Simplify Money Transfer Process and building transparency for opening a Balance account

How might we optimize the PayPal money transfer procedure to bank accounts, taking into consideration the integration of PayPal Balance accounts, to guarantee transparency and ease of use for users

Dark Pattern

March - April 2024 (3 weeks)

CONTEXT

KEY CONTRIBUTION

TOOLS

Figma

User interview, High-Fidelity prototypes, Usability testing, User flow

The current way people transfer money from PayPall to their bank account, users may encounter numerous hurdles characterized by deceptive tactics, misdirections, and misleading language. These barriers impede the straightforward transfer of funds and may inadvertently lead users to open a Balance account prematurely.

The Problem

Our goal

I aim to improve transparency and easier simplified way for users to transfer money out and provide clearer information about the balance account in a manner that adds value without being overly intrusive.

When users first open PayPal, there will be onboarding screen actively guiding users to find value of PayPal Balance account. This acts like a trigger to nudge users to think and possibly take action. This may or may not work on users depending on the type of users who read or just like skipping through. 

Final Design

Users will encounter an automatic pop-up notification informing them of received money from someone and prompting them to store the money in a PayPal Balance account. A grayed-out note clarifies that creating a Balance account is optional for continuing using PayPal. This approach assists users who may be confused about the purpose of creating a Balance account, thus preventing inadvertent sign-ups.

secondary option transfer money: If user didn't get trick, they will click the secondary option "transfer money" and proceed to transfer directly

If user click “learn more” with this pop up, it guide users a personalized organized breakdown of how they can use the money with creating a PayPal Balance account.

Users can access comprehensive details and navigate through the benefits of the Balance account and associated fees in an organized manner with the fee displayed as an optional dropdown. It is anticipated that while some users may explore the dropdown, others may not. By intentionally hiding fees within the dropdown, users may miss some “high” fee details unless they specifically choose to explore further.

BACKGROUND

Current user flow for money transfer

from accepting money -> transferring money to user’s bank account there are several intermediary steps that impede users from reaching their final objective: money transfer

INITAL USER TESTING

Identifying issue beyond the hindrance of opening a Balance account.

I conducted user testing at initial stage before designing to detect if there was any problems with current flow beside falling into the trap of opening a Balance account 

Through my user test on someone who rarely uses PayPal, some user didn’t know where to see that they have incoming received money

Opportunity!!: alert users about recently received money from someone, while also introducing a personalized recommendation to utilize it by opening a Balance account.

after testing the different flows of design, I put into post notes red indicating the area of improvements while green is successful feedbacks or behaviors throughout the user test.

What people act during user testing

AFTER USER TESTING

🔎 Improvements

  1. Some users bypass onboarding screens that introduce the various features of the Balance account, or they still struggle to comprehend its purpose.

  2. Users are taken aback by the request for sensitive information like SSN, prompting a need for clearer guidance throughout the process.

  3. Certain UX phrases like "agree and continue" can evoke strong feelings of apprehension among users

✅ Success Metrics

  1. Users were able to easily transfer money to bank account after getting introduced opening a Balance account after redesign

  2. Users were able to know the key features and fees of Balance account in an organized manner 

  3. Users got curious of Balance account and actually thought about searching up in reddit

  4. User acknowledges that they don’t need a Balance account to continue using everyday features of personal account