Culture-driven finance
Master Thesis project
Role
Service Designer
Design Researcher
Where
Glasgow, Scotland
Duration
4 months
What?
Service
Finance
Co-design
Research
DEI
Culture
Strategy
Tools
This project investigates how design and strategy can help financial institutions adapt services for multicultural audiences. The outcome is a set of tools to support designers in building a strong business case for inclusion within large organisations.
A lack of cultural adaptation in high-street banking
Failure to take foreign customers into consideration
Secondary research revealed key statistics highlighting the scale of immigration in the UK and the limited integration of foreigners into the UK’s mainstream financial system. Here are some key findings:
As of 2024, around 10% of the UK population is made up of overseas immigrants. Whether arriving for work, study, or family reasons, they all face one common challenge: adapting to essential services in the UK—especially banking.
45% of families with foreign-born parents live in poverty, compared to 24% of families with UK-born parents.
Foreigners in the UK face several recurring challenges when accessing financial services:
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Opening a bank account is often difficult due to a lack of UK-specific proof of address or identity.
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Non-transferable credit history means newcomers are seen as high-risk, limiting their access to mainstream financial products.
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This leads to a “poverty premium”, where individuals pay more for basic services due to restricted access to affordable options.
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Language barriers and limited translated materials make it harder to navigate the complex, information-heavy world of finance.
Deepening the knowledge
Understanding the industry & foreign customer's pov
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue, I investigated how UK high-street financial institutions adapt their services for multicultural audiences.
This included ethnographic research within a major UK bank and interviews with experts who have worked on similar challenges within large corporations.
I also collected feedback and personal experiences from foreign customers to better understand their interactions with banks in the UK.
The research phase concluded with a knowledge-filling workshop designed to identify and fill any gaps that may have been missed in earlier stages.
Some activity sheets filled in by foreigners in the UK on their experience banking with various financial organisations.
Making sense of the research
Visualizing complexity
Visually translating my learnings became essential—not only to make sense of the rich information I had gathered, but also to effectively share insights with external partners and stakeholders involved in the project.
Iterating on different artefacts during a knowledge-filling workshop.
The artefacts
To synthesise my research, I created three key artefacts:
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Pain Point Map – outlining the barriers design teams face when creating inclusive services within a large financial organisation.
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Stakeholder Map – identifying internal and external actors involved in adapting services for multicultural audiences, based on interviews and observations.
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Designer Journey Maps – developed from interviews with four designers working on inclusive service adaptation. These maps charted their processes, highlighted effective practices, and exposed gaps—helping define key phases and pain points in the journey.
Findings
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The FCA Is Driving Inclusive Design in Financial Services
The Financial Conduct Authority’s 2023 Consumer Duty regulation is pushing UK financial institutions to deliver positive outcomes for all customers—including vulnerable and foreign ones—going beyond basic compliance. -
Silos and Hierarchies Hinder Progress
Design, strategy, and tech teams often operate in isolation. Rigid hierarchies slow innovation, making it difficult to scale inclusive design efforts. -
Cultural Adaptation Lacks Strategic Priority
Inclusivity is often viewed as a "nice-to-have" rather than a business necessity. Designers struggle to secure leadership buy-in, as priorities remain focused on compliance, speed, and measurable outputs. -
No Standardised Approach to Inclusive Design
Inclusive design efforts are fragmented and short-term. Designers lack consistent tools and frameworks to drive lasting, systemic change. -
Inclusivity Needs a Seat in the Boardroom
To create meaningful impact, inclusivity must be recognised as a core business value and embedded in executive-level decision-making.
From research to solution
Identifying my point of action
I used the three Designer Journey Maps as the starting base for this next step and merged them into a single idealised process that designers can follow when adapting services for a multicultural audience.
This helped me identify where the most significant pain points occur—and where my design intervention could make the biggest impact.
Given my timeframe, I focused on the first stage of the journey:
Building a business case to secure buy-in and funding for inclusive service initiatives.
I designed a toolkit to help designers in large financial organisations gather the right data to build a compelling business case for multicultural inclusion, ultimately aiming to secure budget for adapting services.
After wireframing the tools, I conducted three rounds of iteration with financial SMEs and key stakeholders, refining them based on feedback each time.
The process in picture.
What is the toolkit?
These tools follow a nine-stage process to help designers promote inclusivity and drive internal culture change within financial organisations. Their primary goal is to support the creation of a compelling business case that convinces executives to adapt services for a multicultural audience.
Adapted from existing Service Design methods, the tools focus on gathering meaningful insights into the experiences of foreign customers. But their impact goes beyond data collection—they also serve to engage key stakeholders through workshops and focus groups, encouraging collaboration and shared ownership of the change.
While leadership approval is essential, lasting transformation depends on involving the right people throughout the process—those who can influence, support, and sustain inclusive practices from within. This is where real cultural change begins.
The toolkit in action!
