CIBC Costco Business Card
Currently, CIBC Costco Business Card applications are only available online or at Costco warehouses, where members can learn about the product but can’t apply directly and dropping in sales.
Role
Product Design Lead
Client
CIBC
Deliverables
Product & Design Strategy, E2E , User Retention Metrics, Performance Data
Year
2024
❖ Full process breakdown available upon request.
What Does Success Look Like?
"How might we simplify the Costco Business Mastercard application process at Costco Warehouse, enabling customers to easily start the application with minimal information?"
The goal of this initiative was to streamline the application process by allowing business members to apply in-store via tablets - making it more convenient and boosting application volumes.
Consider the Costco warehouse agent’s part of the user flow to capture their information, guide the client’s questions, and address deferrable aspects of specific business information fields
Enhance the current Costco Business Mastercard application process after reviewing UXR analytics to help us track and compare sales activity by sub channel.
Provide the ability for the client to quickly submit an application with information they know or have on hand, with the opportunity to defer some information, and provide it later to credit services
Brainstorming Sessions
During the design process, I held weekly brainstorming sessions on FigJam with QA, Dev, UXR, BSA, and stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives and identify potential challenges.
The voting feature was particularly helpful, as it allowed us to reach a collective consensus and understand each team's priorities, which guided the design drafting. Some common trends from the discussions were:
Some common trends from the discussions were:
The first part of the digitally fulfilled experience should be assisted by a Costco employee in the warehouse, with the second part being completed independently by the client.
Clearly highlight and compare the perks of business vs. personal credit cards.
Identify the key drop-off points in both the current CIBC Business Card Application and the new CIBC Business Card Application process.
Personal Field Study
To better understand the experience of current and potential Costco Business Mastercard clients applying at the warehouse, I decided to pay a visit (after my own Costco shopping).
After inquiring about the Costco Business Mastercard, the associate handed me a pamphlet detailing the Costco Personal Mastercard. He then directed me to scan a QR code to sign up for the card via the CIBC mobile app or online banking at cibc.com.
Key takeaways from this experience:
I felt a bit discouraged that I couldn't apply for the card on the spot, especially for a business card, as potential clients might forget important business details, which could prevent them from starting the application. When I asked for more details, he explained that it would require a variety of business details for authentication, but he didn’t provide specifics on what exactly was needed.
When I asked for more details, he explained that it would require multiple business details for authentication, but he didn’t provide specifics on what exactly was needed.
I would have preferred an immediate side-by-side comparison between the personal and business credit cards, which could have led directly to the application process, rather than just being given a pamphlet to take away.
Highlights
Deferrable Pages
In our brainstorming sessions, we realized that clients might forget key business details, which could prevent them from starting the application. To solve this, we developed a code base that lets clients defer certain questions and answer them later via email or a follow-up call from support.
Initial Launch
Since we launched the Costco warehouse application system last September, we've seen an 12% increase in Costco Business Mastercard applications, with around 130 applications per day (during peak 8 hours) and about 15 applications per hour at each Costco location across Canada.
I would have preferred an immediate side-by-side comparison between the personal and business credit cards, which could have led directly to the application process, rather than just being given a pamphlet to take away.
