Designing fair, human-centric car finance

The challenge

Match Me is on a mission to support the financially underserved—those often overlooked by traditional banks due to bad credit histories, low credit scores, or life changes like moving to a new country. Their core belief? Fairness and care should be at the heart of finance.

While Match Me’s customer service was exceptional, their digital experience wasn’t reflecting the same level of care. Customers, 95% of whom used mobile phones, found the journey fragmented and unintuitive—especially when searching for cars or selling their own. Internally, the team needed more efficient processes to reduce acquisition costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Our approach

We took a human-first approach, focusing on empathy, simplicity, and control for the end-user. Our work was broken down into three key areas:

1. Onboarding Application: We designed a frictionless onboarding process optimised for mobile users. With our deep understanding of the financial services sector, we focused on the emotional state of users who often feel anxious about finances. The process was streamlined to minimise drop-off rates and reduce acquisition costs, ensuring a smooth and supportive user journey.
2. Members Area – Personalised Car Sales Platform: The new members area allows approved customers to browse cars tailored to their personal finance deals. Customers can connect directly with personal account managers, search and save vehicles, and create shortlists—all from their mobile phones. This end-to-end journey ensures a seamless transition from finance approval to picking up their new car.
3. Car Selling Platform: We developed an intuitive platform that enables users to sell their cars entirely online. Users can upload photos, note any scuffs or damage, share service history, and even create videos to ensure transparency and maximise the car’s value. Competitor research into platforms like Motorway, AutoTrader, and We Buy Any Car allowed us to streamline the process further, removing friction points and enhancing the user experience.

Brand-Led UX Design:

Throughout the project, we refined Match Me’s brand tone of voice, ensuring it consistently reflected their values of fairness, care, and empowerment. Inspired by customer-centric brands like Starling, Monzo, Revolut, Airbnb, and Skyscanner, we built a digital experience that is effortless, intuitive, emotionally supportive, and optimised for mobile-first users.

The Results:
Customer feedback was immediately positive, with users finding the new experience simpler and more transparent. Internal teams also benefited, saving time previously spent guiding customers through complex processes. The optimised onboarding journey helped reduce acquisition costs, while the brand’s reputation saw a significant boost within both the customer base and the fintech industry.

Empowering customers through fairness, care, and seamless UX—this is the future of finance.

Ready to make an impact with your brand?

If you have a problem, a challenge, or would like to do better in presenting your brand or business, schedule a call with Andy Crawford our Creative Director, and let’s see how we can get you to the next stage. hello@180south.co.uk