Limitly - designing a better way to manage personal finances

Limitly - designing a better way to manage personal finances

Company

Swachh AI Technologies

Timeline

3 months

Output

Introduced a new onboarding framework that helped improve onboarding completion and strengthen Day 0 engagement, with average first-session time reaching 727 seconds.

Toolkit

Figma, Figjam, Illustrator, Photoshop, Claude, Grok, Gemini

Role

UX Designer

Company

Swachh AI Technologies

Toolkit

Figma, Figjam, Illustrator, Photoshop, Claude, Grok, Gemini

Timeline

3 months

Role

UX Designer

Output

Introduced a new onboarding framework that helped improve onboarding completion and strengthen Day 0 engagement, with average first-session time reaching 727 seconds.

Summary

At Swachh AI, I led design for the onboarding experience of limitly app. The make-or-break moment where users either commit to changing their financial habits or abandon the app entirely. I ran user interviews, mapped behavioral drop-off patterns, and tested improved flows across archetypes to arrive at an interface that achieved higher onboarding completion rates and stronger Day 0 engagement, with average session time reaching 727 seconds.

At Swachh AI, I led design for the onboarding experience of limitly app. The make-or-break moment where users either commit to changing their financial habits or abandon the app entirely. I ran user interviews, mapped behavioral drop-off patterns, and tested improved flows across archetypes to arrive at an interface that achieved higher onboarding completion rates and stronger Day 0 engagement, with average session time reaching 727 seconds.

Key tasks performed

Skip to design

🚀 Rebuilding Onboarding from the Ground Up

The original pushed users into sign-up before showing value. The redesign opened with an empathetic hook, transparent data policy, and a conversational T.A.R.S. flow that personalised setup before asking for commitment.

🎨 Building Limitly’s Interface
The original was a bare list. The redesign added monthly totals, category filtering, recurring controls, split payments, and prompted untagged transaction reviews — wrapped in a dark-mode reskin with clear identity.

🤝 Designed for Payment Splits
Numbers became visual planning — donut charts, category progress bars, upcoming bills, and a savings stack. Limits reframed to feel motivating rather than restrictive.

🤖 Exploring T.A.R.S as an Agent
The cluttered insights page became a conversational interface that flagged specific moments and prompted action. Explorations pushed further — prototyped to order groceries and compare prices in real time.

🚀 Rebuilding Onboarding from the Ground Up

The original pushed users into sign-up before showing value. The redesign opened with an empathetic hook, transparent data policy, and a conversational T.A.R.S. flow that personalised setup before asking for commitment.

🎨 Building Limitly’s Interface
The original was a bare list. The redesign added monthly totals, category filtering, recurring controls, split payments, and prompted untagged transaction reviews — wrapped in a dark-mode reskin with clear identity.

🤝 Designed for Payment Splits
Numbers became visual planning — donut charts, category progress bars, upcoming bills, and a savings stack. Limits reframed to feel motivating rather than restrictive.

🤖 Exploring T.A.R.S as an Agent
The cluttered insights page became a conversational interface that flagged specific moments and prompted action. Explorations pushed further — prototyped to order groceries and compare prices in real time.

The context

What is Limitly?

Limitly is a personal finance and expense-tracking mobile app that helps users manage their money and stay within budget using smart, AI-powered feedback/insights and automation.

Limitly is a personal finance and expense-tracking mobile app that helps users manage their money and stay within budget using smart, AI-powered feedback/insights and automation.

The app tracks expenses, sets spending limits, and proactively engages users through conversational prompts and personalised nudges, making budgeting feel interactive rather than tedious.

The app tracks expenses, sets spending limits, and proactively engages users through conversational prompts and personalised nudges, making budgeting feel interactive rather than tedious.

Who is it for?

Students (18-24)

Students building money habits

Learning to budget save, and grow

Early Professionals

Starting careers & managing income

Building financial stability & savings

Self-Employed/Buisness owners

Managing multiple or project based income

Tracking multiple cash flows & staying in control

So, whats the problem?

Can you perform a UX audit of the current application to find out where the app is lacking?

Can you perform a UX audit of the current application to find out where the app is lacking?

Very well then, I’d like to audit the app as if I’m a Day 1 user walking in with no context — through onboarding, setup, dashboard, insights. Then analyse every friction point as the designer.

Very well then, I’d like to audit the app as if I’m a Day 1 user walking in with no context — through onboarding, setup, dashboard, insights. Then analyse every friction point as the designer.

Friction points in the current app

Friction points in the current app

1

Value proposition not instantly clear

Users are asked to sign up before the product has said anything about why it should matter to them

Users are asked to sign up before the product has said anything about why it should matter to them

2

High cognitive load in early onboarding

New users are forced to make multiple decisions (budget limits, categories, tracking method) before they've seen their own data

New users are forced to make multiple decisions (budget limits, categories, tracking method) before they've seen their own data

3

Insights lack clear priority

Too many signals surfaced at once; users can't tell what needs attention right now

Too many signals surfaced at once; users can't tell what needs attention right now

4

Trust is asked for but remains unexplained

The app requests permissions and data access without earning the moment

The app requests permissions and data access without earning the moment

  • Directly sign up screen for new users

    Transaction review

    When user tries to skip the transaction review

  • asking user to turn on notifications?

    Insights page

    Bank accounts read via sms permissions

How these blockers manifest across audience layers

How these blockers manifest across audience layers

Audience

Stated friction

Core JTBD blockers

Students (18-24)

Students (18-24)

"I don't see why I need this"

"I don't see why I need this"

Fear of accountability — not ready to face spending habits

Fear of accountability — not ready to face spending habits

Early Professionals

Early Professionals

"Too many questions upfront"

"Too many questions upfront"

Overwhelm — unstable income, afraid to admit lack of control

Overwhelm — unstable income, afraid to admit lack of control

Self-Employed/Business Owners

Self-Employed/Business Owners

"This doesn't understand my situation"

"This doesn't understand my situation"

Distrust — multiple cash flows, afraid app won't capture the real picture

Distrust — multiple cash flows, afraid app won't capture the real picture

Alright, time for some research

What are the people saying?

80 visitor interviews + 12 usability tests revealed a pattern: Users weren't struggling with features. They were struggling with clarity. Three distinct user archetypes emerged:

80 visitor interviews + 12 usability tests revealed a pattern: Users weren't struggling with features. They were struggling with clarity. Three distinct user archetypes emerged:

Identifying proof from secondary sources to validate the problems people were facing

Emotions in the background

Financial anxiety is not a background condition for this generation, it is the dominant one. They are arriving already overwhelmed, already self- critical, and already primed to interpret a confusing interface as confirmation that managing money is simply beyond them. The product does not just need to be usable. It needs to be emotionally safe to enter.

Financial anxiety is not a background condition for this generation, it is the dominant one. They are arriving already overwhelmed, already self- critical, and already primed to interpret a confusing interface as confirmation that managing money is simply beyond them. The product does not just need to be usable. It needs to be emotionally safe to enter.

Retention reality

Across all sectors and app categories, 90% users leave without experiencing clear value in the first week. Day 1 retention industry-wide sits between 22-25% and by Day 7 that number falls to 10-15%, regardless of how motivated the user was when they downloaded the app.

Across all sectors and app categories, 90% users leave without experiencing clear value in the first week. Day 1 retention industry-wide sits between 22-25% and by Day 7 that number falls to 10-15%, regardless of how motivated the user was when they downloaded the app.

46%

of Gen Z feel confident about managing their own finances

CoinLaw, 2025

73%

abandon apps during onboarding due to design problems alone

SaaS Factor, 2024

68%

of Gen Z identify money stress as their top mental health concern

Bank of America, 2024

39%

would delete a finance app after a single security issue

EY, cited in Contentworks, 2024

10–15%

Day 7 retention rate — regardless of motivation in all sectors

ContextSDK, 2024

The problem for most people wasn't how to manage money, it was the weight of having to face it.

The problem for most people wasn't how to manage money, it was the weight of having to face it.

Okay, lets try and fix that

Before designing a solution it was worth understanding what had already been tried and where there was genuine room to improve.

Cleo

Users: 8M+ users (2025)
Market: United States only
Audience: Gen Z, paycheck-to-paycheck workers, (18–30)

Cleo proved that tone is a product decision, not a copywriting one. By replacing clinical financial language with a conversational, occasionally irreverent voice, Cleo made a category that typically triggers anxiety feel approachable — even on a bad spending day. Users did not feel judged. They felt talked to.

Fold

Users: 600K+ (Nasdaq-listed FLD, 2025)
Market: -
Audience: Crypto-curious spenders, (20–35), BTC enthusiasts

Fold proved that structure is the product. By building automatic expense categorisation from day one, users never had to organise anything themselves — the system existed before they arrived. Fold showed that the biggest drop-off trigger isn't complexity. It's the blank page. Give people a starting point, and they stay.

Revolut India

Users: 50M+ globally, 40M+ active (2025)
Market: UK, EU, US, expanding APAC
Audience: 25–40, frequent travellers, multi-currency

Revolut proved that the moment of spending is the moment to intervene. Instant notifications and smart budgeting tools meant users never had to manually log a thing. The app already knew. Revolut showed that frictionless financial visibility is a baseline, not a premium. Awareness without effort is the real product.

Curie money UPI

Users: ~1L downloads, beta until Oct 2025
Market: India only (Bengaluru-based)
Audience: Salaried Indians seeking yield on idle cash

Curie Money proved that your money should work even when you don't. By parking balances in liquid mutual funds with a 6.7% interest annually, while keeping them ready for instant UPI payments. Users changed nothing about their behaviour. Passive growth is the retention hook.

Feature comparison matrix

Limitly vs all 4 competitors across their feature listings

Feature

Revolut

Cleo

Fold

Curie money

Limitly

India native

Auto Expense Tracking

SMS sync

Spending insights

Budget setting

Gen Z Tone / UX

Returns

Gamification

Trust / No FTC issues

Not Available

Implemented

Partially Implemented / Similar Approach

Opportunity areas

Show value before asking for anything 

Demonstrate what Limitly can do for the user before requesting permissions, decisions, or configuration of any kind. Value first, friction later — or never.

Demonstrate what Limitly can do for the user before requesting permissions, decisions, or configuration of any kind. Value first, friction later — or never.

Replace enforcement with understanding

Let users see and learn their own patterns before the product starts setting limits or making judgements. One insight, one action, every session — not a dashboard, not a lecture. Just one thing they can act on now.

Let users see and learn their own patterns before the product starts setting limits or making judgements. One insight, one action, every session — not a dashboard, not a lecture. Just one thing they can act on now.

Make money grow while it sits

Introduce a savings pot where unspent balance earns passive returns like Curie Money's liquid fund model. Users don't need to save intentionally. The product makes every rupee work by default.

Introduce a savings pot where unspent balance earns passive returns like Curie Money's liquid fund model. Users don't need to save intentionally. The product makes every rupee work by default.

Turn money management into a challenge

Borrow Duolingo's streak and challenge mechanics to build daily financial habits. Weekly spend challenges, no-spend streaks, and category goals
— completing them feels rewarding, not disciplinary.

Borrow Duolingo's streak and challenge mechanics to build daily financial habits. Weekly spend challenges, no-spend streaks, and category goals
— completing them feels rewarding, not disciplinary.

Okay now how do we go about implementing this?

01

Using research findings to inform design

Using the data collected from research sessions to guide the wireframes and eventually implementing those into high-fidelity mobile interfaces

Using the data collected from research sessions to guide the wireframes and eventually implementing those into high-fidelity mobile interfaces

02

Test and validate design decisions

Validate the design decisions made through user testing and identify further areas of improvement

Validate the design decisions made through user testing and identify further areas of improvement

03

Refine & iterate

Implement the feedback received from the user testing sessions to iterate and improve on the screens

Implement the feedback received from the user testing sessions to iterate and improve on the screens

Alright, lets Design

One of the biggest challenges was the onboarding flow, becuase there wasn't one to begin with

Inititially users were pushed to:

sign up—give permissions—review transactions—home screen

before they understood what the features are and how they were
adding value.

Trust is a scary thing in Fintech, you can't be pushy.

Speed was key.
Using Claude we built a complete onboarding experience, focusing on clearer Value Propositions and personalization to build trust at early stages.

Onboarding user flow

Wireframes / Mid-fidelity screens

The first sprint

We then proceeded to update the landing pages for each of the following sections/features in the application.

Transactions page

  • Dense transaction cards reduced scanability and created a visually cluttered experience.

  • Limited hierarchy made important transaction details harder to identify quickly.

  • Filters and controls occupied excessive space, reducing visible transaction content.

Before

VS

After

  • Cleaner layouts improved scanability and reduced cognitive load during navigation.

  • Improved visual hierarchy made financial information easier to understand at a glance.

  • Integrated search and compact controls increased efficiency and visible transaction space.

  • Added review banner to sort out untagged transactions, encouraging action.

Budget page

  • Primary budgeting experience feels distracting and overwhelming.

  • Lacked clear prioritization and hierarchy

  • Sections felt disconnected and visually fragmented.

Before

VS

After

  • Encouraging users to set budgets confidently.

  • Progress indicators simplified expense tracking across categories.

  • Consistent spacing and layouts improved clarity and overall usability.

T.A.R.S

  • Important financial insights were difficult to skim quickly.

  • Users needed more effort to understand spending patterns.

  • Messaging lacked conversational guidance and contextual assistance.

Before

VS

After

  • Cleaner chat hierarchy improved readability

  • Reduced visual noise created a calmer interface better suited for longer AI conversations.

  • Refined spacing and card structure

  • conversation patterns made interactions feel more natural, responsive & guided

since the budget page did most of the heavy lifting we decided to scrap the idea of having a home section.

As for insights page which was filled with paragraphs worth of warnings or actionable insights, felt too overwhelming and it was easy to miss out on important stuff.

We shifted from dense conversational insights to actionable cards and contextual alerts, strategically integrated across relevant sections of the app for improved clarity and usability.

We shifted from dense conversational insights to actionable cards and contextual alerts, strategically integrated across relevant sections of the app for improved clarity and usability.

Other Key screens

This section showcases the visual ideations and key screens developed for the Beta version of Limitly. The immediate focus was to refresh the product experience by reskinning existing features and refining current flows, rather than rebuilding journeys from scratch.

This section showcases the visual ideations and key screens developed for the Beta version of Limitly. The immediate focus was to refresh the product experience by reskinning existing features and refining current flows, rather than rebuilding journeys from scratch.

Great, now lets test it

Results of user testing

  • The reskin launched and early signals looked promising, with users actively exploring the product and navigating with ease.



  • We successfully addressed the onboarding problem, achieving a higher onboarding completion rate and stronger Day 0 engagement, with average session time reaching 727 seconds.



  • Retention dropped sharply soon after—falling to 6.6% by Day 3 and below 1% by Day 5.



  • By Day 8, average session time declined to 5.5 seconds, revealing that visual improvements alone were not enough to sustain long-term value.

  • The reskin launched and early signals looked promising, with users actively exploring the product and navigating with ease.



  • We successfully addressed the onboarding problem, achieving a higher onboarding completion rate and stronger Day 0 engagement, with average session time reaching 727 seconds.



  • Retention dropped sharply soon after—falling to 6.6% by Day 3 and below 1% by Day 5.



  • By Day 8, average session time declined to 5.5 seconds, revealing that visual improvements alone were not enough to sustain long-term value.

Most users were dropping off due to bug reports in the application, but that is expected at the initial stages.

However, it created an opportunity for the design team to address deeper product challenges related to the application’s information architecture and user journeys.

Lets Refine and Iterate

Card Sorting

This helped map limitly's overlapping features into distinct, navigable sections. This allowed users to find what they needed without friction.

Final Designs

Hover over the yellow circles to understand certain design decisions

Hover over the yellow circles to understand certain design decisions

View this section on desktop for best experience

Onboarding

Recent transactions

Transaction review

Adding transaction

Transactions page

Recent transactions

Transaction review

Adding transaction

Budget page

Monthly budget

Bills & subscriptions

Spending categories

T.A.R.S

T.A.R.S

Savings section

How T.A.R.S replies

Cool, so what's next?

Payment split groups - Exploration

Add friends, split transactions, and automatically create groups. Or build groups from scratch to track shared expenses with multiple people. View balances, settle debts, and manage who owes whom—all in one place.

Adding a Friend

Splitting an expense

Creating a group

Agentic T.A.R.S - Exploration

I created a Swimlane diagram that delineates responsibilities by segregating process steps into distinct horizontal or vertical lanes, where each lane represents a specific person, department, team,
or system.

I created a Swimlane diagram that delineates responsibilities by segregating process steps into distinct horizontal or vertical lanes, where each lane represents a specific person, department, team,
or system.

Agentic T.A.R.S

Groceries were the starting point — a category every user had, a spend that recurred every month, and a scenario specific enough to test against.

Groceries were the starting point — a category every user had, a spend that recurred every month, and a scenario specific enough to test against.

Key takeaways

Things Left Unexplored

Demonstrate what Limitly can do for the user before requesting permissions, decisions, or configuration of any kind. Value first, friction later — or never.

Demonstrate what Limitly can do for the user before requesting permissions, decisions, or configuration of any kind. Value first, friction later — or never.

Design System Exploration

As the sole designer, my primary focus remained on delivering production-ready interfaces that supported development and usability testing, leaving limited opportunity to build a comprehensive design system.

As the sole designer, my primary focus remained on delivering production-ready interfaces that supported development and usability testing, leaving limited opportunity to build a comprehensive design system.

Exploring “Pot” for Passive Growth

We explored a concept called Pot, designed to help users grow idle
money through liquid funds. Although the foundation and direction were established, my internship concluded before the feature could be fully explored.

We explored a concept called Pot, designed to help users grow idle
money through liquid funds. Although the foundation and direction were established, my internship concluded before the feature could be fully explored.

Gamifying Budgeting Experiences

Another direction involved reimagining budgeting through gamification by introducing challenges, streaks, milestones, and goal-driven interactions inspired by habit-forming platforms like Duolingo.

Another direction involved reimagining budgeting through gamification by introducing challenges, streaks, milestones, and goal-driven interactions inspired by habit-forming platforms like Duolingo.

VARAD

varad191204@gmail.com

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