Kikoff
Usability Testing for Credit Building App with 2 million Users.
Year:
2025
Timeframe:
10 Weeks
Tools:
Figma
Category:
Credit Building
Usability Testing with college studfents for Kikoff Mobile Credit Builder App.
Kikoff is a Mobile credit builder app that have over 2 million users. Conducted a usability study on the mobile app aiming to expand into the student market. Our goal was to evaluate the app's usability and uncover barriers that may affect adoption among college students unfamiliar with credit tools. Contributions: Conducted Weekly Working Meetings with Kikoff representative to relay weekly progression. Led user recruitment and session facilitation, ensuring a diverse mix of 7 participants across majors and backgrounds Helped design 4 scenario based tasks that reflected real-world credit-building situations to evaluate core features like onboarding, Rent Reporting, and the Credit Builder Loan Took detailed observation notes and conducted post-test interviews to uncover usability pain points, trust barriers, and moments of user confusion Analyzed qualitative data and collaborated on the FigJam synthesis board to prioritize usability issues by severity and impact Contributed to crafting recommendations that emphasized clearer onboarding, improved transparency around personal data, and more prominent placement of features.
Problem
Many college students find credit-building confusing, intimidating, or simply irrelevant to their current lives, often unaware of how much it can impact their future. With Kikoff however, early users felt overwhelmed by the onboarding process, unclear about key features like the Credit Builder Loan, and hesitant to share sensitive information due to a lack of transparency. Trust-building elements were poorly surfaced, and the overall experience lacked the interactivity and clarity needed to keep users engaged.
Solution
Through scenario based usability testing and interviews, we identified key usability pain points and provided actionable recommendations that were later implemented by Kikoff in their Mobile App: Simplify onboarding and integrate interactive visuals to explain features Make high-value tools like Dispute Resolution and Rent Reporting more prominent Clarify sensitive steps like SSN input and autopay setup to build user trust Reorder flows to better match user expectations (e.g., plan selection before sign-up) These insights helped Kikoff align more closely with student needs—highlighting the importance of transparency, simplicity, and trust in financial tools for first-time users.
