Whether or Not You Want It, You Make Design Choices

When companies think about design, they often imagine something intentional — a crafted experience, a thought-through user journey, or a sleek interface. But what many fail to recognize is that not prioritizing design is also a design decision.

If you don’t deliberately shape your product’s user experience, it doesn’t mean design isn’t happening. It simply means you’re letting it happen by accident. And more often than not, that results in friction, confusion, and lost opportunities.



The Absence of Intent is Still an Intent

Think about a fintech product that doesn’t invest in a well-thought-out onboarding flow. Maybe there’s no clear guidance for first-time users, leading to abandoned sign-ups. That’s a design decision.

Or a payments app that doesn’t consider edge cases, like what happens when a user’s card expires before an upcoming installment payment. If users have to hunt through settings to update their card, that’s not a lack of design — it’s a choice to leave the problem unsolved.

In fintech, where trust is everything, these implicit decisions can be costly. When users struggle to understand fees, repayment terms, or transaction statuses, they lose confidence in the product. And without trust, fintech products don’t survive.



Invisible Friction is Real Friction

Many companies assume that if something “works,” then design isn’t a priority. But what they don’t see are the users who never convert, never come back, or never engage fully because the experience wasn’t intuitive enough.

• A clunky payment flow? Users might abandon transactions.

• Unclear security messages? Users might hesitate to trust the product.

• Confusing repayment schedules? Users might end up defaulting—not because they meant to, but because the design made it harder than necessary to stay on track.

These pain points aren’t always loud. Unlike a major bug, which gets immediate attention, bad design often operates in silence, draining revenue without anyone noticing.



Deliberate Design Pays Off

Great fintech products reduce cognitive load and build trust through transparency and usability. Companies that actively prioritize design see:

• Higher conversion rates

• Lower churn

• Increased user confidence

• Stronger retention and engagement

Consider Apple Card’s approach to financial transparency — everything is visually clear, fees are easy to understand, and transactions are categorized in a way that feels effortless. That’s not an accident; that’s a result of deliberate design choices.

Compare that to a traditional banking app with cryptic transaction labels, long-winded legal jargon, and a clunky UI. The bank might not think they’re making a design decision, but they are — they’re choosing to let complexity stand in the user’s way.

If You Don’t Design It, Someone Else Will

Neglecting design doesn’t mean design doesn’t happen. It just means you’re leaving it up to chance — or worse, your competitors.

In fintech, where trust, clarity, and ease of use define success, companies that ignore design are making an implicit decision to risk user frustration. The best companies recognize that every interaction — whether consciously crafted or not — is shaping the user experience.

So the question isn’t whether your company is making design choices. It already is. The real question is: Are you making those choices intentionally — or letting them be made for you?