Prestito sociale - Coop Alleanza 3.0

Coop Alleanza 3.0 is the largest consumer cooperative in Italy, with 2.2 million members and 346 sales outlets spread across eight regions: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Apulia and Basilicata.
It operates mainly in the retail trade through an extensive network of supermarkets, hypermarkets and digital channels. Besides these core activities, it is also active in areas relevant to members and consumers, such as energy, insurance, culture and information..

The cooperative is committed to innovating in order to generate shared value, protecting members and communities and promoting a sustainable, accessible and participatory ecosystem. With this in mind, the integration of Prestito sociale, Coop Alleanza 3.0's members' social loan within the Coop app, which brings together the digital services of the main cooperatives, required a shared vision and a design system capable of adapting to a multi-brand ecosystem.

This specific service is an instrument reserved for Coop Alleanza 3.0 members. It allows them to obtain an annual return on their deposited capital and to contribute to the development of the cooperative according to sustainability principles. It represents an act of trust, and enables simple, secure and transparent management of resources. It is also one of the most used and strategic digital services in the Coop ecosystem.

From the point of view of user experience, it is one of the most personal and sensitive sections. Bringing this functionality into the app meant offering greater accessibility and control, strengthening the bond between members and the cooperative also on the move.

Project goals

Building on the experience of the Coop Alleanza 3.0 Prestito sociale website, we designed a new native user experience for the Coop app, retaining existing functionality but adapting it to mobile patterns.

The project, promoted by Coop Italia, was included in the Coop national app, and was adapted in this first release to the functionalities and needs of Coop Alleanza 3.0.
The intervention was not limited to a simple transfer of content, but aimed to:

• Rethink the user experience, identifying the critical issues and opportunities of the web version;
• Simplify flows and interaction, exploiting the potential of mobile for a more immediate experience;
• Ensure visual and functional consistency between app and site, fostering continuity between touchpoints;
• Update the visual language, aligning it to the mobile context;
• Improve accessibility and continuity of use for all members.

This work is part of a broader digital transformation of the Cooperative, in line with its values of inclusiveness, transparency and participation.

From function to transformation driver

The added value of the project lies in having transformed the Coop app into a tool that is not only informative but also operational, allowing users to perform active actions (booking withdrawals, consulting movements and expenses, checking and managing their passbook, account transfers). All this in an environment that demands high standards of security, data protection and technical reliability.

A key objective was also the dematerialisation of physical touchpoints (paper passbooks, receipts, membership card), to foster a more sustainable, secure experience in line with digital habits.

Finally, mobile design enabled a fine-tuning of the current Prestito sociale site, improving consistency and optimisation of flows between channels.

Process, methods and design decisions

Requirements analysis and Co-Design

The analysis phase played a central role in building a shared and realistic vision. By listening to the business, mapping existing flows and talking to technical teams, we identified project opportunities and assessed the feasibility of solutions.

Co-design made it possible to define priority use cases, to distinguish between functionalities to be developed in the app and those to be integrated from the site, and to share updated and simplified flows with all stakeholders.

Incremental and iterative approach

We worked in iterative sprints, dividing the functionality into release waves:

• Wave 1: Consultation (balance, movements, passbook data)
• Wave 2: Transactional functions (e.g. bank transfer request)
• Wave 3: Locked savings and new advanced features

Each phase involved analysing the as-is of the site, comparing it with home banking app standards and introducing mobile-first solutions focusing on clarity and efficiency.

At the same time, the analysis of backend services made it possible to identify logic to be maintained, critical issues to be resolved and opportunities for technical evolution, with the active involvement of the FE, BE and UX teams.

Security and sensitive context

The transactional nature of the Prestito sociale section required attention to security, data protection and regulatory compliance.
We benchmarked banking and fintech apps to validate design choices, focusing on:

• Authentication and authorization methods;
• Management of OTPs, temporary and biometric tokens;
• Differentiation of access according to user profile;
• Transparent communication of sensitive actions.

The solutions were shared with the IT security, legal and development teams to ensure a balance between usability and protection.

Validation and continuous improvement

Each functionality was validated on the business side and analysed with the technical teams to ensure consistency of integrations. The design was iterated from UAT sessions and focus groups with Coop members, and improved based on feedback, regulatory constraints and technical needs.

Visual Identity and accessibility

A multi-brand design system for an evolving ecosystem

The Coop app hosts multiple co-operatives, including Coop Alleanza 3.0, and supports a variety of functionalities. To design a consistent yet flexible interface, we developed a multi-brand and modular design system in Figma.

The common base includes typography, palettes, grids, interaction patterns and navigation logic, which are overlaid with customised layers to reflect the identity of individual cooperatives. This approach ensures consistency, efficiency and scalability.

The system was designed not only for visual consistency, but also for operational efficiency. We defined clear rules for theme management (colour tokens, variable components, contextual styles) and designed the file architecture to facilitate versioning, onboarding and collaboration with development.

A rebranding driven by research and comparison

The initial analysis revealed limitations in the colour palette historically associated with Prestito sociale, which is inadequate by WCAG standards and ineffective in digital environments. In a context where trust and inclusiveness are central, colour has proven to be a critical element.

In cooperation with Coop Alleanza 3.0, we started a revision process to make the palette accessible and consistent with the identity of the service. The work included colour explorations, simulations on UI components and readability tests.

A new, fresher and more inclusive visual identity

The result is a new palette that retains the memory of the original colour, but updates it in a modern and accessible way. Applied to all elements of the interface, it improves contrast, readability and the perception of the service.

For the Prestito sociale, we extended the design system with custom components, dedicated micro-interactions and visual patterns consistent with the values of the service: simplicity, reliability and security. The interface is fully integrated into the Coop app, but with a distinctive voice.

Impact and future prospects

The Coop app is designed to accommodate multiple co-operatives and maintain visual and functional coherence between different identities. The work on the Prestito sociale was one of the first concrete applications of the multi-brand design system, helping to test its flexibility and ability to evolve.

The Prestito (loan) section is designed to evolve over time, accommodate new features and strengthen member operations. It helps integrate the physical and digital world: for example, it allows members to authorise cash transactions directly from the app.

The app thus establishes itself as the main channel for accessing Coop services, simplifying daily management and enhancing the efficiency of the entire ecosystem.

Qualitative insights to support design

To support the release of the initial features, a user testing session was conducted in collaboration with UNGUESS.
The results showed an excellent level of user satisfaction, with particularly positive evaluations of clarity, navigability and interface quality.

This evidence confirms the soundness of the design approach and represents a solid starting point to accompany the future development of the section. results showed high levels of user satisfaction, particularly regarding clarity, navigation, and interface quality.