applied a Design Thinking process and approach to provide solutions going forward.
Customer Data and Insights
We looked at customer usage and which channel methods our clients tend to use (1-month average):
• Web-only transfers: 388k (48.8%)
• Mobile app-only transfers: 315k (39.6%)
• Most common transfer pairs (journals): 105,452k (13.9%)
The mobile app supported only cash transfers, leading 7.3% of clients to switch to the web for position transfers. Positions and cash + positions transfers accounted for ~15% of all online transfers. Before web support, 57% of these transfers (~1,000 per day) were paper-based due to limited functionality.
Stakeholder Insights
Insights from the cashiering team revealed that 70% of clients have 10 or less stocks in their portfolio. This helped us determine what UI features may, or may not be necessary. We also reviewed past market research and consumer insights to identify user pain points and opportunities.
Competitive Analysis and IA Audit
We audited current experiences across Schwab.com, mobile web, mobile app, TD Ameritrade (2019 acquisition) and others in the financial services space. For current TD Ameritrade customers, they already had the ability to transfer positions. Ensuring this key feature was available after migration to Schwab was essential to meet user expectations and address their needs effectively.
Defining Use Cases
• First-time transfer
• Edit transfer
• Delete transfer
• Unavailable for transfer (short positions, minimum quantity)
• No eligible positions available for transfer
• Multiple shares added for transfer
• Single share added for transfer
• Error states (fractional, whole positions)
We first modernized the web experience, building on existing functionality. Then, we designed high-fidelity mockups for iOS and Android in parallel, uncovering UI component and feature gaps. After applying Schwab’s design system standards, we led design reviews and feedback loops with design teams, researchers, content strategists, accessibility experts, governance, legal, developers, and product partners.
In "How to Link Accounts and Transfer Money", you'll see two connected experiences from the Digital Payments & Move Money team. As the UX project design lead, I led the External Account Verification ("Link bank account") and Online Transfers ("Transfer cash") journeys on Schwab.com.
Our goal was to identify pain points, uncover opportunities, and determine user preference between two UI variations. We asked users to:
• Set up a transfer between their accounts
• Add 25 shares of AMZN to the transfer
• Add 140 shares of EA to the transfer
• Update the transfer to include all shares of the selected stock
In collaboration with our UX Researcher, we conducted remote unmoderated testing to gather insights.
• High task success rates across all tasks
• No major usability issues identified
• 100% success rate in setting up From/To accounts
• UI variations in "Shares added to transfer" had no impact on performance
• Pain points and errors occurred from platform issues, not UX design
• Users navigated the happy path successfully, despite limited functionality
• Version A ("card design") was preferred by 73% of participants
• Improved the UX for clients attempting to self-serve on mobile app
• Reduced paper submissions and increased STP (straight through processing)
• Reduced inbound calls caused by manual processing of paper journals
• Successfully moved the positions feature off legacy code base
• Successfully rebuilt a new module framework to support future integrations
• Completed TD Ameritrade's Thinkorswim® app integration for 2.5MM users
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