AMEX - American Express

UX/UI Design

Web App

American Express Saudi Arabia had no digital application, getting a card meant a branch visit or a phone call. I designed their first end-to-end online application from scratch: identity verification, income checks, card selection, and e-signing. The challenge was turning a regulated, document-heavy process into something that felt simple and trustworthy.

Client

AMEX - American Express

Year

2023

Service

Product Design, UX/UI Design, End-to-End Flow Design

Product Design, UX/UI Design, End-to-End Flow Design

Built With

Figma

Timeline

6 months

The Problem

American Express Saudi Arabia had no digital way to apply for a card. Every application went through a phone call or a branch visit, for a product governed by strict financial regulation: identity verification, income checks, KYC, credit eligibility. None of that could be simplified away. The challenge was building a process that satisfied every regulatory requirement while still feeling like something a person would actually finish on their phone.

Discovery & competitive analysis

User research & personas

Problem statements & HMW questions

Information architecture & sitemap

User flows & journey maps

Wireframes & prototyping

UI design & design system

01

The Problem

American Express Saudi Arabia had no digital way to apply for a card. Every application went through a phone call or a branch visit, for a product governed by strict financial regulation: identity verification, income checks, KYC, credit eligibility. None of that could be simplified away. The challenge was building a process that satisfied every regulatory requirement while still feeling like something a person would actually finish on their phone.

Discovery & competitive analysis

User research & personas

Problem statements & HMW questions

Information architecture & sitemap

User flows & journey maps

Wireframes & prototyping

UI design & design system

01

01

The Problem

American Express Saudi Arabia had no digital way to apply for a card. Every application went through a phone call or a branch visit, for a product governed by strict financial regulation: identity verification, income checks, KYC, credit eligibility. None of that could be simplified away. The challenge was building a process that satisfied every regulatory requirement while still feeling like something a person would actually finish on their phone.

02

My Role

I designed the end-to-end UX for the application flow, from identity verification through card selection to e-signature, working within American Express's design system and Saudi Arabia's regulatory requirements.

03

The Real Trade-off

Identity verification couldn't be optional or shortened, it's required by regulation. So instead of a blank compliance form, the first step explains why it's needed and connects directly to Saudi Arabia's national ID system, turning a mandatory step into a moment of reassurance rather than suspicion.

The same is true for income. Salary details are legally required for underwriting, but instead of asking the user to type and prove their income, the flow pulls it from GOSI's own records and simply asks "is this correct?", turning disclosure into confirmation.

04

The Solution

A five-step self-service application, About you, Additional details, Choose Card, Review, E-sign & upload documents, that verifies identity through Saudi Arabia's national ID system, pulls salary data directly from government records, filters card eligibility in real time, and takes a user from wanting a card to a signed, submitted application with zero manual steps.

A five-step self-service application, About you, Additional details, Choose Card, Review, E-sign & upload documents, that verifies identity through Saudi Arabia's national ID system, pulls salary data directly from government records, filters card eligibility in real time, and takes a user from wanting a card to a signed, submitted application with zero manual steps.

05

Step 1–2: Identity and Income

Before any form, the user sees why the process is short and what verifying with Nafath means, since a common reason people abandon sensitive forms isn’t the fields, it’s not understanding why that data is being asked for. Verifying identity first means everything after can be pre-filled or validated instantly. The income step then shows salary already extracted from GOSI, with a simple "is this correct?" instead of a blank field, turning "prove your income" into "we already know, just check it."

Before any form, the user sees why the process is short and what verifying with Nafath means, since a common reason people abandon sensitive forms isn’t the fields, it’s not understanding why that data is being asked for. Verifying identity first means everything after can be pre-filled or validated instantly. The income step then shows salary already extracted from GOSI, with a simple "is this correct?" instead of a blank field, turning "prove your income" into "we already know, just check it."

Before any form, the user sees why the process is short and what verifying with Nafath means, since a common reason people abandon sensitive forms isn’t the fields, it’s not understanding why that data is being asked for. Verifying identity first means everything after can be pre-filled or validated instantly. The income step then shows salary already extracted from GOSI, with a simple "is this correct?" instead of a blank field, turning "prove your income" into "we already know, just check it."

06

Step 3–4: Choose Card and Review

Instead of showing every AMEX card and making the user guess what they qualify for, the flow filters to only eligible cards based on what was just verified, surfacing relevant upsell (a second card, a supplementary card) at the exact moment it's relevant. Later, letting the user choose between home delivery and branch pickup, with real branch details shown inline, respects that how you get the card matters as much as whether you qualified.

Instead of showing every AMEX card and making the user guess what they qualify for, the flow filters to only eligible cards based on what was just verified, surfacing relevant upsell (a second card, a supplementary card) at the exact moment it's relevant. Later, letting the user choose between home delivery and branch pickup, with real branch details shown inline, respects that how you get the card matters as much as whether you qualified.

07

Step 5: E-sign and Submit

The whole flow builds toward a regulated financial product getting legally signed without a pen, a branch, or a wet signature. Every earlier step exists to make that moment feel expected by the time the user reaches it, not sudden.

The whole flow builds toward a regulated financial product getting legally signed without a pen, a branch, or a wet signature. Every earlier step exists to make that moment feel expected by the time the user reaches it, not sudden.

08

The Impact

What used to require a phone call or a branch visit end to end became a fully self-service digital application, identity, income, eligibility, card choice, delivery, signature, with no manual intervention at any point. To make that possible, I also built a small system of reusable components: bilingual step navigation with full Arabic RTL support, form inputs and toggles, and a multi-state digital signature flow, keeping the experience consistent even as the requirements grew more complex."

09

What I Learned

Designing for a regulated product taught me that reducing friction doesn't always mean reducing steps or fields. Sometimes the real UX work is in how information is framed and paced, not in what's asked. The hardest part wasn't finding what to cut, it was earning the user's trust step by step so a long, sensitive process never felt like an interrogation.

Designing for a regulated product taught me that reducing friction doesn't always mean reducing steps or fields. Sometimes the real UX work is in how information is framed and paced, not in what's asked. The hardest part wasn't finding what to cut, it was earning the user's trust step by step so a long, sensitive process never felt like an interrogation.

09

Some UI Screens

Available for new projects

Let's Connect

Have a project in mind, or just want to say hi? I'm always happy to talk product, design, or a potential collaboration.

Book a free intro call

© Lara, 2026

Available for new projects

Let's Connect

Have a project in mind, or just want to say hi? I'm always happy to talk product, design, or a potential collaboration.

Book a free intro call

© Lara, 2026

Available for new projects

Let's Connect

Have a project in mind, or just want to say hi? I'm always happy to talk product, design, or a potential collaboration.

Book a free intro call

© Lara, 2026

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