Embedded Finance UX Sprint
Sprint · Hosted by Finch. Rebuilding the approval step in checkout lending so it stops losing customers.
About this open call
The brief
Finch is rebuilding checkout lending, and the approval step is where shoppers leave. They want that step to stop reading as an interruption: fewer things asked at once, a sequence a shopper can follow, and the disclosures a regulated credit flow has to show placed where they can be read rather than dismissed. The sprint is scoped to the approval step alone, not to the rest of checkout.
What they're looking for
Interface work that raises completion on a regulated credit flow: a re-sequenced approval step, rewritten prompts and field labels, honest waiting and decline states, and disclosures presented in a form a shopper will actually read. It should hold up on a phone, behave sensibly when a decision takes a few seconds to come back, and keep every disclosure the current step shows rather than removing one to shorten the flow. Working prototypes and annotated screens are both fine, provided the reasoning behind each change is written down and the drop-off it targets is named.
Problem statements
Drop-off at approval
Shoppers get as far as the approval step and stop. Nothing on the screen says how long a decision takes, what it will ask for, or what happens if the answer is no, so leaving is the cheapest option in front of them.
Disclosures at the worst moment
A regulated credit flow has to show terms the shopper did not come for. They currently arrive as one block of text at the point of highest impatience, and none of them can be dropped to make the step shorter.
Waiting with no answer
A decision does not always return instantly. The step has one state for waiting and one for done, so a shopper asked to hold on cannot tell whether to stay on the page, and a decline leaves them nowhere to go next.
Evaluation criteria
100% weighted total
Timeline
- Jul 1, 2026
Sprint opens
Entries accepted from startups & partners.
- Aug 20, 2026
Submissions close
Final deadline to submit your entry.
- Sep 7, 2026
Host review & shortlist
Finch scores entries and shortlists finalists.
- Sep 21, 2026
Winner announced
The strongest entry moves to the pilot on the approval step.
Sponsors & partners
Finch
Host
Northwind Retail
Sponsor, and the checkout the pilot runs in
Mindline
Drop-off measurement partner
FAQs
Who can take part?
Any startup or partner organisation in the ecosystem, in-house design teams included. One entry per team.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Joining the sprint commits you to nothing; only a submitted entry reaches Finch, and it reaches them after the deadline.
Do entrants see real customer or credit data?
No. You work from the flow and the states described in this brief and supply your own sample content. Nothing in the sprint gives entrants access to real applicants, accounts or credit records.
What happens after I submit?
Finch reads entries as they arrive and shortlists after the deadline; the strongest moves to the pilot. An entry is final once sent, so submitting early costs you nothing but does commit you.
Take part
Submit your entry before the deadline. Every entry is scored against the criteria above.