Flender

Designing a user-centric digital experience

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The Problem

Flender set out to disrupt traditional banking by enabling people to lend and borrow money through their social networks. Unlike other platforms, Flender charged no lenders’ fees, only a success fee and a small interest margin.

 But the challenge was clear. The global peer-to-peer lending market was booming, and Flender’s platform was only partially built. They needed help turning their ambitious vision into a usable, competitive product.

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The Idea

We focused on creating a user-centric digital experience.

  • Ran workshops and research into lending psychology, P2P borrowing, crowdfunding, and community projects

  • Created a persuasion roadmap to guide app design around borrower and lender needs

  • Conducted 12 usability tests across competitor platforms to validate assumptions and refine journeys

  • Built tailored notifications, email triggers, and content to align with user expectations and mental models

This ensured that both borrowers and lenders were guided clearly and effectively through the platform.

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The Outcome

We delivered annotated wireframes covering all borrower and lender journeys, designed around clarity and storytelling. Borrowers could track funding journeys, and lenders connected with authentic borrower narratives.

  • Platform launched March 2017

  • Sales grew from zero to €3m by September 2018

  • 225 jobs created

  • 10.3% average interest returned to lenders

The best thing we did was to outsource the UX design. We only wish we had done it sooner... The end result was great.

- Oli Cavanagh, Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Flender
€3m

Sales went from zero to nearly €3m in September 2018.

225

225 new jobs created

10.3%

Average interest returned to lenders of 10.3%

FAQs

  • What challenge did Flender face with its platform?

    The peer-to-peer lending market was booming, but Flender’s platform was only partially built and needed to become competitive

  • How did Ideas + Outcomes approach the redesign?

    Through workshops, research into lending psychology, usability testing, and a persuasion roadmap to align design with user needs.

  • What impact did the new design deliver?

    A platform launched in March 2017, €3m in sales by September 2018, 225 jobs created, and 10.3% average returns to lenders.

  • How did the redesign improve user journeys?

    It provided annotated wireframes for every borrower and lender path, ensuring clarity, storytelling, and confidence in funding.

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