From Data Overload to Decisions: Citizens Bank’s Playbook for Simpler, Safer Banking

Oct 16, 2025

In this discussion, Catherine Lynch, the Head of Digital Experience at Citizens Bank, shares her extensive banking background and insights into human-centered design. She pinpoints the three core customer needs: seeing, moving, and protecting money, highlighting how cognitive overload shapes customer expectations. Catherine discusses innovative strategies like partnerships with fintechs and the importance of observational research from their innovation lab. She emphasizes the power of empathy and rapid prototyping to streamline banking experiences in a complex environment.

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INSIGHT

Learn Faster To Cut Through VUCA

Learning faster, not adding more, creates clarity under VUCA conditions.
Pair discovery with rapid adaptation to convert uncertainty into evidence and focus.

ADVICE

Shorten Insight-To-Action Loops

Shorten the loop from noticing change to taking action; prioritize validation over ideas.
Ship smaller improvements quickly, measure impact, and iterate based on evidence.

INSIGHT

Simplicity Lowers Risk And Cost

Design and risk should be partners because clarity reduces errors and P&L drag.
Fewer clicks and clearer intent often mean fewer exceptions and lower operational cost.

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In This Episode

Many bank leaders are currently grappling with the same paradox: despite having access to more data than ever, it’s increasingly difficult to discern what truly matters. Budgets are tight, initiatives are piling up, and the market sends conflicting signals, all while the imperative to remain relevant to customers persists.

Breaking Banks did a show on VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) three weeks ago (if you missed it, take a listen when you get a chance!). When there’s VUCA, the natural inclination is to add more—more dashboards, more projects, more committees—yet this rarely leads to clarity.

This episode of Breaking Banks features Catherine Lynch from Citizens Bank and Greg Palmer, host of sister podcast Finovate. They discuss the importance of human-centered innovation.

Catherine Lynch leads digital experience and human-centered design at Citizens, a super-regional bank with approximately 1,000 branches primarily in the Northeast and $220 billion in assets. With over 20 years in banking and prior experience at Accenture and various tech startups, Catherine has dedicated her career to leveraging technology to solve customer problems. At Citizens, she focuses on digital channel strategy and experience design for a diverse customer base, including consumers, commercial clients, and wealth management customers.

Catherine explains that all banking clients share three fundamental needs: seeing their money, moving their money, and protecting their money. However, these needs have evolved as people navigate cognitive overload, economic stress, and reduced community connections, leading to a demand for simpler and easier banking experiences. To meet these changing expectations, Citizens employs a human-centered design approach, placing customer needs at the core of their problem-solving process through empathy, collaboration, iteration, and testing. Their innovation lab, part of Green Pixel Studios, enables them to observe customer interactions and rapidly develop solutions for pain points.

With its human centered focus and work building the right kind of innovative community, the future looks bright for Citizens Bank as it continues to deliver exceptional customer experiences and help customers navigate today’s information overload. Listen now to learn more!