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UX Case Study

UX Case Study

UX Case Study

10-Minute Read

10-Minute Read

10-Minute Read

Fintech App Concept for Budgeting & Payments

Fintech App Concept for Budgeting & Payments

Fintech App Concept for Budgeting & Payments

The Problem

The Problem

Many individuals find managing finances overwhelming due to complex apps. 44% of adults feel financial management is stressful, and 36% find budgeting tools difficult to use. This highlights the need for a simplified app that reduces complexity, meets users at their experience level, and seamlessly integrates budgeting and payments.

Many individuals find managing finances overwhelming due to complex apps. 44% of adults feel financial management is stressful, and 36% find budgeting tools difficult to use. This highlights the need for a simplified app that reduces complexity, meets users at their experience level, and seamlessly integrates budgeting and payments.

Many individuals find managing finances overwhelming due to complex apps. 44% of adults feel financial management is stressful, and 36% find budgeting tools difficult to use. This highlights the need for a simplified app that reduces complexity, meets users at their experience level, and seamlessly integrates budgeting and payments.

Our Process

Our Process

Discover

Discover

Research the user,
their needs, and the problem to be solved.

Research the user,
their needs, and the problem to be solved.

Define

Define

Turn research into a problem statement, user personas, and design goals.

Turn research into a problem statement, user personas, and design goals.

Ideate

Ideate

Brainstorm creative ideas and potential solutions

Brainstorm creative ideas and potential solutions

Design

Design

Create wireframes, prototypes, and visual designs based on
our research

Create wireframes, prototypes, and visual designs based on
our research

User Interviews

User Interviews

Observed body language and emotions to gain an extra layer of understanding regarding user feedback.

Observed body language and emotions to gain an extra layer of understanding regarding user feedback.

Conducted in-person interviews to facilitate natural conversations and uncovered spontaneous insights, leading to a deeper data set.

Conducted in-person interviews to facilitate natural conversations and uncovered spontaneous insights, leading to a deeper data set.

Captured rich qualitative data and personal insights that surveys couldn't provide.

Captured rich qualitative data and personal insights that surveys couldn't provide.

Research Goals

Research Goals

Explore multi-device payment app usage

Explore multi-device payment app usage

Analyze how users interact with money

Analyze how users interact with money

Identify pain points and opportunities in user experience

Identify pain points and opportunities in user experience

Understand why and how people use payment apps

Understand why and how people use payment apps

Interviewees

Interviewees

Research Analysis

Research Analysis

Payment Method Preference

Payment Method Preference

Pain Points

Pain Points

Feelings

Feelings

Managing Money

Managing Money

Key Takeaway

  • Users prefer simple, reliable payment methods like credit cards, with cash as a fallback when other methods fail.

  • Users prefer simple, reliable payment methods like credit cards, with cash as a fallback when other methods fail.

  • Peer-to-peer transactions are frequent, but users rely on the most popular and familiar payment apps for ease of use.

  • Peer-to-peer transactions are frequent, but users rely on the most popular and familiar payment apps for ease of use.

  • Payment failures cause significant frustration, leading to delays and embarrassment.

  • Payment failures cause significant frustration, leading to delays and embarrassment.

  • Banking apps are primarily used for functional purposes like balance checks and transfers, with payment apps reserved for specific peer-to-peer situations.

  • Banking apps are primarily used for functional purposes like balance checks and transfers, with payment apps reserved for specific peer-to-peer situations.

Competitor Analysis

Competitor Analysis

We evaluated how pinnpay can match seamless experiences offered by competitors like Venmo and Apple Pay.

Analyzed competitors' social engagement to enhance pinnpay’s peer-to-peer interaction.

Understood fees and payment methods to create a more user-friendly pricing model for pinnpay.

Venmo

Venmo

Overview

Overview

  • Mobile app for peer-to-peer money transfers with a social aspect.

  • Mobile app for peer-to-peer money transfers with a social aspect.

  • Transactions are publicly visible with emoji messages, but dollar amounts remain private.

  • Transactions are publicly visible with emoji messages, but dollar amounts remain private.

  • Payments can be made via debit card, credit card (with fees), or bank account (free).

  • Payments can be made via debit card, credit card (with fees), or bank account (free).

  • Withdrawals: instant to a debit card (with a fee) or free to a bank account (1-3 days).

  • Withdrawals: instant to a debit card (with a fee) or free to a bank account (1-3 days).

  • Offers debit/credit cards and "Pay with Venmo" for online purchases.

  • Offers debit/credit cards and "Pay with Venmo" for online purchases.

Marketing Profile

Marketing Profile

  • Targets young professionals and students for easy money transfers.

  • Targets young professionals and students for easy money transfers.

  • Social features allow users to react, comment, and split bills with friends.

  • Social features allow users to react, comment, and split bills with friends.

  • Benefits for small businesses include contactless payments, sales tracking, 

and business cards.

  • Benefits for small businesses include contactless payments, sales tracking, 

and business cards.

  • Partnerships with major retailers help attract new customers.

  • Partnerships with major retailers help attract new customers.

  • Focus on creating and sharing meaningful moments with friends via payments.

  • Focus on creating and sharing meaningful moments with friends via payments.

  • Social media presence, especially on Instagram, with campaigns like #VenmoMe 

for customer engagement.

  • Social media presence, especially on Instagram, with campaigns like #VenmoMe 

for customer engagement.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay

Overview

Overview

  • Contactless payment technology for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users.

  • Contactless payment technology for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users.

  • Enables payments in person, in iOS apps, and online using a debit/credit card or Apple Cash.

  • Enables payments in person, in iOS apps, and online using a debit/credit card or Apple Cash.

  • Provides secure payments through biometric authentication (Touch ID or facial recognition).

  • Provides secure payments through biometric authentication (Touch ID or facial recognition).

  • Allows users to send/receive money with Apple Cash, ideal for splitting bills and sharing expenses.

  • Allows users to send/receive money with Apple Cash, ideal for splitting bills and sharing expenses.

Marketing Profile

Marketing Profile

  • Focuses on seamless, convenient user experience leveraging Apple's brand reputation.

  • Focuses on seamless, convenient user experience leveraging Apple's brand reputation.

  • Targets existing Apple device users with ads and promotions.

  • Targets existing Apple device users with ads and promotions.

  • Partnered with Goldman Sachs to offer the Apple Card, with exclusive deals to encourage adoption.

  • Partnered with Goldman Sachs to offer the Apple Card, with exclusive deals to encourage adoption.

  • Emphasizes contactless payments and security benefits, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Emphasizes contactless payments and security benefits, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

App Insights

App Insights

Strengths

Strengths

User-friendly app

Strong brand recognition

Social aspect

Variety of payment options

Partnerships and collaborations

User-friendly app

Strong brand recognition

Social aspect

Variety of payment options

Partnerships and collaborations

Opportunities

Opportunities

International expansion

More features and services

New payment technologies

International expansion

More features and services

New payment technologies

Weaknesses

Weaknesses

Limited international availability

Dependence on other companies

Competition

Reputation tied to user experience

Privacy concerns with public transactions

Limited international availability

Dependence on other companies

Competition

Reputation tied to user experience

Privacy concerns with public transactions

Threats

Threats

Competition from other payment platforms

User adoption and retention

Technological innovation

Competition from other payment platforms

User adoption and retention

Technological innovation

Strengths

Strengths

Strong brand reputation

Large and loyal customer base

Ease of use

Security

Strong brand reputation

Large and loyal customer base

Ease of use

Security

Opportunities

Opportunities

Expansion into new markets

Further partnerships with other
banks and retailers 

A physical way to pay

Expansion into new markets

Further partnerships with other
banks and retailers 

A physical way to pay

Weaknesses

Weaknesses

Limited market

Reliance on partnerships with banks
and retailers

Limited adoption in all markets

Limited market

Reliance on partnerships with banks
and retailers

Limited adoption in all markets

Threats

Threats

Competition with other major
payment platforms

Security threats with digital payment info

Changing consumer behavior

Competition with other major
payment platforms

Security threats with digital payment info

Changing consumer behavior

Key Takeaway

  • Venmo appeals to young professionals and students; Apple Pay targets existing Apple users.

  • Venmo’s social features highlight the value of community in peer-to-peer transactions.

  • Both apps prioritize user-friendly interfaces, indicating a need for pinnpay to offer
    a seamless experience.

  • Venmo's limited international reach and Apple Pay's device reliance suggest opportunities for broader accessibility with pinnpay.

User Personas

User Personas

Behavioral user personas enable alignment of pinnpay’s features with the target audience's demographics and motivations, resulting in a more user-centered design.

The analysis emphasized user experience and social engagement, guiding persona development to reflect diverse user journeys.

These insights identified the needs and behaviors of potential users, which user personas will refine.

Malik Johnson

Graphic Designer

30

Self Employed

Chicago

45-90k

Everyday Activities

Long morning walks

Meetings with clients

Coffee shops and
co-work environments

Browsing social media

Long morning walks

Meetings with clients

Coffee shops and
co-work environments

Browsing social media

Description

Malik is a 30 year old freelance graphic designer. He has a passion for creating empowering solutions for small businesses in his surrounding community, but struggles to manage his finances accordingly. Malik’s irregular income as a freelancer, exemplifies his need for insight into his spending habits.

Malik is a 30 year old freelance graphic designer. He has a passion for creating empowering solutions for small businesses in his surrounding community, but struggles to manage his finances accordingly. Malik’s irregular income as a freelancer, exemplifies his need for insight into his spending habits.

Frustrations

Poor financial knowledge

Inconsistent income

Lack of personalization

Poor financial knowledge

Inconsistent income

Lack of personalization

Goals & Needs

Inclusivity

Income tracking/ analysis

Financial stability

Inclusivity

Income tracking/ analysis

Financial stability

Financial Behaviors

Has a tendency to overspend during busy months when income is higher but struggles to save during lean months.

Semi-regularly monitors his expenses by briefly checking his banking app to glance at his account balance.

Has a tendency to overspend during busy months when income is higher but struggles to save during lean months.

Semi-regularly monitors his expenses by briefly checking his banking app to glance at his account balance.

Sarah Lawson

Database Manager

56

Amazon

Charolette

80-120k

Everyday Activities

Early riser for a bike ride

Zoom meetings

FaceTime calls with family

Managing her expenses

Description

Sarah is a 56-year-old database manager who manages her finances well. She works remotely and travels to headquarters monthly. With a structured budget, she allocates funds for expenses, savings, and investments while avoiding unnecessary costs to achieve financial stability.

Frustrations

Balancing work and personal life

Technology hiccups

Economic uncertainty

Goals & Needs

Debt Management

Secure investments

Work-life balance

Financial independence

Financial Behaviors

Uses spreadsheets to track all her expenses, including cash transactions.

She has a structured monthly budget that allocates specific amounts for fixed expenses.

Sketches

Sketches

With insights from user interviews and competitive analysis, and a clearer understanding of user needs and goals through the creation of two personas, we transitioned into sketching solutions on paper. Our focus was on the core functionality and goals that pinnpay aims to achieve.

Key Takeaway

Our initial sketches clarified the core features users prioritize in a payment app, focusing on login, budgeting, and payment functionalities.

The user goals of inclusivity, income tracking and analysis, and financial stability and independence directly informed the core functionalities of the budgeting feature wireframes.

These sketches provided a solid foundation for refining our design elements and functions to enhance the user experience.

High-Fidelity Screens

High-Fidelity Screens

Following the initial sketches, we transitioned into low-fidelity digital screens to better visualize how pinnpay's layout would function

From there, we moved into mid-fidelity designs, refining the screens with accurate text, buttons, and design elements

Finally, we created high-fidelity wireframes, ensuring a pixel-perfect look in preparation for user testing.

Usability Test

Goals & Objectives

Goals & Objectives

The goal of this study is to evaluate how easily new users can understand the app and its features. To achieve this, I conducted a moderated, in-person usability test with six users and created three scenario tasks focused on the following features.

The goal of this study is to evaluate how easily new users can understand the app and its features. To achieve this, I conducted a moderated, in-person usability test with six users and created three scenario tasks focused on the following features.

  • Account creation and onboarding

  • Account creation and onboarding

  • Budget category setup

  • Budget category setup

  • Sending money to a friend

  • Sending money to a friend

Goals

Goals

creating an account

creating an account

paying a friend

paying a friend

setting up a budget

setting up a budget

navigating the app

navigating the app

Test Objectives

Test Objectives

Determine how easily and intuitively participants create a budget and find the value of managing their finances

Observe how users pay their friends to determine if everything occurs as expected or if any surprises arise

Determine how easily and intuitively participants create a budget and find the value of managing their finances

Observe how users pay their friends to determine if everything occurs as expected or if any surprises arise

Usability Test Analysis

Usability Test Analysis

To better understand user behavior and identify common themes from the usability test, I created an affinity map. This allowed me to organize user feedback, highlight patterns, and prioritize insights based on participants' experiences with the app. The following map illustrates key findings from the study:

To better understand user behavior and identify common themes from the usability test, I created an affinity map. This allowed me to organize user feedback, highlight patterns, and prioritize insights based on participants' experiences with the app. The following map illustrates key findings from the study:

Usability Test Issue 1 & 2: Navbar

Usability Test Issue 1 & 2: Navbar

Issue

Issue

Users struggled to navigate the app because the icons-only tab bar didn’t provide enough guidance. One user clicked ‘Profile’ when trying to find both ‘Categories’ and ‘Pay.’

Users struggled to navigate the app because the icons-only tab bar didn’t provide enough guidance. One user clicked ‘Profile’ when trying to find both ‘Categories’ and ‘Pay.’

Suggested Change

Suggested Change

Research by the Nielsen Norman Group shows that users often misinterpret icons without labels, leading to pain points in navigation. Adding labels below the navigational symbols, along with an active state in the navigation system to indicate the current feature the user is utilizing within the application, could effectively resolve this issue.

Research by the Nielsen Norman Group shows that users often misinterpret icons without labels, leading to pain points in navigation. Adding labels below the navigational symbols, along with an active state in the navigation system to indicate the current feature the user is utilizing within the application, could effectively resolve this issue.

Usability Test Issue 3: Search Feature

Usability Test Issue 3: Search Feature

Issue

Issue

Users found it difficult to identify the correct icon for sending money. One user clicked ‘Search’ instead of the ‘Pay’ feature.

Users found it difficult to identify the correct icon for sending money. One user clicked ‘Search’ instead of the ‘Pay’ feature.

Suggested Change

Suggested Change

Providing the ability to start a transaction process through the search feature is important because it gives users multiple ways to access key functions, ensuring they can easily find and initiate transactions in the way that feels most intuitive to them.

Providing the ability to start a transaction process through the search feature is important because it gives users multiple ways to access key functions, ensuring they can easily find and initiate transactions in the way that feels most intuitive to them.

Usability Test Issue 4: Payment Flow

Usability Test Issue 4: Payment Flow

Issue

Issue

Users accidentally clicked through the transaction confirmation process, leading to confusion about whether the payment was successful.

Users accidentally clicked through the transaction confirmation process, leading to confusion about whether the payment was successful.

Suggested Change

Suggested Change

Redesign the confirmation page to minimize accidental clicks and build trust with the user by providing clearer feedback.

Redesign the confirmation page to minimize accidental clicks and build trust with the user by providing clearer feedback.

Key Takeaway

  • Targeted design changes were made to prioritize user experience, making it easier for new users to create accounts and navigate the app.

  • Adding labels below the icons in the navigation bar addresses users' struggles with understanding app features, ensuring smoother navigation for tasks like budgeting and sending money.

  • Enabling the search feature to initiate transactions enhances efficiency, meeting users' needs for quick and easy payment options.

  • Redesigning the transaction confirmation page to reduce accidental clicks and provide clearer feedback builds user trust, confirming successful actions like sending money.

  • Gathering user feedback during testing highlighted the importance of ongoing engagement, ensuring that the app evolves to meet users' needs and enhances their financial management experience.

These key takeaways highlight that prioritizing user needs leads to a more effective and user-friendly app. Insights from usability tests informed immediate design changes and guided our transition to visual design.

Design System

Design System

Primary

Hex #283DFD

#5C6CFE

#E9ECFF

Secondary

Hex #606060

#909090

#EFEFEF

Success

Hex #283DFD

#5C6CFE

#283DFD

Warning

Hex #283DFD

#FEA05C

#FED7BA

Error

Hex #FD284E

#FE5E7A

#FFCBD5

Typography

Font Family

Roboto

Hierarchy

H1 Title

Roboto Black 56px

H2 Title

Roboto Black 32px

H3 Title

Roboto Bold 24px

H4 Title

Roboto Bold 16px

Body

Roboto Regular 16px

Small Body

Roboto Regular 13px

Button

Roboto SemiBold 16px

Small Button

Roboto SemiBold 13px

Branding

Logo

Major Screens

Major Screens

Home Screen

Welcome message

A personalized greeting that fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion

Popular Categories

Showcases commonly used budgeting categories for
quick access

Change month button

Enables users to view spending from previous months

Total monthly expense

Helps users to quickly evaluate their monthly spending relative to the budget

Pay Screen

Account balance

Displays current
available funds

Recent People

A list of the user’s most interacted contacts over the month for quick transactions

Transfer balance
& bank tools

Features that enable users to move funds between accounts and access banking tools

Recent transactions

A list of the latest financial activities, allowing users to easily track and review their transaction history

Payment actions

Options for users to send, request, or split payments, facilitating quick and convenient financial transactions

Final Screens

Final Takeaway

Final Takeaway

Through this case study, I learned the immense value of in-person testing—whether interviews or usability tests. Observing body language, emotions, and asking unscripted questions led to richer insights and more informed design decisions. While the qualitative data was valuable, combining it with quantitative data could have provided a broader understanding of user needs earlier.

One area for improvement is addressing potential pain points, such as navigation and transaction flow, sooner. Enhancing the search feature for transactions and refining the confirmation process improved the user experience, but these changes could have been made earlier. Finally, continuous iteration based on feedback is key to keeping pinnpay aligned with user goals of inclusivity, financial stability, and ease of use. This process reinforced the importance of user-centered design for long-term success.

Thank You

Thank You

Thank You

For Reading

For Reading

For Reading

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© 2025 Designed and built by Zac Bowen.

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© 2025 Designed and built by Zac Bowen.