Start with the problem, not the screen
The brief is usually a solution someone has already picked. Most of the value in the first week is working out what they were actually trying to fix — often something quieter and further upstream.
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Complexity has to go somewhere
You cannot delete the complicated part of a fintech product; you can only decide who carries it. Good interface work moves it off the person using the product and onto the system.
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Design for the constraints you have
Small budgets, short timelines, one developer, a brand that already exists. Working inside real limits is not a compromise on the work — it is the work.
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Trust is built in the small states
The loading state, the error message, the confirmation nobody screenshots. That is where a product either feels dependable or does not, and it is usually the first thing cut.