ClearScore: Upcoming Bills
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Role
Product Designer
Year
2025
Team
Avi Rosten, PM.
Emily Seager, Backend.
Bartosz Kisielewicz, Frontend.
Alex Pallister, Android.
Xia Tran, iOS.
Kieren Hughes, EM.
Tldr: The problem and solution
The Upcoming Bills feature at ClearScore provides users with timely insights about bills due in the next 7 days that may affect their credit score. This feature displays this information on an insights page, allowing users to view upcoming bill details and prompting them to reconnect their linked accounts when necessary.
I designed an experiment alongside my team and tested the impact of showing these insights to users, leading to an 8.77% increase in OB re-authentication and 17.3% higher engagement with the bill insights.
Understanding the users
To understand the pain points more clearly, 9 semi-structured, moderated interviews were conducted with ClearScore users on Dscout from a variety of backgrounds and financial situations. 4 users also use CreditKarma, 6 use Experian and 1 uses CheckMyFile. This research was essential in understanding pain points surrounding everyday bill management behaviours.
The main question here was, "Do users understand the impact of bills on their credit health?"
Insights from user interviews
The interviews spanned over a week and getting to talk to the users was significant. The key insights they revealed were:
◆ The initial hypothesis that users paying via Direct Debit (DD) wouldn’t find bill insights valuable was disproven. While DD users may have automatic payments set up, many still struggle with tracking payments due to inconsistent bank reminders.
◆ Many users, especially those with lower credit scores, struggled to track which bills impacted their score. There was significant confusion about whether certain bills, such as Netflix or mobile phone contracts, would affect their credit scores.
◆ Many users relied heavily on reminders, especially for bills not on Direct Debit, such as quarterly payments or variable payments. Some used Apple Calendar or set multiple phone reminders.
What is the product opportunity?
We recognized an opportunity to help users understand and manage their bills more effectively, providing them with the tools to avoid missed payments and, ultimately, improve their credit health.
For users:
We aimed to create a feature that made it easy for users to stay informed about bills that could impact their credit scores. The goal was to empower users with actionable insights so they could manage their finances more proactively.
For ClearScore:
The aim was to increase OB engagement and help users keep their accounts active. By linking the Upcoming Bills feature to OB data, we could keep users engaged with the platform, giving them personalized financial insights that encouraged long-term use.
The key features designed
The Upcoming Bills feature was designed to give users personalised reminders about bills due in the next 7 days, specifically highlighting those that could affect their credit scores.
There was a strong need for clear communication about which bills directly affected credit scores, and the importance of timely payments
Personalized insights
In the product, the Upcoming Bills screen featured a prominent section showing bills that are likely to affect the user’s credit score. I prioritised the bills data users would find helpful i.e. the bills provider, the amount and the due date. The bills section was split into two categories:
Bills that may impact credit score: These bills are reported to credit reference agencies (e.g., utilities, car payments, loans).
Bills unlikely to impact credit score: These bills may not have a big impact on credit score because their repayment is not reported to credit reference agencies (e.g., subscriptions)
Video education on credit
Based on user confusion around which bills affect credit scores, educational content was added to clarify the difference between payments that impact credit scores and those that don’t. This video provides context around missed payments.
Provide feedback card
To ensure users are able to report whether a bill on their report is accurate or not, I designed a card to capture feedback. The feedback submitted is passed into a data bank which can be accessed to see what users are saying.
Relink account prompt
Users whose linked accounts were nearing expiration (within 30 days) were prompted with a “Relink” CTA. This encouraged users to reconnect their accounts to maintain seamless access to their financial data.
Designing for mobile
The mobile design was prioritized throughout the development process to ensure that users on smartphones had an equally smooth experience as those using desktops. By considering mobile-first principles, we ensured that users could manage their upcoming bills on the go, making it easier for them to stay on top of their financial obligations from anywhere.
The mobile version had to be responsive to a range of screen sizes and orientations. We ensured that all elements, from the bill lists to the feedback components, were optimized for mobile screens, maintaining readability and usability across different devices.
A/B experiment approach
Before fully launching the feature, we tested it with 1% segment of users to validate our hypotheses.
We hypothesized that showing users personalized insights into bills due in the next 7 days would:
Increase OB re-authentication rates
Encourage users to manage bills more effectively
Improve understanding of the bills impacting their credit score
The experiment involved A/B testing different user segments, tracking the primary metric of OB re-authentication and secondary metrics of engagement with the upcoming bills insights.
When we launched the Upcoming Bills feature, we were eager to see how it would resonate with users and whether it would drive the kind of engagement we hoped for. The results not only met but exceeded our expectations, creating a ripple effect across the user experience.
Engagement from the Home Screen
35.8%
Users who clicked on the Upcoming Bills insights card from the ClearScore home screen.
Higher Engagement with Bill Insights
17.3%
The feature also drove 17.3% of users to click through and explore more details about the bills displayed.
Increased OB Re-authentication
8.77%
Users who interacted with the Upcoming Bills insights reconnected their bank accounts.
The Upcoming Bills feature helped bridge a major gap in ClearScore’s user experience by providing timely, personalised insights into bills that could impact credit scores. This feature not only increased OB re-authentication rates and engagement but also educated users about the importance of managing their bills effectively.
We discovered that while some users appreciated frequent reminders, others felt overwhelmed by notifications. Going forward, we plan to allow users to customise how often they receive reminders, ensuring a tailored experience.
Through continuous iteration and user feedback, we plan to further enhance the feature, making it even more valuable and relevant to users seeking to take control of their financial health.