Past Due Loan Repayment
Transforming Self-Service to Help People Get Back on Track
Discover’s Student and Personal Loan repayment assistance experiences relied heavily on phone and mail communications to support delinquent accounts at risk of charge-off. For customers already under financial stress, reaching out for help was often a difficult and emotionally loaded step. How the experience responded in that moment, the clarity it offered, the options it presented, and the tone it used could shape whether someone moved toward resolution or disengaged entirely.
I led the design of a digital self-service experience that allowed customers to review their delinquency status, answer a few guided questions, and explore repayment assistance options based on their eligibility, all without needing to speak with a representative.
The shift reduced dependency on live servicing interactions, supported more scalable digital-first operations, and enabled 89% of enrolled customers to schedule a payment during the same session.
I led the design of a digital self-service experience that allowed customers to review their delinquency status, answer a few guided questions, and explore repayment assistance options based on their eligibility, all without needing to speak with a representative.
The shift reduced dependency on live servicing interactions, supported more scalable digital-first operations, and enabled 89% of enrolled customers to schedule a payment during the same session.
CLIENT: Discover Personal Loans, Account Collections & Recovery
MY ROLE: Strategist & Senior UX Design Lead
KEY WORK: Stakeholder alignment, journey mapping, prototyping, usability research, WCAG 2.1 AA design specs, design system modernization, and servicing expansion to student loans and charge-off
PHASE ONE
Personalized Repayment
Customers could qualify for several repayment programs with different terms, payment structures, and eligibility requirements. I led the design of a guided experience that surfaced only the options customers qualified for, explained them in clear language, and helped customers compare repayment paths more confidently before enrolling online.
Because the experience operated within a regulated collections environment, I worked closely with Legal and Compliance teams to ensure repayment terms, disclosures, and program expectations remained fully aligned across digital experiences, mailed communications, and phone interactions. The focus throughout was on helping customers clearly understand their options and commitments before taking action.
Because the experience operated within a regulated collections environment, I worked closely with Legal and Compliance teams to ensure repayment terms, disclosures, and program expectations remained fully aligned across digital experiences, mailed communications, and phone interactions. The focus throughout was on helping customers clearly understand their options and commitments before taking action.
INSIGHT
Validate Clarity and Confidence
I planned iterative research and prototyping in close partnership with Discover’s research team, collaborating on participant screening, session planning, observation, and synthesis to guide ongoing design refinement. Together, we tested whether customers could easily understand the guided questions, repayment options, enrollment flow, and payment scheduling experience without needing help from an agent.
Testing showed that customers valued having a private self-service option, along with clearer explanations, guided steps, and multiple repayment choices that reassured them Discover was willing to help them get back on track.
Testing showed that customers valued having a private self-service option, along with clearer explanations, guided steps, and multiple repayment choices that reassured them Discover was willing to help them get back on track.
RESULTS
Help Customers Take Immediate Action
The new self-service experience gave customers a more private way to explore repayment options and take action without needing to make a phone call.
As a result, 89% of customers who enrolled in a payment plan also scheduled a payment during the same session, reducing dependency on phone-based agent support.
As a result, 89% of customers who enrolled in a payment plan also scheduled a payment during the same session, reducing dependency on phone-based agent support.
PHASE TWO
Scale the Design System
As the experience evolved, several collections-specific interaction patterns did not fit cleanly within Discover’s updated design system. Rather than creating one-off solutions outside governance standards, I partnered with the design system team to refine components that could better support delinquency and recovery flows across future servicing experiences.
The additional coordination produced more scalable patterns that could be reused across future servicing experiences.
The additional coordination produced more scalable patterns that could be reused across future servicing experiences.
NEXT UP
Personal Loans Acquisition