Banking Experience in Remote Area
Client
BRI
Overview
I was engaged with BRILink, Bank BRI’s agent-based banking service in remote areas through the local agents, to understand how people in remote areas do transactions. The objective was to identify pain points that aim to uncover the next killer feature that will make users choose BRI bank product over the competitors.
Location in this study requires approximately 5 hours by boat from the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province. The majority of its residents are employed in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Electricity and internet access are insufficient in this area.
Impact
Informed feature prioritization to improve transaction flow by identifying critical pain points in network disruption, leading to the exploration of offline-capable solutions.
Enhanced agent-bank collaboration by uncovering the vital role of bank officers as proactive problem-solvers, influencing strategies for agent support and education.
Supported localization efforts by revealing how proximity and personal relationships drive trust and engagement in rural banking contexts.
Guided service workflow improvements by mapping the need for escalation mechanisms from local agents to regional offices, reducing wait time, and boosting agent efficiency.
Approach
Contextual Observation: Conducted in-person observation sessions with BRILink agents in remote areas to understand their environment, workflows, and real-time challenges—particularly related to internet disruptions during banking transactions.
In-Depth Interviews: Engaged both agents and their customers in semi-structured interviews to uncover behaviors, needs, and pain points that don't always surface through quantitative data.
Grounded in Ethnographic Insight: Employed a qualitative, human-centered approach rooted in ethnographic thinking to capture how cultural context, proximity, and trust shape rural banking experiences.
Problem Framing Through Lived Experience: Insights were derived directly from daily interactions, enabling a realistic framing of problems and helping surface solutions grounded in users' real-world constraints.
Process
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