How I Redesigned Activation for One of CIS Largest Brokers
BCS is one of the largest brokers in East Europe. Its mobile investment
app provides access to stocks, funds, bonds, and other financial instruments.
My role
Senior product designer, responsible for the onboarding and activation stream
Industry
Fintech
About
Users were dropping off before completing registration and never reaching their first trade.
Challenge
As many as 55% of users abandoned the flow between the welcome screen and the phone number entry step. My goal was to boost activation rate.
The activation funnel had three key parts: registration, the quiz and account opening, and the first portfolio with get-started landing pages. I'll walk through each one.
Before designing anything, I needed to understand why users were dropping off. I worked with the research team to investigate — reviewing user complaints and analyzing feedback. The main issues were clear: users got confused right at the first screen, and the registration form itself had too many steps.
The original form asked for too much at once — name, phone, email, and password, all before the user had any reason to trust the app. I simplified the flow. I moved some fields to a later step, and I combined two screens into one. This removed one extra tap.
II. Quiz flow
The quiz is the next part of the funnel. After users complete the registration data, the app asks them about their preferences — what they're interested in, and so on. My task was to rework the existing quiz and choose one of the hypotheses.
Finding the Right Quiz Format
Before finalizing the quiz format, I explored four different directions: two card-based formats (single and multi-select), a compact list format, and an accordion that combined all questions on one screen.
I tested the accordion version, since it looked efficient on paper — fewer screens, faster to scan. But in testing, it performed worse: users found it harder to focus on one question at a time, and completion rates dropped.
I chose the list format instead. It kept the one-question-at-a-time clarity of the card formats, but let users scan and change answers faster, without extra taps between screens.
After registration, account opening, and the quiz, users arrive at the app's main dashboard. At this stage, it was important to think carefully about what to show new users — and how to avoid making them feel overwhelmed
I added a new "Top First Purchases" section. This solves a common problem: new investors often don't know which products to choose first. By showing popular and frequently bought assets, I made it easier for users to make their first purchase.
Activation Landing Pages
In addition to the main dashboard, I designed activation landing pages — screens that guide users on how to start investing.
Final result
Before the redesign, up to 55% of users dropped off before completing registration. After launch, user engagement grew by 20% — meaning more people made it all the way through registration to their first investment.
I redesigned the registration form, the quiz, and the account opening flow to reduce friction at every step.
I designed and tested activation landing pages with real users.
I built a landing page system that scales without developer involvement.
Working with iOS and Android
The waiting screen looks different on iOS and Android. On iOS, it uses Apple's style — the system indicators and fonts. On Android, it uses Material Design components. The content is the same on both — notifications, identity check, and FAQ. But each version follows its own platform style.
Additional states
The design covers all edge cases, not just the main flow. This includes skeleton screens for loading content, error states when something goes wrong, and loaders inside buttons during actions like submitting a form. I designed each state separately to keep the experience clear and consistent, even when things don't go as planned.
Collaboration with development team
After implementation, the development team delivered a build. I compared it against the original design mockup and documented any discrepancies, providing clear explanations and screenshots — showing exactly what was off and how it should look. After the team made the necessary adjustments, I conducted a follow‑up review to verify that all issues had been properly addressed.
