BE FREE Banking

BE FREE: a banking app that pays you more the more you save

RoleUI Designer

ClientBE FREE (confidential)

CategoryFintech · Mobile + Desktop

Outcome

A novel savings-and-rewards concept made simple enough to trust, delivered consistently across mobile and desktop from one design system.

NDA confidential, shared with permission. Some screens are representative and certain details are simplified.

01 · Introduction

BE FREE is a fintech banking product built on a simple, bold promise: the more you save, the more the bank rewards you. I worked as UI designer on the product, spanning a mobile app and a desktop dashboard, unified by a single design system.

02 · The big idea: benefits pooling

BE FREE's standout concept is benefits pooling: instead of saving alone, users pool savings collaboratively and unlock real-world rewards, like cellular data and phone perks, as they hit savings tiers. The core design challenge was making a genuinely novel financial concept feel simple and trustworthy.

Pool together Users contribute to shared pools, goal-oriented and collaborative, with clear access controls.

Climb the tiers Savings progress unlocks tiered benefits, shown against the next goal to keep users motivated.

Earn real rewards Hitting tiers unlocks tangible perks, turning saving into an ongoing reward loop.

03 · The mobile experience

The mobile app carries the everyday banking: deposit accounts, transfers, bills and statements, and the pooling and benefits flows. The design keeps a dense financial product calm and scannable, with clear balances, tier progress, and one-tap actions.

04 · The desktop dashboard

Beyond mobile, I designed a full desktop dashboard so the same banking and pooling capabilities scale to a larger screen, with denser data views, account analysis, and management tools.

05 · One system, two platforms

Mobile and desktop share one design system: global dimensions, size and spacing tokens, a grid and page-layout system, and documented icon guidelines. One source of truth kept a large, multi-platform product consistent.

Tokens Global dimensions, size, and spacing tokens driving both platforms.

Grid & layout A shared grid and page-layout system for consistent structure.

Icons A documented icon set with usage and treatment guidelines.

06 · Reflection

Making the complex feel simple

What worked

Design system first. One token system kept mobile and desktop consistent as the product grew.

Novel made familiar. The pooling concept was new, so I leaned on familiar banking patterns to make it feel safe.

Built to ship. Designing inside the dev pipeline meant screens were dev-ready, not just pretty.

What I'd change

Test the pooling flow earlier. The concept is unfamiliar; earlier user testing would have de-risked it.

Tighten the handoff loop. More states and approvals than needed; I'd streamline the review pipeline.

The result: a novel savings-and-rewards concept made simple enough to trust, delivered consistently across mobile and desktop from one design system.

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