PayPle: A Smart contract Web3 App for making & accepting payments globally
Timeline
- April – June 2022 (9 weeks)
My Role
I was responsible for all the design process in the project. I did everything from user research, through to the prototyping.
Project Overview
The product:
PayPle is a web3 application or Smart contract platform that allows users to quickly receive or send money to friends and family globally through the use of Cryptocurrency.
Problem:
Users want an easy way to make or receive payment from one country to another without much fees
Users have to pass through a long process to send or receive money from one country to another as they would have to send via banks which may cost a lot of fees and take a long time. Users want a quick way to send money to friends globally at their own comfort without losing huge amount of money as fees and going to the bank physically.
Solution:
I understand that is a major problem users have, hence i came up with the solution- PayPle Financial Web3 App. A website application that facilitates financial transactions such as sending money, receiving money and making payments to relations, friends and business clients through the use of cryptocurrency
The goal of the case study:
My goal of this study was to ideate solutions and create prototypes of a product which development process and iterations are derived from insights from concluded user research studies and usability tests.
My Role
As the sole designer and researcher on this project, I was responsible for the entire research, ideation and design process.
Design Process
Foundational Research:
SUMMARY
My goal of the user research was to find out how easy or difficult it is to transact money from one country to another and how to address the pain points with my product. So I conducted an online survey which I used to collect data from users facing the same pain point, documented the data and analyzed it.
Therefore, I conducted a series of user interviews with some relatives and friends who have family relations in another country or who does business transaction globally to know what their experiences were.
I asked a series of open ended questions revolving around them sending or receiving money from another country during the interview. I casually interviewed 7 people (4 of them had relatives abroad and 3 were businessmen). These questions were asked during the interview:
- What was your experience like when you sent or received money from relatives or clients in another country?
- What did you like or hate about the process?
- Will having a platform with cheap gas fees help you in the process of sending money abroad?
- If you have made use of a crypto transaction platform, what do you hate or like about the process?
Based on the reports they gave me, I found out that sending money to someone in another country may cost a lot of fees and time which can be difficult for many. This is because the process of remitting the money in the bank is so clunky, involving applications that there’s a heavy cost for what should be a simple transaction. I analyzed the reports and was able to come up with some insights for my design ideation:
Sending money abroad is overwhelming.
Some crypto financial platforms have high gas fees.
They feel crypto is for high knowledge people.
It is difficult to withdraw to fiat Accounts.
Field Research:
According to a World Bank study, the overall average costs of remitting transmission were 6.5% in 2020, with sending money digitally costing slightly less and sending via bank transfer slightly more. This means that for every $100 you want to remit abroad, you only send around $93 on average. This varies with location and how you move your money. That’s a huge cost for what should be an easy transaction. A World Bank study shows that global citizens sent and received more than $650 billion in personal remittances in 2019. That means we lost around $45 billion to costs alone.
I went ahead to ask a developer if it is possible for a user to withdraw money from the wallet to his/her bank account and I learnt that would be possible but lots of backend work and it depends on the country as most countries have restricted the use of cryptocurrency.
I realized that for me to learn more about how smart contract programs work, I need to make research on it, or maybe read a course on blockchain systems. The smart contract Blockchain system would allow the platform safe and secured that no one can be able to manipulate or tamper with user’s money. Not even the developers.
PERSONA
In the user foundational research, the people that personify those themes were grouped under a specific persona – a fictional personality who’s goal and traits reflect the demands of a set of users.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
JOHN
John is an engineer with a family abroad who needs a platform that can easily send money abroad with less cost because he wants to save his money.
CHIDERA
Chidera is an influencer that donates to charity foundation who needs a platform to easily send money abroad through her phone because she doesn’t like going to the bank physically.
USER JOURNEY
To fully understand users interactions with the app and emphasize where their difficulties are so that a solution could be created, I designed a journey map.
Ideation
Using the user journey, ideation began around trying to solve the pain points highlighted in the journey. This allowed for a rough idea to be created about how the app could help solve the problem, and how I could build its wireframe, so I went forward by creating a user flow which shows the app layout and how the pages of the app are interconnected.
USER FLOW
Wireframing
PAPER WIREFRAMES
I Started wireframing with the use of paper and I ensured that lots of initial ideas could be sketched out quickly, then I went on to create the wireframe digitally on my computer and finally to the high fidelity prototype.
Therefore the initial wireframe, version 1 (V1) of a low fidelity prototype was created. It was done with simple lines and elements digitally on Figma.
V1 DIGITAL WIREFRAME
LOW FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
With the same people I interviewed using the previous prototype, I conducted a series of usability tests by asking users to carry out a straightforward action, such utilizing the app to place an order. I kept an eye on the users’ performance during the test, and I followed up by asking them a number of questions regarding their experience and any difficulties they may have had.
I gathered the interview data, put it through a spreadsheet analysis, and gleaned themes and insights from the testers’ views.
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Web Version:
Mobile Version:
STYLE GUIDE
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS
- The Mobile application does not only support English Language, it has other languages for users who don’t understand English Language.
- The text has a good colour contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background.
- The website and dashboard is fully responsive for all devices.
- Most call to action buttons are large enough to tap.
The final Product
Web Version of PayPle
Mobile Version of PayPle
High Fidelity Prototype
Link to my Figma Project Here
Conclusion
Lessons I learnt from this project
- Iterations: Iterations are very important in mobile app design. There must surely be improvements. I made about 4 iterations to the design to make sure every aspect of it allows users have good experience with the app.
- Learning new things: The expert in anything was once a beginner. I made sure I learnt new things on smart contract and also new design trends and I would say I am still learning. I am always trying new things and learning new things.
- Asking for reviews: I’m glad to have constantly asked for reviews from peers and mentors. This is because perspectives differ and it is always good to get other relevant opinions. Moreso, I want to achieve the main objective which is to put the user first.
How i got the name PayPle
After lots of brainstorming and ideations of name, it was very difficult picking a name as every name is already on the internet. Therefore i thought, if this application is used to Pay People. Why don’t i shorten both words and coin them together to form PayPle.
Thanks for Reading.