PayOnce App

Design Process

PayOnce: Simplifying Bill Payments and Empowering Financial Stability

Project Overview

Imagine you missed a payment deadline and now have to pay extra fees. How would that make you feel?

Late fees and overdrafts are costing Americans millions each year. PayOnce tackles this issue by consolidating bill management into one secure and user-friendly app.

Problem Statement

How can we create an app that consolidates bill payments into one platform, making it easier for users to manage their finances, avoid late fees, and improve their financial stability?

Challenges

1. Users often struggle to keep track of multiple bill due dates, leading to missed payments and late fees.
2. Most individuals forget their login credentials to various accounts, leading to frustration and potential security risks.
3. Many users are not fully aware of their monthly expenses, leading to overspending and financial instability.

Solution

1. Integrate all bills and accounts into a single platform, allowing users to manage their payments efficiently from one place

2. A more secure, safer, and easier way to log in by implementing biometric authentication (such as fingerprint or facial recognition) and single sign-on options.

3. Provide graphical representations and categorization options for easy expense tracking and budget management.

Final Result

This led to a 20% reduction in missed payments within three months, as reported by surveyed users

1. Discover

Secondary research

Based on these findings, many Americans face obstacles to paying bills on time and keeping track of expenses. This information will help our team make design decisions.

Qualitative and Quantitive Research

I interviewed 10participants, ages 18 to 30, via Zoom for approximately 30 minutes

Affinity Map

Objective: Understand user challenges and behaviors in managing bills.

• Payment Methods: Online banking, mobile apps, autopay.
• Issues:
• Inconsistent billing
• Payment delays → overdrafts, late fees
• Poor autopayment tracking → overspending

Quotes from Participants:

• “I hate having to remember multiple passwords for different bill sites. It’s so easy to forget one and then waste time resetting it. A single login would be a lifesaver.”
• "I find it frustrating to juggle multiple logins for my bills—I always end up forgetting passwords.”
• “I often don’t realize how much I’m spending until it’s too late. Seeing everything in one place would help me understand where my money is going.”
• “I have auto-pay set up for some bills, but I still worry about overdrafts because I don’t always remember when they’re scheduled to go through.”

Findings

1. Participants paid their utility bills using various payment methods, including online banking, mobile apps, and automatic bill payments.
2. Some challenges faced when paying utility bills were inconsistent billing amounts, unreliable online payment systems, and payment delays causing overdrafts and late fees.
3. Most participants don't keep track of their autopayment, which causes them to pay more

Survey

I conducted surveys using Google Surveys with 20 participants to gather quantitative data to identify trends and patterns in user behavior.

70% of participants admitted to missing at least one bill payment in the past 3 months.

80% of participants indicated that they pay their bills online using various methods.

45% of participants reported experiencing overdrafts due to late bill payments.

Participants reported using an average of 3 different platforms to manage their bills.

Only 35% of participants claimed to be fully aware of their monthly expenses.

Participants reported spending an average of 5 hours per month managing their bills across different platforms.

After analyzing the data, it's clear that many participants struggle with managing their utility bill payments, including inconsistent billing amounts, late payments leading to overdrafts, and reliance on multiple bill management platforms. This highlights the need for user-friendly solutions to help individuals better track and manage their expenses.

2. Define

User Persona

Based on the insights gathered from the Discover stage, I developed a user persona to better understand our target audience.

User Journey Map

User: Alex Martinez

Goal: Use a consolidated platform to manage bills and expenses efficiently

Based on the define phase, here are some key findings:

• Users utilize various payment methods, facing challenges like billing inconsistencies and unreliable payment systems
• Lack of tracking autopayments results in overdrafts and late fees,
• The time-consuming process of logging into multiple websites or apps for payments.
• Forgetfulness of login credentials leads to frustration and security risks.

How might we…

create an app that consolidates bill payments into one platform, making it easier for users to manage their finances, avoid late fees, and improve their financial stability?

3. Develop

Brainstorming and Sketching

During this process, I created sketches of proposed features and designs to ensure our product aligned with user needs and preferences.

Mid-fi Wireframes:

User Flow

I create a user flow to visualize the entire pathway a user would potentially experience when interacting with the interface.

Prototyping

I designed a prototype using Figma to visualize and test the usability.

4. Deliver

Usability Testing

I conducted usability testing for our prototype by giving participants tasks, observing interactions, and gathering feedback from 8 participants via Optimal Workshop

• Task success rate
• 85% of participants successfully completed a bill payment in under 3 minutes
• Error rate
• 75% of participants encountered issues navigating to the payment history section

Main Pain Points

1. Users struggle to find important features or information due to cluttered designs or unclear labels on the homepage.
2. Users encounter difficulties during the login process, such as unclear instructions and confusing onboarding.
3. Users struggle to monitor expenses visually, making it challenging to track spending habits effectively.

Visual Design

Color Palette:

Green was chosen for its association with financial health, growth, and stability, creating a calming and reassuring atmosphere for users managing their finances.

Typography:

• Sans-serif fonts were used for clarity and readability, ensuring easy navigation with a clear text hierarchy to distinguish headings, body text, and calls to action

Consistent Icons: Clear icons for expense tracking, services, and other features.

Primary: Promote a sense of trust, balance, and positivity, aligning with financial management goals

Iteration

1. Implemented a clear and intuitive homepage displaying essential features such as expense monitoring and all billing services.

2. Added clear instructions, password recovery options, and simplify the login steps.

3. Included filters and categorization options to allow users to analyze their expenses by categories, time periods, and spending trends.

Final Product

Conclusion

5. Post-Launch

After launching PayOnce after 3 months, I surveyed 10 users to measure the effectiveness and user satisfaction of Payonce

• This led to a 20% reduction in missed payments within three months, as reported by surveyed users

Feedback from users

“PayOnce made managing my bills so much easier—I’ve stopped worrying about late fees altogether!"

“PayOnce has really simplified my life. I spend less time stressing about bills and more time focusing on other things.”

“I feel like I have more control over my finances now.”

These results show the positive impact PayOnce had on users' bill and expense management experience.

What could I’ve done differently

1. Implement an onboarding tutorial to help new users understand the app’s features faster
2. Incorporate alerts for unusual spending trends for proactive budgeting
3. Keep up with competitor analysis for better industry insights

What I learned

• Prioritize objectivity in decision-making
• Be adaptable and open to change.
• Leverage team strengths for innovative solutions.

Next steps

I would look into implementing advanced budgeting and financial planning features, expanding integrations with other financial tools and services, and enhancing the mobile experience

Constraints

Time Constraints

• Deadlines were tight, limiting the time available for thorough testing.

User Scheduling Challenges

• Coordinating interviews was tough due to users' busy schedules.

User Privacy Concerns

• Addressing users' fears about sharing sensitive financial information.