Thoughts on the new Kiwibank site redesign?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Thoughts on the new Kiwibank site redesign?

TechnoGuy001

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#295981 11-May-2022 17:17

Maybe it's just me, but I really liked the old design. Thought it was simple, clean and easy on the eyes.

This new one feels way to hard blacks on hard white, or that pinkish colour, just doesn't look right, too much contrast.

Allot of the icons look badly designed, not something you'd expect from an establishment bank with money to afford good designers. (I'm no designer, so maybe I'm wrong)

I realise they're trying to be more "modern, progressive and inclusive New Zealand", but feel like there are better ways to achieve that.

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#2912717 11-May-2022 17:28

I'm not a customer so not familiar with the old site. But oh my this new site is something else.

They've gone for extreme modern flat design. Its hard on the eyes. The colour pallet is, hmmm interesting. Black, white, green, and PEACH?

Also these two buttons are not the same green, well I don't think they are, which irritates me. Maybe because one is surrounded by white, and the other by black?

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vexxxboy

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#2912718 11-May-2022 17:29

i didnt even know, i logged in today and though the site had been hacked😀. Like you i liked the old design but i guess i will get used to it.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

TechnoGuy001

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#2912726 11-May-2022 18:16

Here is the old site for those interested: https://web.archive.org/web/20220305232653/https://www.kiwibank.co.nz/personal-banking/kiwibank-rates-and-fees/#account-access-fees

@vexxxboy, I'm just hoping they're not in a rush to update the web version of internet banking, it's the last bit of the site still mostly in the old style. When/if they update that I might need check out some other bank IB UIs, see what they're like.

Or maybe I'll get used to this new style, we'll see.

michaelmurfy

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#2912732 11-May-2022 18:58

Disclaimer - I work for Kiwibank. The IB redesign has already been deployed. It is to align it with Card Management (where you can go to pin / block your cards in Internet Banking). The only real change I can imagine happening in the future is making it more mobile friendly. Just note also there is a theme selector in the top right corner allowing you to switch to High Contrast mode.

I personally like the new design but also think it can be improved in some ways too.

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TechnoGuy001

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#2912735 11-May-2022 19:06

michaelmurfy:

Disclaimer - I work for Kiwibank. The IB redesign has already been deployed. It is to align it with Card Management (where you can go to pin / block your cards in Internet Banking). The only real change I can imagine happening in the future is making it more mobile friendly. Just note also there is a theme selector in the top right corner allowing you to switch to High Contrast mode.

I personally like the new design but also think it can be improved in some ways too.

Do you mean what's live now for IB is how it will stay for the foreseeable future?

Because if so, then that's no so bad. Most of it is still in the old style, though the top (new) header and old bottom part is kinda a weird mix, but I'll take it :P

It looks like only the cards tab has been redesigned (which tbh, I like, at least that page) https://secure.kiwibank.co.nz/cards/ (hmm, seems direct linking is broken/security feature? redirects to "https://timed-out/")

michaelmurfy

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#2912740 11-May-2022 20:07

TechnoGuy001:

Do you mean what's live now for IB is how it will stay for the foreseeable future?

For now, yes. You'll note it has not changed in ages before that either and there are some older legacy elements in there. Note I can't speak on future plans until they're either announced or deployed.

It looks like only the cards tab has been redesigned (which tbh, I like, at least that page) https://secure.kiwibank.co.nz/cards/ (hmm, seems direct linking is broken/security feature? redirects to "https://timed-out/")

There is no direct linking allowed but also weird it is redirecting there (it should redirect to the IB login page) - I may need to get that checked out. If you saw it before with the older IB style it was very harsh going to card management then back to Internet Banking as they were 2 totally different designs.

Also the design video:

tripp

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#2912743 11-May-2022 20:27

I did hate it first thing this morning, some of the new account icons are awful but i do like black and green.

But I really wish they spend this kind of money on new tech (apply pay, google pay etc).

I would be 100% happy with them if they did this. Currently looking at moving banks just so i can pay with my watch and not have to take cards everywhere

michaelmurfy

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#2912757 11-May-2022 21:19

tripp:

But I really wish they spend this kind of money on new tech (apply pay, google pay etc).

Don't worry, new tech is ongoing (see: https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/695126/under-covers-kiwibank-selects-new-core-take-it-cloud/).

jonathan18

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#2912765 11-May-2022 22:23

@michaelmurfy: while they’re redesigning the site etc can you please pass on a request to sort out anomalies such as being able to:

reorder accounts in the mobile app but not for the web interface
hide accounts via web login but not via mobile app
select images for accounts but not having these apply for any other login (ie, they apply solely for that device).

I quite like the redesign (it was starting to look dated) and think some bits are a marked improvement, but would like to see issues like those above addressed too!

michaelmurfy

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#2912768 11-May-2022 22:36

@jonathan18 Just like other banks, images are per device only due to the fact there otherwise is additional database calls / storage / bandwidth needed that becomes hard to support when we're talking about the amount of customers. I think on-device storage for some things is a good compromise here.

From my understanding (again - not speaking officially) there is work to bridge the gaps between IB and Mobile and this gap is closing with each release. There are technical reasons behind this but it isn't my space to discuss. They do however (seriously) listen to feedback submitted via Twitter / Facebook but some things in the wanted list may be impossible right now, but possible in the future with that other work going on.

jonherries

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#2912775 12-May-2022 02:02

I agree there are a bunch of minor ux annoyances in the mobile app which continue. A brief example is the inconsistent choice of where to display balance and available $. The one that is displayed in big font changes depending on the account type which is insane.

I also agree with another comment above, it seems new paint is more important than things customers actually care about eg. Google/apple pay or even faster settlements/some sort of timing indicator to make the payment arrive in time, ability to set up direct debits, ability to categorise spending (make budgets etc), integration with currency exchange providers like Wise, ability to create and close accounts directly online etc.

On hols in UK atm and my UK providers (Monzo and Nationwide) are like night and day compared to Kiwibank.

Jon

Dratsab

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#2912776 12-May-2022 05:10

New Zealand Home Loans use the Kiwibank design (and probably back end too). I logged into both last night and saw the changes. The mix of styles is a little odd to the eye at first, but seems ok to me.

MurrayM

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#2912793 12-May-2022 08:38

Nate001:

Also these two buttons are not the same green, well I don't think they are, which irritates me. Maybe because one is surrounded by white, and the other by black?

I just checked those two buttons and they are the exact same shade of green, in this case #19E480. I think you're correct, the surrounding background colour tricks your eyes into thinking that they're slightly different. I've noticed this effect in other sites.

wellygary

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#2912803 12-May-2022 09:07

Sigh, another website that has adopted the "huge chucks of blankspace,"and requires users to scroll down through multiple "pages" to see most of the content,

Do site designers actually understand that making a user scroll is actually an imposition, and they should be trying to make their site the easiest to navigate through without placing burdens on the user.... <rant off>

jonb

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#2912805 12-May-2022 09:28

Looks like the crappy ASB redesign. Acres of blank space reskin over unchanged functionality underneath, or like the ASB one switching between the two designs e.g. when making a payment.

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