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Each year, Rocket Mortgage clients receive an escrow analysis that often results in changes to their monthly mortgage payment. When payments increased, clients frequently felt blindsided and overwhelmed. The existing process:

• Overloaded them with information all at once
• Lacked clear explanations of why changes occurred
• Created confusion about what actions to take

I was the Lead Content Designer for the Rocket Mortgage mobile app. Our team saw the transition to a native mobile escrow experience as an opportunity not just to replicate the web flow, but to fundamentally improve it.

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The Problem

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Clients didn’t understand why their payments were changing and felt powerless to respond. This resulted in:

• Frustration and negative feedback
• High call volume to servicing teams
• Missed opportunities to educate and build trust </aside>

I identified an area of opportunity on the escrow landing page. As you can see below, a lot of information is being thrown at the client all at once:

My heuristic analysis of this screen revealed the following issues:

• The Shortage Detected label is the first piece of copy that the client consumes. While it’s intended to be clear and concise, it comes off as short and jarring. It lacks warmth and support.
• It is then followed by a barrage of information including escrow analysis changes, avoiding late fees, fee amounts, monthly mortgage payment increases, how/when to choose a repayment option, and what happens if no action is taken.
• All of this info is both lacking an easy-to-consume format, and it could very much benefit from progressive disclosure; give the client the info they need at that that moment in time, and guide them from there.

The Solution

With the problems of the web experience identified, we had a clear vision of the path foward.

• Educate clients about escrow in plain, human language
• Create a mobile-first digital experience for viewing and managing escrow accounts
• Provide clarity and choice when paying an escrow shortage
• Use progressive disclosure to significantly reduce overwhelm and confusion

The Approach

1. Escrow Learning Center

We prioritized education by moving “What is escrow?” content to the top of the experience. Clients could explore progressively disclosed lessons, reducing cognitive load and improving comprehension.

Once the client reaches the end, a congratulatory tone is applied along with a link to even more escrow learning material if the client wishes to take their learning further.