An investment account always within reach.
For Across, we created digital access to the investment account: the web-based Online Account and the Across Connect mobile app for iOS and Android.
We designed the UX and the API layer, and as technology partner we keep developing the solution over the long term.
2020
project start
3
platforms · web, iOS and Android
1
API layer over the internal system
3
verification methods · SMS, PIN, biometrics
Investing cannot stay
only behind an office door
Across specialises in private investment. Its clients need an overview of their account without depending on personal or manual communication.
That is why the Online Account was created as digital access to the investment account. The Across Connect mobile app later became part of the solution too.
We wanted to bring investment account management closer to the client.
We started with how people use it
Together with the client, we turned the business specification into a detailed brief and designed the app’s UX.
With a financial product, it is not enough for individual features to work. Users must understand what they see, what they can do and what happens once they confirm an action.
So we built the design around real user scenarios and only then carried it over into the mobile app.
The user scenario first, then the technical solution.
One app for iOS and Android
Across Connect gives clients access to their investment account and an overview of what is happening in their portfolio, right on their phone.
What clients can do in the app
Investment account management
Portfolio overview
PUSH notifications
Secure login
Confirming actions
Document signing
Components that can keep evolving
We built the app from reusable components.
New features therefore don’t require the same building blocks to be created from scratch every time. That simplifies technical maintenance and, above all, further development of the app.
For a product that will change for years, we plan further development from version one.
The app has to understand the system
that processes transactions
Across Connect works with Across’s internal information system, where transactions are processed.
Internal information system
transactions and data source
API layer
structure based on the app’s needs
Across Connect
app for iOS and Android
We designed the connection as a separate API layer. Its structure follows the data flows and the app’s needs, not the system’s internal logic.
As a result, the mobile app does not deal with the internal logic at all. The communication layer separates the user interface from back-end operations.
The mobile app is part of Across’s digital infrastructure, not an isolated system.
With investments, security is part of the UX
The app handles sensitive financial data. Both login and the confirmation of every action have to be secure.
Across Connect supports two-factor authentication. Depending on the situation, the client uses an SMS code, a PIN or biometrics.
We later extended biometrics and PIN to signing as well, so clients now sign contractual documents directly on their phone.
We treated security as part of the user journey, not a layer added at the end.
Important events come to the client
Clients don’t have to keep opening the app. PUSH notifications on iOS and Android keep them informed about what is happening in their portfolio.
When a new document is waiting to be signed or something moves in the portfolio, the app lets them know.
The first launch is not the end
Across Connect was created as part of our partnership with Across, which has been running since 2017. The work did not stop when the app was published on the App Store.
After launch, we kept making changes and adding new features as the needs of clients and the business changed.
How the solution evolved
Design of the Online Account and the mobile app UX.
Launch of web access to the investment account.
The app is released for iOS and Android.
New features and security measures based on the client’s needs.
A new look for the app, in line with Across’s new identity.
A partnership that handles even a change of scope
Throughout development we were in regular contact with the client and received ongoing feedback.
The client entered feedback from beta testing directly into our project system. Both sides had an overview of open tasks, and issues were resolved before going live.
The project’s scope changed during development. Thanks to the way we had set up the collaboration, we incorporated the changes as we went without losing track.
“The project was quite clearly divided into individual sprints. Even though the scope changed and we changed several things on the fly, the overall level of communication and the willingness to solve problems were excellent.”
The app became a product that evolves together with Across
What came after the first version of the app says more about the project than the first version itself.
We handle new features, identity changes and security requirements on the existing technical foundation.
New features
The app gained an overview of contract documents, tax residency confirmations and the AML questionnaire.
Security requirements
We added biometric and PIN login and document signing after launch.
Identity changes
When Across rebranded, the app got the new look too.
That is the difference between delivering an app and caring for a digital product over the long term.
A digital channel for the entire lifecycle of an investment account
Across clients now access their investment account on the web and on their phones.
The solution connects the user interface to the internal system and handles sensitive operations securely. It can be built on further from the same foundation.
We have been the technology partner for the product from the first design to this day.
Technical solution
These decisions underpin both the secure operation of the solution and its further development.
Product
Mobile app
Across Connect for iOS and Android, published on the App Store and Google Play.
Web-based Online Account
Digital access to the investment account in the browser, connected to the same internal system.
Reusable components
Building blocks are shared across screens, so they do not have to be recreated for each new feature.
Integration
API layer
A separate interface between the app and the internal system, designed around data flows.
Internal information system
Transactions stay in Across’s system, and the app makes them securely available to the client.
PUSH notifications
Account events arrive on iOS and Android directly in the phone’s notification centre.
Security
Two-factor authentication
Clients confirm sensitive actions with a second factor: an SMS code, a PIN or biometrics.
PIN and biometrics
Fast login and verification right on the phone with Touch ID and Face ID.
Digital signing
Clients sign contractual documents in the app, verified by PIN or biometrics.
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