Zendor Helps GE Consumer Finance Improve Usability of Electronic Store Card Application Forms

Press Release

By: Zendor
9 June 2003

GE Consumer Finance (GECF Ltd) has appointed Zendor, the Manchester-based interactive and fulfilment specialist, to provide recommendations on how to improve the usability of their browser-based store card application system, ‘E-Aps’, and ultimately make the facility more user-friendly.

Using a ‘Usability Laboratory’, Zendor assessed how typical users interacted with the E-Aps application. In February 2003, Zendor reported back to GECF UK with findings resulting from the Usability Lab in addition to providing recommendations for appropriate design guidelines which are due to be implemented in the coming months.

GECF UK has developed the web-based E-Aps, the first of its kind in the industry, in order to increase the speed and convenience of the account opening process, replacing the traditional method of assistants telephoning the call centre to process applications. The system provides real-time decisioning from the store’s POS via an extranet infrastructure. To facilitate take-up, GECF UK ran a pilot scheme across a selection of stores, and this identified that in some cases assistants were still ringing the call centre for application clearance due to difficulties with using the forms, hence the involvement of Zendor.

GECF appointed Zendor after being impressed by its usability expertise and financial industry experience. David Hawdale, Zendor’s Head of Design and Usability and an established expert in the field, is leading the project.

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