May'25 – Aug '25
Transforming Bank Branch Visits for 40M+ Customers
65%
Faster ⌛
Reduce avg branch visit time by
20 min
90%
Improved CX ⭐
9 out of 10 customers prefer this over conventional visits.
A serious game that cuts decision time from 10 min to 2 min by fusing Pachisi & Roulette-style motion.
HDFC Smart Visit – A Seamless, AI-driven Branch Experience
Team and Mentors
🎓 1 UX Designers
🎨 1 Product manager
🍲 2 Senior UX Designer
My role
UX Research, Journey Mapping, AI flow, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing
Duration
3 Months
overview
Banking feels like a chore: The 90-minute struggle.
HDFC branches manage 100M+ annual visits, but the experience is plagued by overcrowding and manual verification.
📺
Unpredictability
Wait times fluctuate between 30-45 mins.
📺
Abandonment
73% of customers leave if the wait >5 mins
📺
Manual Friction
90% of users still carry physical IDs, leading to verification delays
A typical bank: full of crowds and uncertainty
Project goal
Redesign the HDFC branch visit experience to cut average customer time inside branches and reduce transaction abandonment within 12 weeks through AI-based smart scheduling and digital ID verification.
setting out to solve
Let's look at the existing experience
So after after visiting 4 different banks form trie 1 to village interviwing 23+ indivudals and bank employee thsi s was
The visit journey is fractioned into 6 stages & 2 parameter
Awareness
User notice the need to visit the bank
15 min
Preparation
Collect his/her IDs and document, Direction to nearest bank
10-15 min
Travel to Bank
Walk/cycle/public transport from hostel/home/shop/office
depend
Queue and Wait
30-45 minutes during peak hours
15-20 min
Teller Interaction
Explain yourself, Show physical IDs, fill forms manually
10-15 min
Receipt and Exit
No receipt or SMS in 80% cases, Verbal Info
10-15 min
UX
Time
Total time
60-90 min
this tradition process is highly un[redictable, ineffiencet, unpersonalied, frustratinig and time taking for a leading bank whose 60% revenue comes from daily transiton happen in branches daily
Is there anyone solving it?
Bank of America: Stadium uses facial recognition to speed up Carolina Panthers entry for Silver Club members.
How Bank of China cardless ATMs use facial recognition technology to allow users to withdraw money without a card.
3DiVi: Delivers 3D face, body recognition, and computer vision AI tools for biometrics and security.
DigiYatra uses facial recognition for seamless, paperless air travel checking identity at key airport checkpoints
HID: Provides secure identity solutions, including access control, biometrics, and credential management for various industries.
:Visitorapp Automates visitor registration, check-in, and security in organizations through software and biometric integration.
Possible solutions
Based on the field study and some discussions with the product, I came up with the How might we approach for this problem. Here are the HMW statements:
💢
Provide better customer guidance to simplify query resolution and reduce confusion inside branches?
🪪
simplify identity verification and reduce dependency on physical IDs?
📍
enable real-time crowd insights and suggest optimal branch locations or time slots for users?
⌛
eliminate uncertainty around branch wait times by offering real-time queue visibility and transparent service estimates?
💬
enhance teller–customer interaction to deliver faster, more personalized service?
🛣️
Enable advanced query tracking with instant updates and feedback during the service process?
💡 The solution
Let's look at the existing experience
After the field visit, constructing customer journey mapping and after aligning the HMW statements, I brainstormed with managers and came up with 3 main solutions to this problem statement before beginning with designs.
Solution 1
Introduing a converation AI for prescheduling and qr generation
We researched that most people usually rely on others or sources for what documents to bring and take to the branch, unaware of how much time their work will take. So why not cut the hassle and introduce an in-house AI assistant that suggests documents, finds the best, fastest, and nearest available branch and slot for a visit, and actually generates an appointment QR code after validation with branch data?
Solution 2
Inhouse document holder
It's easier for customers when all their documents are in one place, helping them stay organized, informed, and efficient.
Solution 3
Teller dashboard
Teller will address customer queries with more informed, concise communication and faster, personalized interactions, enhancing the customer-teller transaction.
The solution
Customer journey
AI Assistant prescheduling
User notice the need to visit the bank
QR Code generation
User notice the need to visit the bank
At branch
Ticket and feedback
User notice the need to visit the bank
Teller dashboard
User notice the need to visit the bank
See how saumya visited the bank using this flow
User testing and Impact
🧠 Closing thought
I learn that UX and business go hand in hand
Below are a few live projects I've worked on, both solo and in collaboration with designers at HDFC Bank.
Live project #1
This project involved a heuristic evaluation of the smart Vayapar platform.
Live project #2
EVA Agri Loan: I was tasked with designing and prototyping this conversational AI, EVA, which aids in the agricultural loan process and reduces processing time by 40%.
Figma prototype for this