Insights ¦ Digital design for financial products and services: Consumer impact of sludge, deceptive design, timeliness and simplification

Published by: Financial Conduct Authority
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Key Take Aways

Digital design practices significantly influence consumer understanding and decision-making in financial services.
Obscured information—where key facts are made less accessible—dampens product comprehension, particularly around product-specific knowledge.
Simplification and timely presentation of information enhance understanding of critical product features.
Techniques like clicking through menus or links to access information can diminish consumer comprehension.
The presentation of information does not directly impact behavioural outcomes such as accepting offers or borrowing amounts, suggesting a complex relationship between understanding and behaviour.
A higher level of financial literacy remains a primary driver in correctly understanding interest calculations, irrespective of design.
Features like ‘drip’ information, where details are revealed gradually, can improve understanding of certain...