Who is a
last mile user?

Last mile users have been historically excluded from the formal financial system. They’re often un(der)banked, and not well served by the global financial system. Many last mile users live in emerging markets, in rural areas or informal urban settlements, are low-income, and are new to using the internet.

Every week, close to a million last mile users will come online for the first time in their lives. Connecting to the digital economy can help them build better lives, but a lack of digital and financial confidence can hold them back.

Design for the last mile looks different.

Money works different

  • When it comes to financial data, they’re starting fresh

    Last mile users rarely have formal financial data trails. Today, their transactions are mostly cash, and where digital they’re hard to systemize and verify. This means most products require user data history to be built on-the-go.

  • Cash reigns supreme (and for good reason!)

    Cash is (notionally) free-to-transact, tangible, and trusted, so it remains the medium of choice for many. It’s not enough to build something as good as cash—users transact digitally when digital feels better than cash. Even when they do go digital, they seek reassurance that they can still convert back into cash when needed.

  • Formal accounts require new behaviors

    Keeping money in an account rather than keeping it on hand can feel abstract, and lead to anxieties about whether the money is truly theirs and truly safe. Needing to build new mental models to operate financial accounts, like remembering an account number and an access password ,can make people feel like like financial products aren’t designed for them.

  • Agents serve as access points

    Many users rely on individuals in their neighborhoods or regions to operate their accounts and perform transactions such as cashing-in, cashing-out, and purchasing digital services. Agents provide valuable advice, serve as trust proxies to formal financial services, can mediate easily between cash and digital and reach further into communities than formal banking.

  • Planning happens in days or weeks, not months and years

    Many last mile users borrow, earn and spend in daily cycles. They’re aces at managing day-to-day cash flows, but often don’t have the income stability and predictability to plan for longer-term financial well-being and absorb financial shocks.

  • Trust is limited

    Last mile users are often nervous about trusting formal entities with their hard earned money, for fear of fraud or errors. When users also lack digital confidence, building trust becomes even more difficult. They wonder—what could happen to my money with one wrong move?

Digital feels different

  • Device is a limiting factor

    Last mile users are not just mobile-first, they are mobile-only. Feature phones and USSD transactions continue to be the norm in many countries, and sometimes sub $100 Android smartphones. Hardware failure like low screen brightness, cracked screens, insufficient storage, and more are common. Often, typical design paradigms like monochromatic flat interfaces are prone to breakage.

  • Typing is tricky

    On-screen keyboards can be hard to use - especially when users need access to special characters and numbers. Mistypes are common, and users fear entering the wrong information will end up costing them.

  • Data is scarce

    When it comes to network speeds, 2G and 3G are the norm. Network blindspots are common, even in urban areas. Data can feel quite expensive—which means many users ration it carefully and are hesitant to explore app experiences that might use up more data than expected.

  • Navigation is highly visual

    Textual literacy and bright outdoor settings can get in the way of reading. Many users navigate apps relying on visual cues and muscle memory from navigation systems like WhatsApp and Youtube, which see high daily active use.

  • Vernacular matters, but only when it is colloquial

    Users are often most comfortable using apps in their native language, but it has to feel colloquial rather than formal and grammatically accurate. The more formal the language feels, the farther it feels from “this is for me.”

Important Design Considerations

  • Digital products aren’t the only—or even the best!—answer

    We share resources and best practices on digital financial product design—but sole reliance on digital products is rarely enough to create a truly inclusive financial ecosystem.

    Design a hybrid experience around your digital product that helps users bridge their online and offline moments. This can include physical and digital touchpoints and in-person support from agents, family and peers. Lastly, be mindful of unintended consequences your product might cause for your most vulnerable users and adapt to those design challenges with empathy.

  • Design for multiple interaction modes

    Smartphone penetration has increased worldwide and it can be tempting to design solely for smartphone interfaces which offer flexible designs and greater capabilities. Yet many people still rely on basic, feature phones without internet data and many don’t own their own devices. Designing only for smartphones excludes many low income and last mile users.

    Build for everyone by mirroring smartphone flows on other interfaces like USSD or chat adn translating key functions into voice channels like IVR.

  • Start here, don't stop here

    The Playbook shares principles and design examples we’ve cocreated with partners or been inspired by in the world. These examples demonstrate impact because they were designed for the needs of their unique users. The Playbook is not a shortcut to understanding your own users and the context your product sits within.

    Much of what you see in this Playbook is illustrative, and we hope you can be inspired by and build on these designs. Do your own research, testing and experimentation, and don’t be afraid to break our patterns. These inspirations are displayed as images, not dev-ready for a reason.

Recommended Reading

Here are few of our favorite resources to learn more about the needs of last mile users