Creating a user-friendly digital wallet experience for all
4 months
UX Research, UI Design, Prototyping, Design System
Alexandra Molta, Suebin Kang, Rui Sun, Gabriela Sorto
Figma, Miro, After Effects, Protopie
Shortlisted for the Young Ones 2023 Interactive Mobile Applications
Venmo is a peer-to-peer payment app that has gained significant popularity in recent years, making it easier for people to handle their finances digitally. However, through empathy interviews with Venmo users, we discovered that there were concerns about its security and social networking features. Our challenge was to create a more user-friendly and secure experience for users of all ages and experience levels.
According to a survey, 56% of Venmo users are concerned about the privacy of their transactions and personal information.
Many Venmo users feel uneasy about its social networking features and lack of security measures, which makes it difficult for users of all ages and experience levels to use a digital wallet with confidence.
Zelle offers more than 1,000 banking apps. So it is an easy way to transfer money to another bank. The money is sent directly into the bank account, usually within minutes.
Simplified reimbursements, easily make and receive mobile payments. Clear contrast in color, makes it very easy to remember the different functions found throughout the user journey.
Can be used with over 130 countries worldwide. Have different options of transaction such as cash collection for instant exchange, bank transfer, mobile money and airtime top-up.
We asked people around the city who were also regular users of not just Venmo but any money transaction app to further identify pain points, frustrations, needs, and desires with existing products to determine how Venmo could improve this experience.
Some users expressed concern about the social aspect of P2P apps, as they prefer to keep their financial transactions private.
A small number of users prefer to use cash for certain transactions and find it easier to manage their finances that way.
A few users were hesitant to use P2P apps due to concerns about security and the risk of fraud.
Many users expressed a desire to have all of their financial information and accounts consolidated in a single P2P app, creating a digital wallet for all of their money management needs.
Some users expressed discomfort with P2P apps that emphasized social features, such as the option to display transaction histories publicly.
Users expressed a desire to consolidate all of their financial information and accounts into a single P2P app, creating a digital wallet that could simplify their financial management.
Users highly valued P2P apps that provided a simple, intuitive user experience with clear and transparent information about transactions.
The primary user flow is the process of going out and forgetting their wallet, being out of the country, needing to send urgent fund to family member, and first time setting up.
As we began our journey to improve the Venmo user experience, we needed to pinpoint the exact problem we were trying to solve. So, we got together for a brainstorming session and framed our ideas using a unique approach called How-Might-We Questions (HMW).
Diana, who lives in New York City, needs a way for her to rely on fast digital money transfers instead of using her physical wallet because she prefers carrying no more than just her phone as this is convenient, and prevents frustration of forgetting her physical wallet.
Michele, who has two daughters, needs an organized and straightforward flow of checking her kids’ spendings because she wants to feel less anxious about her kids’ money safety without holding her phone for too long.
Charles, who works from home and who is always out in adventure with friends, needs a reliable money transaction app on the ready during his outdoor activities because carrying less, with a user-oriented app device makes him less worried during his adventures.
Kurt, who is stuck in old ways, needs reassurance and guidance when using a money transfer app because of his first time using one. He would prefer more given context and not feel in the dark using it.
These questions were based on the insights we gathered from our Empathy Map, which helped us understand the needs and concerns of Venmo users. With these HMW questions, we were able to focus our ideation and generate creative solutions that put the user's needs first.
How might we make forgetting physical wallet come across as not a big deal?
Put personal information from physical wallet into digital wallet
How might we reduce the mom’s anxiety about children’s spending?
Select certain people and create a group to share transaction records within that group only.
How might we make both domestic and international transaction experience on travel more easy?
Calculated budgets and traveling region selection for payments with automatic money converter.
How might we make non tech savs feel confident using technology like its a second nature?
Guided set up process be manual and familiar for comfort of new users
In a world where money management is increasingly digital, we set out to make it easy and enjoyable for people of all ages. Our mission was to simplify the user experience by removing any unnecessary complexity and ensuring that everyone can use the app with confidence. Whether you're a tech expert or a newbie, Venmo is the all-in-one solution for managing your finances with ease.
