S-BankA technically and visually compelling digital service ecosystem for S-Bank
S-Bank’s renewed digital service ecosystem ties together a modern brand, enhanced customer experience, and high technical performance. The result, covering the entire service journey, reliably supports both everyday use and continuous development.
When digital services function simultaneously as a bank’s business card and service channel, their development must be continuous, intelligent, and goal oriented. That’s why S-Bank’s digital services were redesigned extensively, both in terms of visual identity and usability.
HiQ has been S-Bank’s development and maintenance partner for over 10 years and was now responsible for the design, development, and testing of the s-pankki.fi and s-lahjakortti.fi websites. In addition to the website and brand renewal, the updates included content APIs and the development of various internal tools to support operations and customer service.
“We want to offer world-class digital services. These updates are a strategic investment: beyond visual coherence, they strengthen S-Bank’s credibility, trustworthiness, and accessibility,” says Lauri Lamminpää, Head of Digital Sales at S-Bank.
A trustworthy and modern look through brand renewal
S-Bank aimed to move away from its old, grey, and conservative appearance. The goal was a fresh, approachable identity that conveys both reliability and human warmth.
The customer-facing UI was completely modernized: the color palette, typography, navigation, and UI elements were all redesigned according to the renewed visual guidelines. Warmth and clarity were brought in through e.g., white space, rounded corners, and soft shapes.
“The new look was created within the framework of the S Group’s corporate design system. We curated the elements to create a visual identity specifically for S-Bank. This also laid the foundation for S-Bank’s own internal design system,” says Constantin Freche, Creative Director.
HiQ makes our everyday work easier. I especially value their proactive attitude and willingness to challenge us: instead of meekly implementing requests, they dare to search for the technical solutions that are genuinely best for us.
Juha Matti Harjunpää
System Manager, S-Bank
Website renewal reinforces both customer experience and understanding
In banking, the digital service is also a brand experience, one customers compare directly to competitors. The strongest players offer UIs that are not only visually compelling but also functionally robust and intuitive.
“The website showcases the bank’s products: users can explore our offerings and use calculators. But the required dense, detailed content can easily be overwhelming. The new site uses visual rhythm and clarity to improve scannability,” says Lamminpää.
Customer service is now supported by tools like a chatbot and smart routing tool to help guide users to the right information. Segmentation allows for tailored user journeys. For example, private banking services received a more refined and exclusive dark theme. User experience was also enhanced using motion design for navigation behavior among other elements.
“We also addressed regulatory compliance. New customer reference and testimonial components communicate loan services within industry guidelines, and features are built as multiuse blocks that showcase benefits in areas like saving and investing.”
A new analytics infrastructure delivers actionable data on user behavior, helping to optimize development and content.
“We’ve already confirmed through A/B testing that the reference and testimonial components are driving user engagement in mobile banking and other digital services,” Lamminpää adds.
Benefit calculator makes customer ownership value tangible
According to Aleksanteri Fagerholm, IT Development Manager at S-Bank, collaboration with S-Bank requires deep cross-sector understanding, as many technical components serve multiple domains.
“One solution can impact banking, retail, and customer ownership all at once. HiQ understands these dependencies and works holistically. The new benefit calculator (“Hyötylaskuri”), for example, connects both banking and retail value propositions.”
The tool calculates personalized savings based on a customer’s behavior, estimating potential annual and monthly financial benefits—like bonuses, payment method discounts, and waived service fees.
Instead of one-off deliveries, we invest in solutions that evolve and remain future-proof. HiQ doesn’t settle for quick fixes – they dig into root causes and offer improvements that truly elevate the entire solution.
Aleksanteri Fagerholm
IT Development Manager, S-Bank
Availability and security are the foundation of world-class digital services
In financial services, availability is non-negotiable. That’s why S-Bank’s systems prioritize not only reliability, but also scalability, longevity and security.
“People want to pay bills and log in to online banking at all hours. Since s-pankki.fi is a key gateway to our services, it must be fast, responsive, and with 100 % availability,” says Juha Matti Harjunpää, System Manager at S-Bank.
As part of a broader technical upgrade, performance and deployment processes were significantly improved. Updates can now be made without downtime, ensuring a seamless experience and enabling smoother content workflows and ongoing development.
In addition to availability, customer trust in banking services is built on security. Information security must extend from system-level protections to the specific requirements of individual products.
“Security is an absolute priority for us. HiQ’s developers have played a key role in managing complex technical systems, even after deployment. In audits, they have demonstrated strong expertise: risks are actively identified, and corrective actions are taken in accordance with agreed practices.”
Results: Faster performance, stronger brand, and smoother day-to-day operations
The updates have made S-Bank’s digital services faster, smoother, and even more reliable. Pages load faster, the interface is more intuitive, and the overall experience is more cohesive.
“As part of the platform update, a version upgrade was carried out and unnecessary components were removed from the system. The result is a lighter, faster, and more scalable solution. It has laid a solid foundation for continuous development. At the same time, our back-end systems are becoming more robust and scalable”, Aleksanteri Fagerholm says.
Thanks to the brand renewal, the refreshed UI highlights not only modern aesthetics, but also user-friendliness and credibility expected from a bank. Brighter greens, updated typography, and clearer headers and buttons all contribute to a strong brand experience at every touchpoint.
The site was also designed mobile-first from the ground up, ensuring seamless navigation and interactions on smaller screens.
In a long-term partnership, the proactivity of HiQ’s experts and the continuity of the familiar team make collaboration seamless, according to S-Pankki.
“HiQ makes our everyday work easier. I especially value their proactive attitude and willingness to challenge us: instead of meekly implementing requests, they dare to search for the technical solutions that are genuinely best for us”, says Juha Matti Harjunpää.
The cooperation includes
- Website design and development: full responsibility for the design, development, and testing of s-pankki.fi and s-lahjakortti.fi
- Overhaul of the analytics in public websites
- Brand renewal: a new visual identity implemented within the group-wide design system
- Design and development of internal tools, including the Hyötylaskuri calculator for customer service points
- Technical upgrade and maintenance: platform update and managed services for the entire digital experience lifecycle
- Ensuring availability and security
- Strategic advisory and expert support over more than 10 years
Solutions for the demanding needs of the financial sector – throughout the entire lifecycle
HiQ is a Nordic IT company specialized also in the demanding needs of the finance industry. In Finland, for over a decade we have had an honor to help companies like Varma, LähiTapiola, Fennia and other well recognized undisclosed Finnish banks, insurance and wealth management companies.
During the years we have helped clients e.g. build banking solutions, web applications for variety of business needs, and renew their legacy systems with modern stack. HiQ is partnered with S-Bank helping them create, develop and maintain impactful digital services.
Our expertise covers the full lifecycle of the digital customer experience. That’s why it’s been so valuable to design and deliver the entire customer journey for S-Pankki, not just isolated components.
Eemi Tantarimäki
Team Lead, HiQ
