User Testing Summary

Loan request flow

SPRINT QUESTIONS

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Do corporates see this this as better or faster than traditional finance or CeFi?

Maybe. They like the flow, being able to manage most of the tasks themselves without having to go backwards and forwards with a traditional finance lender, and being able to undercollateralize the loan or specify the terms they want. However there are two issues that arise that cause them doubt; what negotiations with a pool delegate will look like, and the requirement to upload company financials. Maple feels faster to get a loan out into the wild, and better in ease of use, but they have questions about how long the loan will take to be filled, and ‘better’ depends on their specific user needs.

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Can we get corporates to trust the system enough that they share information with delegates/managers?

Maybe. Users were hesitant about who they would be sharing this information with. If they can build trust in the pool delegate, and trust the platform, then they will likely provide the information.

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Can we make each user feel that their core needs are being prioritised?

Yes.This is where Maple has the ability to stand out; by allowing flexibility of loan terms based on their needs, allowing users to get the rate they want, the tokens they want, or by using the collateral they want.

USER NEEDS

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Users expressed a range of needs when borrowing digital assets. For each, there are trade offs between these different factors, and it depends on the asset they have/are looking to borrow, and speed of closing the deal.

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Users want the ability to

• Access the specific coin/asset they’re looking for
• Use lesser known tokens as collateral (e.g. User 2 with FTX token)
• Get the best rate
• Undercollaterilise using reputation
• Close the deal quickly
• Not be required to upload any financial/KYC information e.g. Aave (the downside to this is being required to overcollateralize, but the upside is access to a wide range of assets)

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“More choice is good. You never know what coins we might need to borrow” (User 2)

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“Collateralization [with our own token] is way better than the interest rate.” (User 2)

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“Ease of use is important but if we’re going to be taking out 1m USDT, we can probably afford to spend a week sorting it out” (User 1)

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OVERALL REACTION TO THE PROTOTYPE

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Users compared the experience of using Maple Finance to Nexus Mutual or Aave, and this was a positive for them. It was considered a better experience than using a cefi lender.

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“I would compare this to Nexus Mutual as an experience. That was similar to this. What I like about this flow is that I stay informed most of the time” (User 1)

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“I like the flow, I think the flow’s really good” (User 3)

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“It reminds me of Aave which in my mind is a huge point of validation. I like the feel at the moment because it’s easy to use” (User 4)

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HOMEPAGE

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The homepage is clear and simple for users to get started.

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Issues

• Some who are eligible might not consider themselves to be ‘Corporates & Institutions’.
• More clarity could be provided on the USPs of Maple, particularly the ability to underollateralize loans, use reputation, and borrow a wide range of assets.
• “Corporate finance means lots of things to lots of people.” (User 3)
• Users wonder what ‘Negotiate with a pool delegate’ will entail; they would like clarity on this from the start of the experience (we didn’t prototype what communication with a pool delegate looks like, so they questioned how this would work all the way through the journey).
• “Pool delegate. Feels like a new concept, I can figure out what it means. ‘Negotiate’ feels confrontational. Now i’ll have to put effort it, it doesn’t sound easy.” (User 1)

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EXPLORE MARKETS

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This page works really well. It gives a sense of activity and growth.

“Oh this is great. I can see some real-life deals. It gives me a feel for the product and what’s going on” (User 3)

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Issues

• Users are unsure if the Pool Tiles are there to be selected by them.
• Users wonder at this stage why a pool has an average APR.
• They are unsure who the Profile is for.
• There could be some confusion over whether these are pools that they can contribute liquidity to, or pools they can borrow from
• “I’m a bit confused about the liquidity pools. Is that a pool that I can borrow from? Or is that a pool Maple have issued that I can give money to to receive interest?” (User 1)
• Users would benefit from seeing a range of pools for different assets.

BORROW

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This screen works well, users are able to understand the inputs needed by them, there are no obvious blockers to proceeding. Displaying loan terms at this stage is the right step for users. Users want plain english loan terms (seems like we’re doing that, so keep it up!)

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“It seems very simple ” (User 2)

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Issues

• One user expressed confusion about what would happen after pressing Continue; whether this would automatically send a loan request. Consider bringing the progress steps forward to be included on this page, so users know what will happen after this step.
• Users may not find the Terms below the fold, although they can easily find the ‘See Key Terms’ copy below the Continue button, so if clicking that takes them to lower on the page this may solve the problem.

BORROW

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Issues (cont)

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• Users wonder if Terms are always the same for every loan, or if they are contingent on the parameters of the loan, so it is worth clarifying this.
• Tooltips for some of the terminology on the page will be of benefit; everyone was confused by the difference between Flat, Traditional and Bullet, although assuming these are interactive and adjust the graph below, they will probably work it out.

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CONNECTING A WALLET

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We used this screen as a discussion point about the way users are currently connecting with cefi/defi lenders; it varies from an email to connecting a wallet.

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One user mentioned that having a company’s multisig wallet caused problems for them when trying to connect to a lender. Also, for most, they do not hold their company’s tokens in MetaMask.

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Consider either: copy to say that the submitted wallet address can be changed later, or widening the connection options for users (note: ‘Other wallet’ is a great option, but not interactive in the prototype so we couldn't test this).

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“We don’t keep our assets in a MM, we use a multisig or at least a ledger for extra security. So ideally there would be some way to connect in a secure way. E.g. have you talked to the people at Nexus Mutual? They have a similar flow but you can change your address later on” (User 1)

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“As a crypto company we need multisig, it’s quite complicated to interact with a loT of defi products to do that. We use gnosis safe; be good to interact with that” (User 3)

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STEPS

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The steps make sense to users, but they have a question still about what ‘Negotiations with pool delegates’ means; how long will it take? What will it entail?

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“I’m interested what negotiate with pool delegates, how do i do that” (User 3)

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“What’s the time period on that? It sounds like its back and forth - what are the requirements for both parties to actually participate” (User 4)

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DASHBOARD/LOAN STATUS

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This page made sense for users, they understood most of the information on the screen.

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Issues

• Users who take out multiple loans will need a unique identifier for each loan to make communications within their own company, and with counterparties, easier.
• There are multiple elements on this page that in reality might not be ready to be interacted if this was a real-world scenario. Consider progressive disclosure of ‘lending pool offers’ and ‘create a contract’ modules, greying them out (but still visible) so users know the next thing they need to do is act on the active CTAs (company account profile and Upload documents and data)
• Users did not comment on/seem to notice the copy explaining that permissions could be set for the documents they upload. This is important for users to grasp in order to have confidence in the platform. Once uploaded, they see the Manage Access icon and are reassured by it.

UPLOADING FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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Users are mostly satisfied with the need to upload company info (incorporation certificates, articles of association, list of shareholders, Director KYC etc), and will want reassurance these are kept in a secure way by Maple.

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However, financial information; PNL, NAV etc, is considered highly sensitive (and an effort on their part to provide). They are reticent to share this information to unvetted (by them) counterparties.

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“The company financial information is quite sensitive so I think there needs to be a certain level of trust. After speaking to a real person we would do it, or if we get some sort of reassurance.”

(User 1)

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“We would upload financial stuff only if the deal is very good. We have lots of lending options, so unless the rate is amazing, we wouldn’t bother.” (User 2)

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“I would be against uploading a balance sheet or PNL, but might provide to a specific lender on a case by case basis” (User 3)

CREATE A CONTRACT

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Without being able to test the interactivity of communicating with delegates, it is difficult for users to put themselves in the right mindset of Creating a Contract to know what to expect. However the copy in the module helps towards explaining what will happen.

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CONTRACT LIVE

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Users really appreciate having a live status of their ask. However if Pool Delegates have not yet filled the offer, it is not clear to the user what action they can take to expedite the completion.

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They also wonder if drawing down from available pool is an option or if they need to wait until it is filled. There is uncertainty about how long this might take, when with other lenders they can agree terms and receive the funds very quickly (albeit from one counterparty).

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“I like this a lot (the design). It’d be really interesting to see more stats like on crowdfunding websites.” (User 3)

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It’s not clear for users how they will access the funds once the ask is filled. Consider adding a greyed out CTA or explaining what will happen once the ask is filled.

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“I’m not so sure what the next step is here. Do i wait for 100% or can i start taking down from it?” (User 2)