Works

Pay4Me A Case Study

Transforming Cross-Border Payments for International Students

Continuous

Duration

Status

Live

Web, IOS & Android

Platforms

Overview

As the head of product design and innovations at Pay4Me, I have been pivotal in shaping the end-to-end user experience for a platform that simplifies cross-border payments for African students pursuing education abroad. Starting as the Principal Product Designer in 2021, my role has expanded to encompass everything from user research to design system management and strategic partnerships. This case study highlights the journey of Pay4Me’s product evolution, focusing on the methodologies used, key design decisions, and impactful outcomes.

Discovery & Research (2021)

Objective

To understand the unique challenges African students face when making cross-border payments for tuition, visas, and other fees and identify key opportunities for creating a seamless, accessible solution.

Activities Performed

  1. User Discovery Research:
    We conducted extensive user research, including interviews with 50+ students, focus groups, and surveys, to gather insights on pain points in the payment process, including currency exchange rates, delays, and complex banking requirements. The findings highlighted a significant gap in reliable, affordable payment options.

  2. Market & Competitor Analysis:
    Detailed competitor analysis was performed to understand how other platforms approached cross-border payments. We identified gaps in user experience, particularly in areas such as transparency of fees, transaction times, and customer support.

  3. Personas & User Journey Mapping:
    From our research, we created key user personas (e.g., “The International Student,” “The Guardian,” “The School Administrator") and mapped out their journey, highlighting critical touchpoints like fee calculations and transaction confirmations.

User Journey Maps: Visual representation of user flow, focusing on pain points during the payment process.

Persona Diagrams: Profiles of key user personas, detailing their goals, frustrations, and needs.

Phase 2: Define & Ideation (2021)

Objective

To take the insights from the research phase and translate them into actionable product requirements and design solutions that meet user needs while aligning with business goals.

Activities Performed

  1. Problem Framing:
    Using the Double Diamond Design Thinking methodology, we reframed the problem into clear opportunities: "How might we provide a simple, transparent, and fast payment solution for international students?"

  2. Ideation Sessions:
    Conducted collaborative brainstorming workshops with the design and product teams to generate solutions. We used mind-mapping techniques to visualize potential features such as real-time currency conversion, multi-channel support, and notifications for fee payments.

  3. Initial Low Fidelity Wireframing & Prototyping:
    Created low-fidelity wireframes, followed by interactive prototypes that focused on essential user flows like payment setup, transaction tracking, and customer support.

Virtual Ideation Board: Initial ideas and components of the payment flow.

Mind Maps: Visuals of brainstorming sessions detailing potential features & qualities.

Phase 3: Design & Development (2021-2022)

Objective

To develop a fully functional Pay4Me app that provides a seamless experience for users managing cross-border payments while ensuring scalability and reliability as the platform expanded into new regions and financial services. This phase involved design system creation, collaboration with the engineering team, and delivering key features to support the needs of international students, business professionals, and African diaspora communities.

Key Features Developed

During this phase, we delivered several critical features that addressed the core needs of Pay4Me’s user base. These included:

  • Cross-Border Payments for Tuition & Visa Fees: These initial features became the foundation of the app, allowing students and users to seamlessly process payments for education-related expenses.

  • Virtual Cards: Designed to enable international students and users to make secure online transactions. The virtual card feature provided an easy, fast, and secure way to handle payments across borders.

  • Savings Options: A new feature where users could create dedicated savings accounts tailored to tuition fees, visa applications, and other significant expenses, with the option to automate savings contributions over time.

  • Study Loans: We added a feature allowing users to apply for study loans directly within the app, streamlining the loan request and disbursement process to better support international students.

Challenges & Solutions:

  • Complex User Flows: The challenge of managing multiple user flows for students, parents, and business users was solved by breaking down the user journey into simplified, intuitive steps for different personas.

  • Regulatory Compliance: We ensured that all transactions met regional compliance requirements, particularly in African countries, by working closely with legal teams and integrating robust security measures such as 2FA and biometric authentication.

Design System Creation & Management

The foundation of the design system was built in Figma, providing consistency across both mobile and web platforms. This design system ensured that every component—buttons, forms, icons, and typography—could be reused and adapted for future features. The design system's implementation streamlined collaboration with the engineering team, reducing redundancies and making updates efficient across different versions of the app.

Agile Sprints & Roadmap Strategy

The development process was structured into agile sprints, with each sprint focused on a specific feature or improvement. As the design lead, I was responsible for managing the design-to-development handoff, ensuring that every design detail was well-documented and ready for implementation. Additionally, I played a key role in shaping the future product roadmap, prioritizing features such as the introduction of multi-currency support, transaction tracking, and real-time currency conversion tools.

Prototyping & User Testing

High-fidelity prototypes were created for these new features, focusing on user flows for core payment processes, virtual cards, and savings products. Usability testing was conducted with both first-time users and long-time Pay4Me customers to ensure that the experience was intuitive and functional. Feedback from testing informed refinements in the user interface, especially for mobile users, given that a majority of Pay4Me users access the platform via mobile.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

Throughout this phase, I worked closely with key stakeholders, including the product management team, financial partners, and developers, to ensure that the design aligned with both user needs and business objectives. This collaboration was essential for securing approvals for features like virtual cards, savings products, and compliance measures in different regions.

Key Metrics as at Q1 2024:

  • $10M USD of transactions passed through the system between users.

  • Funding raised through some pre-seed’s

  • 25% faster payment process due to optimized flows for tuition and visa payments.

  • 30% increase in user satisfaction from the successful introduction of virtual cards and savings features, making financial management easier for students.

  • 40% growth in user base driven by the seamless experience for cross-border payments and the launch of new features.

Phase 4: Testing, Iteration, & QA (Q1 2024)

Activities Performed

  1. A/B Testing:
    Conducted multiple A/B tests to identify the best design variations for features like the payment flow, currency converter placement, and call-to-action buttons. The A/B tests were focused on improving conversion rates and reducing drop-offs during the checkout process.

  2. Quality Assurance Audits:
    Worked closely with the QA team to audit the platform, ensuring that the user experience was not only intuitive but also bug-free. All designs were tested across multiple devices and browsers to ensure compatibility.

  3. Experimentation Labs:
    Set up research and experimentation labs where we could test new features like payment reminders, promotional offers, and dynamic exchange rate updates. The labs were a controlled environment that allowed us to refine features before rolling them out to the public. going to separate this one from the rest.

Key Metrics Q1 2024:

  • 15% improvement in conversion rates after optimizing the payment flow based on A/B test results.

  • 95% satisfaction rate from QA audits, with minimal bugs reported post-launch.

Phase 5: Launch, Growth, & Continuous Innovation (2021 - Present)

Objective

To successfully launch the platform, drive user adoption, and continuously innovate through new feature releases based on user data and business goals.

Partnership Pitches & Expansion:

I played a critical role in pitching the Pay4Me platform to strategic partners, including educational institutions and financial service providers. These partnerships have been key to expanding the platform’s reach and integrating new payment solutions.

Ongoing User Research & Feedback:

Continuous user research is being conducted through surveys, interviews, and platform analytics. Feedback from users helped prioritize the development of new features like instant transaction notifications and multi-currency support.

Roadmap & Feature Enhancements:

Working closely with the product team, I continued to shape the roadmap for future releases. Notable enhancements include the addition of scholarship application payments, peer-to-peer transfers, and crypto-based payment options.

Key Metrics:

  • 40% increase in user retention in Q1 2024 due to new features like instant notifications and virtual cards.

  • 200,000+ transactions processed within the first year of launch.

Expanded into five additional countries through partnerships with educational institutions and payment providers.

Major Highlights in 2024

As the head of product design and innovations, I have led Pay4Me from its inception as a principal product designer to a fully functioning platform that simplifies cross-border payments for international students. Through rigorous research, thoughtful design, stakeholder collaboration, and continuous testing, Pay4Me has become a critical tool for students across Africa, processing thousands of transactions with ease. As we continue to evolve the product, my focus remains on driving innovation and ensuring that our platform remains the best solution for cross-border payments in education.— Timmy Adubi