Prince

Optimus 2.0 — Wealth management at your fingertips

Optimus is a digital wealth management neobank platform that provides bespoke and innovative financial services to help ultra-high-net-worth individuals, core middle, and retail customers realise their financial ambitions. The platform aims to provide the discovery of investment products whilst preserving wealth and providing income.

Role Senior Product Designer
Platforms iOS, Android
Owner Andromeda, NG
Contributions
Research Design Leadership Information Architecture Visual Design Interaction Design UxQA
Optimus 2.0 app screens overview

The what, why, and how

Optimus launched in 2021, providing users with fixed and flexible savings products, mutual funds, and US stock investment options. Version 1.0 was built and shipped in just three months. Since then, the product has experienced tremendous growth, with over 500,000 users and more than ₦12 billion in assets under management. It's been an exciting growth curve.

Why we needed a redesign

While launching quickly allowed us to get to market fast, it came with its fair share of trade-offs — architectural debt, experience gaps, and performance issues. These became more apparent as we prepared to introduce new product lines. It was clear that before we could scale both the product and user base, we had to address the foundational challenges. This was our chance to consolidate all we had learned over time and solve the problems in one coordinated effort.

How we approached it

This redesign was entirely grounded in user feedback. We analysed support logs, issue trackers, and direct user messages. We also relied on our own experience and intuition, honed from managing and building the product since launch. Every change we made was backed by real usage data and user pain points.

Key Insights That Shaped Our Redesign

  1. Inconsistent UI and UX

    The app lacked a consistent design language and experience, leading to confusion, especially for new users.

  2. US Stock Trading Was Frustrating

    Trading US stocks was a complex process, hindered by both technical limitations and a disjointed user flow for funding, buying, and selling.

  3. Dark Mode Was Surprisingly Critical

    Despite being perceived as secondary, dark mode consistently topped our feature request list.

  4. KYC Was a Major Bottleneck

    Nearly 40% of customer complaints were related to issues with our verification process.

  5. Funding Was Harder Than It Should Be

    For a core feature, funding options were not intuitive or easily accessible.

From performance issues to a lack of educational content, we had a long list of user insights that guided our every decision.

Highlights from this project

Vesto Design Library

As we set out to redesign the Optimus app, we saw an opportunity to address one of the major pain points in the previous version: visual inconsistencies. To solve this, we created the Vesto Design Library — a unified design system used across both the mobile and web apps to ensure consistency and scalability.

Improved Accessibility — Day and Night Mode

To better serve our customers, one of the most frequently requested features was dark mode. With the Vesto Design Library, we incorporated this functionality using design tokens, making it easy to switch between light and dark themes without compromising visual coherence.

Optimus day and night mode — US Stocks in light, medium, and dark themes

Refined User Onboarding and Authentication

We introduced custom, on-brand illustrations for the product walkthrough to enhance the first-time user experience. These illustrations were extended to other parts of the app, giving it a distinct and cohesive visual identity.

Optimus onboarding screens — Funds Are Safe & Secure, Global Portfolio, Save Invest and Spend Optimus login and authentication — Welcome back, PIN entry screens

Smarter Know Your Customer (KYC)

Our previous reliance on third-party KYC providers led to frequent onboarding issues. With Optimus 2.0, we introduced a smarter, AI-powered solution using OpenAI technology to match a user's photo with the image on their submitted ID. This improved accuracy and reduced friction during verification.

KYC verification steps — identity verification, address proof, selfie capture KYC flow — BVN verification, face capture, signature, account ready

A More Inclusive Dashboard

Optimus 1.0, while functional, wasn't designed to scale with the introduction of new product verticals. We solved this by introducing tabbed categorisation for savings, investments, and learning products. We also added shortcuts to key actions like adding or transferring funds, prioritised based on user behaviour data.

Optimus dashboard — onboarding state, active portfolio, and new user views

Easy Access to Key Features

The redesigned dashboard now includes clear, prominent action buttons for funding options, sending money, accessing settings, and getting help, making it easier for users to access essential functions quickly.

Key features — Add money, Send money, and Settings screens

A Unified Savings Visualisation

We streamlined the user experience for our savings products — OptiFlex, OptiLock, and OptiTarget — by introducing a unified flow and visual presentation. This consistency across similar products improves engagement and usability.

OptiFlex savings — product intro, plans list, and plan detail

OptiTarget — Group Savings

With Optimus 2.0, we introduced OptiTarget — a savings product that allows users to set personal or group goals and earn attractive interest. Group savings foster accountability and encourage disciplined financial habits.

OptiTarget — product intro, targets list, and group savings detail OptiTarget states — fund your plan, off-target alert, goal reached celebration

Fund with a Temporary Account Number

To provide more flexibility in funding, users can now generate a temporary account number for one-time transfers. This feature enables instant deposits to their Optimus account within a designated time window.

Temporary account funding — enter amount, countdown timer, success confirmation

Fund with a Linked Bank

Users can link their existing bank accounts to Optimus to authorise direct debits for savings and investments. This secure integration, powered by Paystack, enables automated savings and reduces the overhead costs associated with card payments.

Transparent Earnings Tracking

A recurring concern has been the lack of clarity around interest earnings. To address this, we introduced an earnings trail for all savings products. Users can now view interest accrued by month and year, ensuring full transparency.

Earnings tracking — savings plan states and interest confirmation

Enhanced US Stock Trading

We significantly improved the US stock trading experience with better visibility of trading wallets, easier stock discovery, and a streamlined buying and selling flow.

US Stock trading — start investing, portfolio view, and chart view Stock trading flow — stock detail, buy order, and review order

Detailed Portfolio Outlook

We redesigned the portfolio view from the ground up, offering a clear, categorised breakdown of user savings and investments in both Naira and USD. This makes it easier to understand financial performance at a glance.

Portfolio — allocation pie chart, explore tab, and watchlist Portfolio views — empty state, detailed breakdown with donut chart

Peer-to-Peer Money Transfer

One of the most requested features has been peer-to-peer transfers. The new wallet-to-wallet system allows users to securely send money to others using a username, phone number, or email address.

P2P transfer — send money contacts, amount entry, review, and success

Referral Programme Visibility

Our referral programme has been a key growth driver. In Optimus 2.0, we gave it prominent placement on the dashboard and introduced a tracking feature that shows the progress of each invitee. This encourages users to follow up and assist their referrals through the onboarding process.

Referral programme — promo banner, invites list, and invite detail tracking

Optimus Learn

Financial literacy remains central to our mission. With Optimus 2.0, we integrated our educational resources directly into the app. This allows users to access curated investment content previously shared on social media. It also serves as a content marketing strategy to drive awareness and deepen user engagement.

Optimus Learn — educational content with videos, articles, and investment resources

The Results & Learnings

The redesign of Optimus wasn't just a visual refresh; it was a product overhaul driven by real user needs. After launch, we began to see measurable improvements across multiple touchpoints:

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