How to Give Feedback on Bad Fintech UX Without Demotivating Your Staff

Here’s how to give UX feedback that builds better fintech products and better teams.

1. Focus on the process, not just the bad UX result

A clumsy design doesn’t automatically mean a clumsy designer or PM. What matters is the process that led to it.

• Case A: Research-driven mistake.
  Your team explored user interviews, FCA requirements, market research, competitor benchmarking. And still, the output feels poor. That’s okay — sometimes respondents mislead, or industry patterns fail. Here, your job is to help them find a better solution, not label their work a failure.
• Case B: “Just because” design.
  If the reasoning is simply “Revolut did the same” or “we thought it looked good”, that’s a red flag. It reveals a lack of user-centric thinking. This calls for a deeper talk about working approach, not just the interface.

👉 Feedback tip: Always ask “How did you get here?” before saying “This is bad UX.”

2. Replace judgments with questions

Criticism at the start puts people on the defensive. Curiosity creates dialogue. Instead of stating “this doesn’t work,” ask questions like:

• “If you skimmed this screen in 3 seconds, what payment page would stand out?”
• “What’s the primary piece of this transfer here, and why?”

With these questions, you’ll quickly see:

• If answers are clear and confident → likely just a small oversight, not a systemic problem.
• If answers are vague or hesitant → the approach to UX thinking needs more attention.

👉 Feedback tip: Use questions to test reasoning, not statements to shut it down.

3. Temper expertise with humility

Even fintech industry veterans misjudge UX sometimes. The fact that you’ve seen dozens of products doesn’t guarantee you’re right in this one.

A softer frame helps:

• “I may be wrong, but this card order screen feels confusing to me…”
• “My experience says it's better to show all the fees, but I’d love to know if testing showed something different.”

This signals strength without arrogance — and it encourages your team to share their rationale openly.