Case Study · Fintech · Mobile UX

Due Notice

A mobile-first billing redesign that cut call center volume by 62% and transformed a punitive payment experience into one users actually trusted.

Role
Lead Product Designer
Timeline
5 Weeks
Platform
Mobile-first web
Team
PM · Dev · Call Center
62%
Fewer support calls
The Problem

200+ calls a day.
Every one a design failure.

An outdated eight-step mobile payment flow was generating over 200 daily support calls. Users forgot account numbers, lost progress after single errors, struggled to read in low light, and abandoned payments — leading to late fees and eroding trust in the institution.

8
Steps to complete a payment
Disjointed steps with no visible progress, repeated data entry, and no error recovery. Each step was another opportunity to abandon.
200+
Daily support calls
Users couldn't complete basic tasks without calling for help — particularly around account numbers and error recovery after a single mistake.
3
Steps in the redesign
Smart onboarding stores account details and payment methods up front, eliminating repetitive entry and reducing errors at source.
5wk
From brief to shipped
Cross-functional sprints with Dev, Accounts, and Call Center teams. Validated through field testing, not just lab tests.
The Redesign

Three steps.
Under a minute.

The north star was simple: make payments so seamless that users never need to call for help. Every design decision traced back to that goal.

01
Dashboard — Total clarity
Balance, next payment, autopay status, and on-time streak visible at a glance. No hunting, no confusion.
02
Payment — Pre-filled, verified
Account details stored securely from onboarding. Users confirm, not re-enter. Errors highlighted in real time.
03
Confirm — One tap, done
Summary screen with full transparency before commitment. Confirmation receipt stored automatically.
Dashboard
Total Loan Balance
$94,700.00
Paid $398 on Aug 27 Autopay Sep 27
Pay $398.00
🏦 Pay via
PNC ••2232
📋 Transactions
View 30 days →
On-time payment streak
🔥 21 payments on time
🏠
Home
💳
Payments
📄
Loans
⚙️
Account
Make Payment
Step 2 of 3
Payment Amount
$398.00 ✓
Pay From
Checking ••2232 ✓
Payment Date
Today, Aug 27 ✓
Biometric Verification
👆 Touch ID to continue
🔒 Encrypted · Single-session · Auto-cleared
🏠
Home
💳
Payments
📄
Loans
⚙️
Account
✓
$398.00
Review before confirming
From PNC Checking ••2232
To Student Loan ••4821
Date Today, Aug 27
Autopay Active — Sep 27
Streak after 🔥 22 on time
Confirm Payment
🏠
Home
💳
Payments
📄
Loans
⚙️
Account
Design Decisions

Four choices that
changed the outcome.

01 — Flow
Eight steps collapsed to three
Smart onboarding captures account details once. Every subsequent payment is pre-filled, verified, and ready. Users confirm — they don't re-enter.
Progressive disclosure
02 — Trust
Transparency at every stage
Progress indicators, pending payment dates, and on-time streak tracking transformed the experience from punitive to rewarding. Users could see exactly where they stood.
Behavioral motivation
03 — Security
Biometric login, zero friction
Two-factor authentication and Touch ID balanced strong security with fast access. Encrypted session data cleared automatically — protection without overhead.
Security UX
04 — Recovery
Errors that don't punish
Dynamic error highlighting, auto-scroll to problem fields, and real-time correction without clearing data. Dark mode by default after field testing revealed low-light readability failures.
Error prevention · Accessibility
Outcomes

Numbers that
made the case.

62%
Fewer support calls
From 200+ daily calls to a fraction — driven by eliminating the failure points that drove users to the phone.
40%
Faster transactions
Three steps, pre-filled fields, and biometric login cut time-on-task dramatically across all user segments.
5wk
Concept to shipped
Cross-functional sprints with Dev, Accounts, and Call Center. Validated in the field, not just the lab.
What This Taught Me

Design is a behavioral system.

Onboarding is leverage
Capturing the right information once — at the start — prevented errors throughout the entire flow. Front-loading setup is not friction. It's the opposite of friction downstream.
Transparency motivates
Showing progress, pending payments, and on-time streaks turned a transactional system into something that felt like it was working for the user. The streak feature reduced late payments — not because we nagged, but because we celebrated.
Recovery is core to the flow
Error handling can't be an afterthought. When we designed recovery into the primary flow — auto-scroll, real-time feedback, data retention — abandonment dropped sharply. The system stopped punishing mistakes.
Real-world context changes everything
Field testing revealed failures that lab tests never would. Poor lighting, noise, screen fatigue — these aren't edge cases for users paying bills from their phones. Dark mode by default came from watching real people struggle, not from WCAG checklists.