Bank of America has a very impressive on-line bill pay service. They keep tweaking and improving things every time I look.
I recently read some complaints about how Bank of America forces you to enter dates when paying bills. Almost on the heels of that commentary, I see Bank of America updated their user experience to address exactly that issue:
Old Way
Customer had to determine when they wanted the bill sent so it would arrive on time.
New Way
Now customers can just pick when they want the payment delivered.
Less is Better
Sometimes removing a feature is the path to a better user experience. Other times you need to remove hurdles that lie in the customer’s path. In our example here, Bank of America actually removed some of the decisions and mental processing the customer needed to do to complete their bill paying task.
Make it Easy
Continuously refine your product based on customer feedback and your own innovative ideas. However, don’t go overboard and pile on complexity. Empower your customers by simplifying and clarifying existing processes.