Reimagining sign-up
The challenge
We had a major funnel issue when I first joined — a staggering 87% of people who downloaded the app never got through sign-up.
After implementing a dynamic identity verification flow, contact autofill, and other optimizations, we successfully did the following:
Increased completed applications by 73%
Increased application approvals by 62%
Decreased time to completion from 17 → 4 minutes
The approach
To understand the drop-off points, I audited the entire sign-up flow and pored through completion data.
Four learnings emerged:
The biggest drop off point was where users had to submit a selfie video and photo ID.
Personal details had to be manually entered.
Card delivery failures were common, due to input errors or unsupported addresses.
It was bloated, with unnecessary screens that we inherited from the UK business (who were held to different regulatory standards)
We immediately began brainstorming ways to make our identity checks easier — after all, it was leading to a 40% drop off in the funnel.
However, fintech is a heavily regulated industry, and strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) rules constrained the changes we could make.
The solution
We implemented the following improvements:
Dynamic Identity Verification Flow
We developed a risk-scoring system with our FinCrime team that categorized users as low, medium, or high risk.
Low risk users could bypass our most stringent checks, while high risk users had to complete them.
We shadow tested this risk-scoring system to prove it's reliability, then rolled it out incrementally while closely monitoring our fraud activity.
Autofill and Address Validation
Filling out basic personal information became even faster and more accurate by relying on AutoFill.
We added a SmartyStreets integration, which validated address inputs and resulted in increased approvals.
Trimming screens that weren't absolutely critical
We replaced explicit Terms of Service opt-ins (previously 3 pages of scrolling) for implicit opt-ins.
Taking an opinionated stance that explainer screens were high friction and low value, we removed screens previously inherited from Monzo UK’s sign-up flow.
The impact
Sign-up completion rates increased by 73% while staying compliant with strict banking regulations.
Sign-up approval rates increased by 62% due to address validation. Fewer errors = more approvals!
Time to completion decreased from 17 → 4 minutes.
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