Under.io

In 2021, I was hired to design the core web platform for Under.io, a financial services onboarding solution aimed at streamlining complex client verification processes. The platform was built to help financial services companies collect critical information from clients through intuitive, easy-to-fill forms, manage client interactions, facilitate document uploads, and streamline identity verification for both personal and business accounts.

Core Platform Development

The project’s three main focuses were:

Custom Form Builder

This wasn’t just about building a form editor—it was about creating an intelligent, structured workflow tool that could handle the nuances of financial services onboarding. The UI had to balance flexibility (so users could create custom forms for different business needs) with ease of use (so non-technical staff could configure forms without needing engineering support). By transforming traditional document submission into an automated, guided process, we eliminated the back-and-forth of email-based collection, reduced human errors, and accelerated client onboarding times. The end result was a powerful, adaptable system that financial institutions could trust to handle mission-critical data with precision and efficiency.

• Map form fields directly to required PDFs—ensuring that collected data automatically populated official bank and compliance documents without extra steps.
• Apply conditional logic—so forms could dynamically change based on user inputs, ensuring relevance and reducing errors.
• Handle complex data types—including structured fields for tax IDs, business ownership details, financial statements, and multi-party signatures.
• Maintain compliance and validation rules—to enforce formatting, identity verification, and audit trails.

Dynamic Applicant Forms

Designing a form system that could handle the disjointed nature of data, document, and signature collection in financial services was a major challenge. Traditional onboarding processes often involve multiple stakeholders, fragmented submissions, and back-and-forth communication that leads to inefficiencies and abandoned applications. Our goal was to create a system that not only structured the collection of critical information but also adapted to different use cases—from fully guided, multi-step applications to quick, embedded lead forms with minimal friction.Balancing Structure with FlexibilityOne of the primary challenges was designing a form structure that could accommodate complex onboarding workflows while remaining user-friendly for both applicants and financial service teams. A standard multi-step form with traditional navigation felt too rigid for certain workflows—particularly in lead generation and pre-application screening, where users often drop off if presented with an overwhelming process upfront.To solve this, we developed a dynamic, single-card-at-a-time UI, where users were presented with one question or task at a time, reducing cognitive overload.

This allowed for: Security, Continuity, and Agent Collaboration. Since financial onboarding involves sensitive personal and business information, we integrated multi-factor authentication (MFA) to unlock the form, ensuring only authorized users could access and complete it. Additionally, to prevent frustration from lost progress, the form automatically resumed wherever the applicant left off—even if they switched devices or returned days later. On the backend, we recognized that financial service agents often needed to modify forms mid-journey, whether to request additional documents, correct information, or guide customers through missing steps. We designed the system so that agents could:

• Edit and update forms in real-time, even after submission, without requiring users to start over.
• Track applicant progress and send reminders to keep the process moving forward.
• Collaborate internally, allowing different team members to assist in the onboarding process without losing context.

By solving for these complexities, we built a system that was both structured and adaptable, making the onboarding process smoother for applicants while giving financial institutions the control and flexibility they needed to manage customer journeys effectively.

• Adaptive Progression: Forms dynamically adjusted based on prior responses, ensuring that applicants only saw relevant fields instead of wading through unnecessary questions.
• Frictionless Lead Capture: For embedded workflows, the form could start with just a few essential fields and then expand if the user engaged further.
• Seamless Multi-Device Experience: The card-based design made it easy for applicants to complete forms on mobile devices without frustration.

Data-Rich CRM

One of the most innovative aspects of Under.io was designing a visually rich, data-driven interface that aggregated and displayed third-party verification data from sources like Middesk, Twilio, Plaid, and TransUnion. The dashboard provided a clear, beautifully designed summary of crucial verification insights, including:No other product on the market provided this level of transparency and visual clarity in onboarding verification data. The result was a powerful, real-time intelligence hub that significantly enhanced decision-making for financial services teams.

• Business and personal credit reports
• Liens and litigations
• Bank account verification
• Identity and fraud risk assessments
• Phone and email verification

Marketing & Growth Strategy

Beyond the core product, I was also responsible for designing and developing the marketing site within Webflow. Webflow was chosen due to its flexibility in design while providing all the necessary components for marketing activities. The marketing efforts included:

• A fully structured blog, helping drive SEO and improve search rankings
• A university and knowledge base for educating users and potential clients
• A template marketplace to fast track customers into the product

I collaborated closely with Colin Driscoll (Sales & Marketing Lead) to not only design and build these components but also to maintain a consistent content strategy. I contributed weekly blog posts to ensure that Under.io's SEO efforts remained strong, increasing brand visibility in the financial services sector.

Data-Driven Decision Making & Optimization

To continuously improve the platform, I worked extensively with Datadog, monitoring product usage data on a daily basis. This allowed us to:

• Identify bottlenecks in the onboarding flow
• Measure user engagement and form completion rates
• Optimize the user experience based on real-time behavioral data

Additionally, I built out multi-step customer feedback forms and workflows within HubSpot, helping capture critical insights from users and refine the platform's functionality based on real customer needs.

Final Impact & Industry Positioning

Under.io was built on a five-year R&D process, refining digital onboarding flows for financial services companies. The platform replaced inefficient, back-and-forth email exchanges with structured, easy-to-track digital handshakes. Through our research and testing, we established key pillars of the product:

• Transparent, guided form-filling for both agents and end-users
• Seamless document collection with built-in tracking
• Effortless e-signatures and compliance-ready workflows
• A clear status system that allowed operations managers, business owners, and field agents to oversee the onboarding process at a glance
• A revolutionary data-aggregation dashboard that provided never-before-seen clarity on business and personal verification data

This holistic approach helped financial services firms reduce friction, increase client conversion rates, and improve operational efficiency, positioning Under.io as a leader in modernized client onboarding.