Leumi Bank • Online Mortgage Application Service

<aside> Project Overview

Bank Leumi, one of Israel’s largest and most digitally advanced banks. With over 2.5 million customers and more than 1.5 million monthly active users across mobile and web, Leumi is a fintech leader with a strong focus on digital-first services. This mortgage redesign was a strategic, high-impact initiative aimed at turning one of the most complex financial journeys into a smooth, empowering, and mobile-friendly experience.

My Role

• Leading user research to uncover friction points in the legacy mortgage process
• Translating offline complexity into a clear, mobile-first digital journey
• Running usability tests and iterating based on behavioral insights
• Collaborating closely with product, UI, and legal to align on goals and constraints
• Designing wireframes, prototypes, and final UX flows tailored for conversion and clarity

The Team

The project was delivered by a compact, cross-functional team. I collaborated with a UI designer and four product managers, each focused on a different stage of the mortgage funnel, from onboarding to approval and post-approval. This structure allowed us to maintain both deep domain focus and a unified experience across the journey.

I worked closely with developers, compliance teams, and data analysts to ensure the solution was not only user-friendly, but also technically feasible and aligned with strict financial and legal requirements.

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🎯 Key Outcomes

• 90% increase in process completions compared to the previous application
• 27% higher retention at the business agreement phase (initial mortgage approval)
• 50% increase in retention at the principle approval phase (advanced mortgage approval)
• Reduced the number of unnecessary financial questions, minimizing friction and shortening the process

🤔 The Problem

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In the narrow but emotionally charged space between users’ helplessness and the bank’s lack of clarity, distrust grows. People are asked to make life-changing decisions with little guidance, opaque language, and a barrage of requests. Even tech-savvy users often resort to mortgage brokers, not by choice, but by necessity. They simply don’t feel confident navigating the system.

What began as a digital streamlining task quickly grew into something bigger: a chance to restore confidence, reestablish trust, and empower users with a clear path forward.

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📊 The Research

I kicked off with an in-depth research sprint, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to map out pain points and identify emotional triggers. My tools included market benchmarks, surveys, and one-on-one interviews with clients, bankers, and consultants. I even sat in on real customer support calls from the bank’s mortgage center.

The picture that emerged was striking. Users weren’t just confused, they were emotionally overwhelmed.

“The language they used was confusing, and it made the whole process incredibly stressful.”

“All the paperwork is a headache. I wish there was something to centralize everything.”

I cross-referenced these stories with data:

• 67% of Israelis are apartment owners
• 63% report low to no financial literacy