Role: UX & Service Design Lead
CONTEXT & BACKGROUND
In spring 2020, as COVID-19 shut down the UK economy, the government introduced the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) – a 100% government-backed loan for small businesses, up to £50,000, interest-free for the first 12 months.
By design, repayments would begin one year later. However, ongoing restrictions, reduced consumer spending, and prolonged uncertainty meant many businesses were still in severe financial difficulty as the repayment date approached.
To prevent a wave of business failures, the UK Treasury announced Pay As You Grow (PAYG), flexible repayment options such as interest-only periods, term extensions, and six-month payment holidays. For Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), with over 330,000 BBLS customers and £9.4 billion lent, the challenge was to design and launch a digital-first, omnichannel journey that enables customers to understand, select, and activate PAYG options, while supporting vulnerable customers who require personal assistance.
I received a special recognition for my contribution to the BBLs program and was selected as one of the fifteen key Lloyds colleagues across different departments and locations for their contributions during the pandemic.
CUSTOMER PROBLEM
Many small businesses faced high stress, uncertainty, and declining cash flow.
Limited awareness and understanding of PAYG options.
Vulnerable customers (due to financial hardship, disability, or lack of digital access) risked exclusion.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Anticipated a surge in demand from hundreds of thousands of BBLS customers at the same time.
Need for a seamless customer experience that reduces call centre load.
Compliance with strict government policy while preserving LBG’s reputation for market-leading service.
Delivering at exceptional speed, with development timelines compressed from months to weeks.
UX & SERVICE DESIGN APPROACH
I led the LBG’s Commercial Design Team, applying a service design and UX-led approach, supported by behavioural science and cross-functional collaboration.
1- Customer Understanding & Segmentation
• Mapped customer personas by needs, repayment readiness, and vulnerability indicators.
• Created tailored pathways for digital-first users vs. customers needing offline support.
2- Experience Principles
I led the definition of the BBLs program experience principles and established agreement across all key commercial bank senior stakeholders sponsoring the program. They were the guiding principles for end-to-end customer journeys across all channels, supporting teams, and solutions involved in helping BBLS customers.
Empathy: Understanding our customers as individuals with their own perspectives, feelings, and experiences so we can be genuinely by their side and better able to help.
Clarity: Communications, guidance, and information we share with customers are clear, transparent, in compliance with policy, easy to understand, and easily accessible.
Consistency: Communications, guidance, and information we provide to customers are consistent across all channels, effectively supporting teams and solutions.
Efficiency: Provide timely and efficient guidance and support, based on the customers’ needs and situation, to avoid unnecessary delays.
Expertise: Offer access to the right level of expertise via adequate channels and teams, based on the customers’ needs and situation.
Accessibility: Support for customers with limited digital skills or access.
3- Journey Mapping & Service Blueprinting
• Designed end-to-end flows for both digital self-serve and colleague-assisted journeys.
• Integrated decision points for arrears, ceased trading, or financial difficulty referrals for vulnerable customers that needed further assistance across both digital and offline channels.
4- Digital Experience Design
• Step-by-step UI flow: Loan overview → repayment position → PAYG options → eligibility checks → confirmation.
• Designed to minimise cognitive load in a high-stress decision environment.
• Fail-safe paths for customers to request human support at any stage.
5- Operational Integration
• Defined handoff protocols between digital and telephony teams.
• Equipped colleagues with mirrored customer views for continuity.
RESULTS & IMPACT
• £9+ billion lent out to BBL’s customers
WHY IT MATTERS
This project showcased how human-centred design, accelerated delivery, and cross-functional execution can deliver life-saving financial support at a national scale under extreme pressure. For U.S. audiences, it’s a case of balancing scale, empathy, and operational resilience, designing for both the majority who can self-serve and the minority who need tailored, hands-on assistance.