At Glide, our goal is to help FIs achieve a 70%+ conversion rate by delivering a seamless user experience (UX). Glide has analyzed how different configuration options within the account opening flow impact conversion. Below, we outline best practices for increasing conversion and reducing drop-offs, while maintaining compliance requirements.

Data shows that institutions requiring more employment selections tend to have lower conversion rates. For example:

• A CU with 6 employment fields saw only a 37% conversion —the lowest in the dataset.

• Conversely, an institution that used just 1 employment text field was able to achieve a 70% review page hit rate—a high performer in the cohort.

How to optimize:

✅ Use a single text field such as "Occupation" or "Job Title" for collecting employment details to minimize effort.

✅ Remove the need for a member to select employment type such as "Self Employed or Unemployed" to shorten the user journey.

Institutions with more eligibility selections tend to see a drop in review page hits. While eligibility screening is necessary, excessive selection fields and requirements to verify via a document upload add friction. Glide offers ways to automate eligibility such as geographic location (zip code, city, county) or email.

How to optimize:

✅ Consolidate eligibility criteria into fewer, clearer selections to reduce complexity.

✅ Implement progressive fields, so members only see relevant eligibility fields.

✅ Use real-time validation to ensure members meet requirements without unnecessary steps, such as document upload.

Institutions that required an additional page or questions in the flow saw lower conversion hits overall. Each additional question or page increases the cognitive load required to submit the application.

• FIs that added several additional questions had completion rates ranging from 37% to 56%.

• Meanwhile, the FI that removed the additional page altogether had a 65% review page hit rate, proving that fewer questions increase conversion.

How to optimize:

✅ Defer non-essential questions until after approval.

Institutions that moved the requirement to fund their account to post-account opening had the highest conversion rates. However, if you are required to collect funds during the account opening journey, ensure you have enabled all payment methods:

• CUs offering all payment methods (ACH, Debit/Credit, and Apple and Google Pay) within the flow had 70%+ conversion rate

• Institutions that turned off funding methods such as ACH or Apple Pay saw a drop in conversion rates.

How to optimize:

✅ Enable instant funding options (ACH, Debit/Credit, Apple Pay Google Pay) within the application.

✅ Offer incentives for immediate funding, such as a match or bonus

ID verification is a top drop-off point, with selfie checks reducing completion rates by 20-30%. Requiring every applicant to complete document and selfie verification adds unnecessary friction. Instead, step-up verification triggers these checks only when discrepancies arise—boosting conversion while maintaining security.

How to Optimize:

✅ Use Plaid IDV's step-up verification flow to collect documents and/or selfie checks when necessary.

✅ Skip extra steps for good actors to improve completion rates.

Optimizing the account opening journey is key to achieving a 70%+ conversion rate while maintaining compliance. By simplifying employment and eligibility fields, reducing unnecessary pages, optimizing the funding flow, and implementing step-up verification, financial institutions can minimize friction without compromising security.

Small refinements—like using a single employment text field, enabling instant funding, and deferring non-essential questions—can make a significant impact on completion rates. Contact your CSM to further configure your flow.