Nova Bank - Neobank App
A neobank experience, designed and built on the front end to feel native to a new generation. It drew 3,200 waitlist signups before launch.
The Challenge
The founder had spent 14 years in banking and watched every major bank ship the same app with a different logo. None were built for how people actually manage money today. He wanted a neobank experience that felt fast, premium and trustworthy. In banking, design is trust.
The Approach
Mapped out the core experience across 4 pillars: a dashboard that surfaces balances, cards and budgets in a single scroll. A card management system with instant freeze, spending limits and real-time transaction feeds. A payments hub for peer-to-peer transfers and recurring bill management. And a budget tracker that works automatically against daily and monthly spending patterns.
Designed and built the front end of all of it: a personalized home screen showing total balance across all accounts, linked cards with individual balances and a daily budget tracker. A card detail view with one-tap freeze and spending limit controls. A payments screen with instant send and request, contact shortcuts and upcoming bill reminders. The visual language was deliberate: black and chartreuse, rounded cards, bold typography. I owned the design and the front-end build; the founder's team handled the banking backend behind it.
The Outcome
The founder's team took the front end into their backend and launched to a waitlist of 3,200. Early users said it was the first banking app where they actually understood their money at a glance.
"Our beta testers thought the app came from a company many times our size. Nikola's design gave us instant credibility from the first screen." Marcus, Founder & CEO, Nova Bank
Client names changed under NDA. Results and deliverables are real.