Prestito sociale - Coop Alleanza 3.0

With 2.2 million members and 346 stores across eight regions, Coop Alleanza 3.0 is the largest consumer cooperative in Italy: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Puglia, and Basilicata. The cooperative's main focus is retail, with a widespread network of supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as digital channels. It also provides relevant services to members and consumers, including energy, insurance, culture, and information.

The cooperative is committed to innovation to generate shared value, protect members and communities, and promote a sustainable, inclusive, and participatory ecosystem. In this context, integrating Prestito sociale, Coop Alleanza 3.0's members' savings program, into the Coop app, which unites the digital services of major cooperatives, required a shared vision and a design system capable of adapting to a multi-brand ecosystem.

Prestito sociale is exclusively available to Coop Alleanza 3.0 members. Members earn annual interest on their deposits while contributing to the cooperative’s sustainable development. Prestito sociale represents an act of trust, offering members a simple, safe, and transparent way to manage their savings. This program is also one of the most strategic and widely used digital services in the Coop ecosystem.

From a user experience perspective, it is one of the most personal and sensitive sections. Integrating it into the app provides greater accessibility and control, strengthening the relationship between members and the cooperative, even on the go.

Project goals

Building on the experience of the dedicated Prestito sociale website, we designed a new, native mobile app experience for the Coop. We retained existing features, adapting them to mobile patterns.

Promoted by Coop Italia, the project was integrated into the national Coop app and, in this first release, tailored to the features and needs of Coop Alleanza 3.0. This project went beyond simply transferring content; it aimed to:

• Rethink the user experience by identifying critical issues and opportunities in the web version
• Simplify flows and interactions, leveraging the potential of mobile technology to provide a more immediate experience
• Ensure visual and functional consistency between the app and the website to foster continuity across touchpoints
• Updating the visual language to align with the mobile context
• Improve accessibility and continuity of use for all members

This work was part of the cooperative's broader digital transformation journey, aligned with its values of inclusiveness, transparency, and participation.

From feature to transformation lever

The project's added value lies in transforming the Coop app into an action-oriented tool. Members can now actively manage their accounts, scheduling withdrawals, checking transactions and expenses, managing their passbook, and transferring funds to their bank account, all in a context that requires the highest standards of security, data protection, and technical reliability.

Another goal was to eliminate physical touchpoints, such as paper passbooks, receipts, and membership cards, to enable a more sustainable and secure experience that aligns with members’ digital habits.

The mobile design also prompted adjustments to the existing website, improving channel consistency and optimizing processes.

Processes, methods and design decisions

Requirements analysis and Co-Design

The analysis phase was essential for developing a shared, realistic vision. Through listening to business needs, mapping existing processes, and collaborating with technical teams, we identified design opportunities and assessed feasibility.

Co-design sessions helped us prioritize use cases, distinguish between in-app and website-integrated actions, and share updated, simplified flows with all stakeholders.

Incremental and iterative approach

We worked in iterative sprints, releasing functionalities in waves.

• Wave 1: Account overview (e.g., balance, transactions, and account details)
• Wave 2: Transactional features (e.g., fund transfers)
• Wave 3: Fixed-term savings and advanced features

Each phase included analyzing the existing website, benchmarking it against home banking apps, and introducing mobile-first solutions focused on clarity and efficiency.

In parallel, backend service analysis identified logics to maintain, critical issues to address, and technical evolution opportunities. We worked closely with the frontend, backend, and UX teams.

Security in a sensitive context

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

• Authentication and authorization methods
• Use of one-time passwords (OTPs), temporary tokens, and biometric access
• Different access levels based on user profiles
• Clear, transparent communication of sensitive actions

We shared solutions with the IT security, legal, and development teams to balance usability and protection.

Validation and continuous improvement

Each feature was validated by the business side and reviewed with technical teams to ensure seamless integration. Design iterations were informed by user acceptance tests (UATs) and cooperative member focus groups. They were then refined based on feedback, regulatory constraints, and technical considerations.

Visual Identity and accessibility

A multi-brand design system for an evolving ecosystem

The Coop app supports a wide variety of features and hosts multiple cooperatives, including Coop Alleanza 3.0. To design a consistent yet flexible interface, we developed a modular, multi-brand design system using Figma.

This shared foundation comprises typography, colour palettes, grids, interaction patterns, and navigation logic. Custom elements are layered on top of this foundation to reflect each cooperative’s identity. This approach ensures consistency, efficiency, and scalability.

The system was designed for both visual consistency and operational efficiency. We defined clear rules for theme management, including colour tokens, variable components, and contextual styles, and structured the file architecture to facilitate versioning, onboarding, and collaboration with the development team.

A rebranding guided by research and comparison

Initial analysis revealed that the historical colour palette associated with Prestito sociale was inadequate for WCAG standards and ineffective in digital contexts. In a service where trust and inclusivity are paramount, colour was identified as a critical element.

In collaboration with Coop Alleanza 3.0, we began a review process to create a more accessible and identity-aligned palette. This included colour exploration, UI component simulation, and readability testing.

A new visual identity, fresher and more inclusive

The result is a new palette that preserves the memory of the original colour while updating it with a modern, accessible look. When applied across all interface elements, the new palette improves contrast, readability, and the perception of the service.

For Prestito sociale, we expanded the design system to include components, micro-interactions, and visual patterns that reflect the service's values of simplicity, reliability, and security. The interface is fully integrated into the Coop app while maintaining a distinctive voice.

Impact and future perspectives

The Coop app is designed to host multiple cooperatives while maintaining visual and functional consistency across different brands. One of the first concrete applications of the multi-brand design system was work on Prestito sociale, which helped validate its flexibility and scalability.

The Prestito section is intended to evolve over time with new features that empower members. It also bridges the gap between physical and digital touchpoints. For example, it allows members to authorize cashier operations directly from the app.

Thus, the app is consolidating its role as the main channel for accessing Coop services, simplifying daily management, and boosting the efficiency of the entire ecosystem.

Qualitative insights supporting design

To support the release of the initial features, a user testing session was conducted in collaboration with UNGUESS. The results showed high levels of user satisfaction, particularly regarding clarity, navigation, and interface quality.

These results confirm the effectiveness of the design approach and provide a solid basis for the section's future development.