Alessandro L. Piana Bianco
Strategic Innovation & Design — EU / MENA
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Financial Services

Payments, physical-channel UX, and process digitisation across banking + insurance contexts.

PaymentsService + channels
Physical UXATM systems
AgileSprints + rapid prototyping
ResearchUser insights
Design systemsScalable patterns
WorkflowsProcess digitisation
TrustRisk + compliance

Cofidis — PagoDIL service & digital channels definition

Focus: service design for payments + agile delivery + rapid prototyping + user research

Designed the PagoDIL service concept and its supporting digital channel experience for Cofidis—combining agile rituals, rapid prototyping and user research to turn an ambiguous brief into a coherent set of journeys, priorities and delivery-ready requirements.

Problem
  • Define a new digital service with clear customer journeys, value proposition and operational fit—without drifting into fragmented requirements.
  • Align stakeholders on what to build first, how to measure success, and how the service would work end-to-end across channels.
Constraints
  • Payments are trust-sensitive: clarity of states, confirmations and error recovery is non-negotiable.
  • Integration dependencies across systems (identity, payment processing, notifications, support).
  • Fast iteration needed while keeping documentation and acceptance criteria robust enough for delivery.
  • Accessibility-aware readability for critical information and consent/disclosure moments.
Contribution
  • Ran agile discovery and design sprints to converge on journeys, capabilities and scope boundaries.
  • Built clickable prototypes to validate flow logic, comprehension and trust cues; iterated based on research and stakeholder feedback.
  • Translated outcomes into delivery artefacts: epics, acceptance criteria, edge cases and dependency notes.
  • Defined patterns for transactional UX: step structure, confirmations, errors and recoverability.
Artefacts
  • Journey maps and service blueprint excerpts (NDA-safe).
  • Prototype set for core flows + edge cases and recovery paths.
  • Requirements pack: features/epics, acceptance criteria examples and dependency map.
  • UX rules for transactional states, messaging and confirmation patterns.
Outcomes
  • Produced a delivery-ready baseline for PagoDIL’s digital experience that improved alignment and reduced interpretation drift.
  • De-risked early delivery by making dependencies and edge cases explicit up-front.
  • Improved trust and usability through a consistent state model for transactional flows.
Reflections
  • In payment services, prototypes are decision tools: they make risk and ambiguity visible early enough to fix.
  • Agile speed only works when the artefacts are structured—otherwise teams just iterate confusion.

Nexi — ATM experience & branding system

Focus: UI/UX for physical channels + design system governance + rapid prototyping + user research

Designed the user experience and branding framework for ATM systems for Nexi—creating a consistent interaction model across physical devices while supporting agile delivery, rapid prototyping, accessibility-aware usability and reliable error handling under real-world constraints.

Problem
  • ATM experiences must be fast, predictable and resilient: unclear states, slow flows and inconsistent patterns increase errors and support load.
  • Scale a coherent experience and brand expression across a fleet of devices and deployment contexts without fragmenting the interface.
Constraints
  • Physical/hardware constraints: screen sizes, input methods, performance limits and kiosk-specific interaction patterns.
  • Security and fraud considerations: session timeouts, privacy around sensitive data, and clear confirmation states.
  • Accessibility and readability requirements for public, high-contrast environments.
  • Multi-team delivery: consistency required across different builds, vendors and rollout phases.
Contribution
  • Defined the core ATM interaction model (task structure, navigation, states and recovery) and mapped high-risk flows as state machines.
  • Created a design system slice and visual/interaction standards for consistency across devices and future updates.
  • Prototyped key flows and validated usability with stakeholders/users to refine hierarchy, wording and error handling.
  • Provided delivery support via specifications, pattern guidance and design QA checklists.
Artefacts
  • ATM flow library: withdraw/deposit/account services + state and error models.
  • UI/brand guidelines tailored to physical-channel constraints (typography, contrast, layout rhythm).
  • Prototype set for key tasks and failure/recovery scenarios.
  • Design system/pattern documentation and QA checklist for consistent implementation.
Outcomes
  • Delivered a coherent ATM UX and branding framework designed for clarity, speed and trust in public contexts.
  • Reduced risk of inconsistent implementations by providing explicit patterns, state models and governance guidance.
  • Improved usability of critical tasks through clearer hierarchy, confirmations and recoverability.
Reflections
  • Physical-channel UX is state design under constraints—predictability and recovery matter more than novelty.
  • A small, well-governed pattern system scales better than one-off screen design in device ecosystems.

Prelios — Digital auction platform UX for distressed assets

Focus: complex process UX + transparency/trust + sprint workshops + delivery-ready requirements

Designed the end-to-end digital processes and UX for an online auction platform in a trust-sensitive, legally constrained context—using agile workshops, UX/UI sprints and rapid prototyping to make complex flows comprehensible, auditable and delivery-ready.

Problem
  • Create a usable platform for complex, high-stakes auctions where users need clarity on eligibility, steps, documentation and outcomes.
  • Reduce ambiguity and manual handling by digitising processes while maintaining transparency and compliance.
Constraints
  • Legal and compliance constraints influencing information disclosure, document handling and traceability.
  • Trust requirements: clear rules, deadlines, status visibility and contestability when outcomes are high-impact.
  • Integration and workflow dependencies (identity, document systems, notifications, payments/fees where relevant).
  • Edge cases and exceptions are common; recovery paths and status accuracy are critical.
Contribution
  • Ran sprint workshops to align stakeholders on process logic, roles, and the end-to-end state model for auctions.
  • Created prototypes and iterated on information architecture, disclosure moments and exception handling.
  • Defined UI patterns for status, timelines, document steps and user guidance under regulatory constraints.
  • Translated designs into delivery artefacts: requirements, acceptance criteria, and an edge-case library.
Artefacts
  • Process maps and state model for auctions (steps, deadlines, statuses, exceptions).
  • Prototype set for bidder journeys, document steps and status/notification moments.
  • Requirements pack: epics, acceptance criteria and dependency notes.
  • Pattern guidance for transparency cues, auditability and recoverability.
Outcomes
  • Delivered a coherent UX baseline for a complex auction workflow, improving clarity and reducing interpretation drift between teams.
  • Improved trust through explicit status visibility, clear rules and designed recovery paths for common exceptions.
  • Enabled more confident delivery planning by making dependencies and edge cases explicit.
Reflections
  • In high-stakes marketplaces, transparency is a UX feature: users need to understand the rules and the state at every step.
  • Designing exceptions first prevents operational burden and support debt after launch.