Finio - UI/UX Case Study

User Research

Qualitative and quantitative research conducted to understand financial habits
of young Indian professionals (18–28), their pain points, and mental models.
Research Overview
Methods: User interviews, surveys, diary studies, competitive analysis
24
User Interviews conducted
156
Survey responses collected
4
Competing apps analysed
3
Personas developed
User Personas
3 primary personas identified from research - each representing a distinct financial behaviour pattern.
👨‍💻
Rohan Mehta
Software Developer, 24 · Delhi
Primary User
📍 Bangalore, WFH
💰 ₹60,000/month salary
📱 Tech-savvy, early adopter
Goals
  • Save for Goa trip with friends
  • Build an emergency fund
  • Track Swiggy/dining expenses
Pain Points
  • Forgets to log expenses manually
  • No idea where salary disappears
  • Tried 3 apps, quit within a week
👩‍🎨
Priya Sharma
Graphic Designer, 22 · Mumbai
Secondary User
📍 Mumbai, Freelance
💰 ₹25,000–45,000 variable
📱 Visual thinker, design-driven
Goals
  • Handle irregular income better
  • Save for a new iPad / MacBook
  • Avoid overspending on weekends
Pain Points
  • Existing apps feel too corporate
  • Difficult to budget variable income
  • Wants visual, not just numbers
👨‍🎓
Arjun Kapoor
MBA Student, 26 · Pune
Tertiary User
📍 Pune, Part-time income
💰 ₹15,000 stipend + gigs
📱 Analytical, data-oriented
Goals
  • Track every rupee on a budget
  • Understand spending patterns
  • Save for placement season costs
Pain Points
  • Spreadsheets are too manual
  • Wants actionable AI advice
  • Current apps lack insights depth
Key Pain Points Discovered
Patterns that emerged across all 24 interviews and survey responses.
01
Manual Logging Fatigue
83% of users abandon expense tracking apps within 2 weeks because manually entering every transaction is tedious and easy to forget.
"I kept the app for a week but forgot to log expenses after that. Too much effort." - Interview P7
02
No Meaningful Insights
Existing apps show raw data but don't explain what it means or what action to take. Users feel overwhelmed by charts without context.
"I can see I spent ₹8,000 on food. But now what? Nobody tells me what to do." - Interview P12
03
Rigid Budget Categories
Pre-defined categories don't match the way young Indians think about money. Zomato and Swiggy are different mental categories than "dining out."
"Swiggy is convenience, dining out is a treat - they're completely different to me." - Interview P3
04
Goal Setting Feels Abstract
Users set savings goals but get no guidance on how much to save monthly or whether they're on track, making goals feel disconnected from daily spending.
"I said I want to save ₹50,000 but the app just shows a progress bar. No plan." - Interview P19
05
Poor Visual Design
Most FinTech apps prioritize function over aesthetics. Young users want an app they're proud to open - not something that looks like a banking portal.
"The app works fine but I'm embarrassed to show my friends. It looks so old." - Interview P8
06
Variable Income Not Supported
Freelancers and gig workers (28% of sample) have unpredictable income. Budgeting tools assume a fixed monthly salary, making them useless for variable earners.
"Last month I earned ₹60k, this month ₹28k. How do I set a budget for that?" - Interview P21
Competitive Analysis
How Finio compares to the top 4 personal finance apps in India.
App AI Insights Budget Planner Goal Tracking Modern UI Variable Income Free Tier Key Gap
Walnut
Expense tracker
 ✕ ~ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ Outdated UI, no AI
CRED
Credit card focus
 ~ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✓ Credit cards only
Fi Money
Neo-bank
 ~ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕ ~ Requires bank switch
Jupiter
Neo-bank + rewards
 ~ ~ ✕ ✓ ✕ ~ Rewards-focused, not planning
✨ Finio
AI finance planner
 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Full stack solution
User Journey Map
Persona: Rohan Mehta · Task: Tracking monthly spending and setting a savings goal
1. Awareness
Discovers Finio via a friend's recommendation
"My salary just credited but I have no idea where my money goes by month-end."
😟
Frustrated
2. Onboarding
Signs up, sets income and budget categories
"This actually looks clean. Setting up took less than 2 minutes."
😊
Curious
3. First Use
Adds first few expenses, sees dashboard fill up
"Oh wow, I've already spent 60% of my food budget in 2 weeks?"
😲
Surprised
4. AI Insight
Finio AI highlights Swiggy overspending pattern
"Finally an app that tells me what to actually do about it."
🤩
Delighted
5. Goal Set
Creates Goa Trip goal, Finio calculates monthly target
"It's telling me to save ₹3,000/month to reach my goal by June. That's doable."
💪
Motivated
6. Retention
Uses app daily, maintains 18-day streak
"I actually look forward to checking this. First finance app I've kept for more than a month."
😎
Confident
Key Design Insights
Research translated into actionable design decisions for Finio.
🤖
AI must be actionable, not decorative
Users don't just want to see data - they want to know what to do about it. Every AI insight includes a specific tip or recommendation.
🎨
Design is a core feature, not cosmetic
Young users judge apps aesthetically first. A beautiful, dark interface signals that Finio understands its audience and earns daily usage.
🎯
Goals need a roadmap, not just a target
Showing a goal amount alone is insufficient. Finio breaks down goals into monthly saving requirements and milestone celebrations.
⚡
Speed of logging = rate of engagement
Every extra tap to log an expense loses a user. Finio's quick-add flow takes under 5 seconds with smart category prediction.
📊
Visual hierarchy guides emotion
Color coding (green/amber/red) lets users understand their financial health at a glance without reading any numbers.
🔔
Timely nudges beat passive dashboards
Proactive AI alerts when users are approaching budget limits outperform static dashboards users must remember to check.