Redirecting Investment Backed by Evidence: Quick Pay
Role
UX Designer - Researcher
Scope
Led the end-to-end usability testing of the bonus tracker and the final design and delivery of the tracker across 5 products (including all edge cases), for 3 brands, for iOS and Android
Outcome
Designed a validated self-service bonus interest tracker to reduce call centre dependency. Clarified eligibility across all products and edge cases. Reframed remaining confusion as product complexity, handing the business a strategic decision alongside a design solution.
The Challenge
The call centre was overwhelmed by customers calling to ask about their bonus interest, whether they qualified, why they hadn't been paid, and what they needed to do differently. Each call required individual handling, drained call centre capacity, and drove down App Store ratings across all three brands.
I Pushed for
Transparency over hand-holding and product simplification. I advocated for giving customers the visibility to track their own progress. The hypothesis was that if people could see where they stood — eligibility, timeline, and criteria — they wouldn't need to call. I led end-to-end usability testing and synthesis across 3 brands to validate this before committing to a direction.
Client
Virgin Money | ME Bank | Bank of Queensland
Stakeholders
Development Lead | PM | Design Lead
/ Context
5
Complex Products, 3 Brands, 2 Platforms
10
%
Of Call Centre Volume Came From Bonus Interest Queries
30
%
Of These Complaints Were from Virgin Money
70
%
Of These Complaints Were from MyBOQ App
How might we simplify frequent payments to the same person when amounts or timing can’t be fixed?
/ Discovery
Testing the Assumption Before the Build
I planned and led end-to-end user research to test interest, behaviours, and usability for the proposed feature.
Participant Recruitment: Created screeners and recruited 6 participants through ChitChat.
Testing Set Up: Prepared Dovetail templates and moderation guide for consistent testing.
Moderated Testing for Real-Time Insight
I facilitated all sessions to understand: a) how often users repeat payments, b) what they value in managing payees, and c) their concerns around saving payment data.
Customers find Bonus Interest criteria difficult to understand.
Pain Point
We believe clear communication of the criteria and progress visibility will reduce support queries, because customers had no way to self-serve the answer.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t know which criteria they haven’t met.
Pain Point
We believe a visual progress tracker will increase completion rates, because users can't act on criteria they can't see.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t understand why pending transactions are excluded.
Pain Point
We believe contextual messaging around pending transactions will reduce confusion, because without explanation exclusions felt like errors.
Hypothesis
Customers lack timely updates on their progress.
Pain Point
We believe timely progress updates will improve confidence and completion, because they can't complete what they don't know they have missed.
Hypothesis
Prototyping: I designed alternative payment flows in Figma to test whether Quick Pay solved a real problem or just assumed one.
Stakeholder Collaboration: I presented findings directly to the team and product lead, making the case to redirect resources before a single line of code was written.
Synthesis
Post-research, I tagged and analysed all insights in Dovetail. Patterns emerged quickly: the hypothesis didn't hold. User needs pointed somewhere else entirely.
Users didn't see value in Quick Pay. The time saving was minimal, payments weren't frequent enough, and fixed details didn't match how they actually paid. What they wanted was smarter access to recent payees.
/ Design
Pivoting Based on Real User Needs
Research revealed that users simply wanted the app to remember who they paid last. This shifted focus from Quick Pay to enhancing Recent Payees within the Address Book.
Hover over the arrows to explore key improvements.
Before
After
/ What Changed
Self-service reduced call dependency (validated in usability testing)
Eligibility clarity reduced confusion across 3 brands - 5 products
Design handed over with defined success metrics and stakeholder sign-off
If confusion persisted post-launch, the next lever was product simplification, not more design.
/ Reflection
The hardest problem here wasn't the interface, it was the product logic underneath it. Aligning compliance, dev, product, and branding around a solution required documentation, clear communication, and the ability to hold steady under competing priorities, especially when internal stakeholders didn't fully agree on how the product worked. The result was two outcomes delivered from one piece of work: a design solution for what could be solved, and evidence handed to the business for what couldn't. Knowing the difference, and being able to articulate it to stakeholders, is what made this more than a design project.
Redirecting Investment Backed by Evidence: Quick Pay
Role
UX Designer - Researcher
Scope
Led the end-to-end usability testing of the bonus tracker and the final design and delivery of the tracker across 5 products (including all edge cases), for 3 brands, for iOS and Android
Outcome
Designed a validated self-service bonus interest tracker to reduce call centre dependency. Clarified eligibility across all products and edge cases. Reframed remaining confusion as product complexity, handing the business a strategic decision alongside a design solution.
The Challenge
The call centre was overwhelmed by customers calling to ask about their bonus interest, whether they qualified, why they hadn't been paid, and what they needed to do differently. Each call required individual handling, drained call centre capacity, and drove down App Store ratings across all three brands.
I Pushed for
Transparency over hand-holding and product simplification. I advocated for giving customers the visibility to track their own progress. The hypothesis was that if people could see where they stood — eligibility, timeline, and criteria — they wouldn't need to call. I led end-to-end usability testing and synthesis across 3 brands to validate this before committing to a direction.
Client
Virgin Money | ME Bank | Bank of Queensland
Stakeholders
Development Lead | PM | Design Lead
/ Context
5
Complex Products, 3 Brands, 2 Platforms
10
%
Of Call Centre Volume Came From Bonus Interest Queries
30
%
Of These Complaints Were from Virgin Money
70
%
Of These Complaints Were from MyBOQ App
How might we simplify frequent payments to the same person when amounts or timing can’t be fixed?
/ Discovery
Testing the Assumption Before the Build
I planned and led end-to-end user research to test interest, behaviours, and usability for the proposed feature.
Participant Recruitment: Created screeners and recruited 6 participants through ChitChat.
Testing Set Up: Prepared Dovetail templates and moderation guide for consistent testing.
Moderated Testing for Real-Time Insight
I facilitated all sessions to understand: a) how often users repeat payments, b) what they value in managing payees, and c) their concerns around saving payment data.
Customers find Bonus Interest criteria difficult to understand.
Pain Point
We believe clear communication of the criteria and progress visibility will reduce support queries, because customers had no way to self-serve the answer.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t know which criteria they haven’t met.
Pain Point
We believe a visual progress tracker will increase completion rates, because users can't act on criteria they can't see.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t understand why pending transactions are excluded.
Pain Point
We believe contextual messaging around pending transactions will reduce confusion, because without explanation exclusions felt like errors.
Hypothesis
Customers lack timely updates on their progress.
Pain Point
We believe timely progress updates will improve confidence and completion, because they can't complete what they don't know they have missed.
Hypothesis
Prototyping: I designed alternative payment flows in Figma to test whether Quick Pay solved a real problem or just assumed one.
Stakeholder Collaboration: I presented findings directly to the team and product lead, making the case to redirect resources before a single line of code was written.
Synthesis
Post-research, I tagged and analysed all insights in Dovetail. Patterns emerged quickly: the hypothesis didn't hold. User needs pointed somewhere else entirely.
Users didn't see value in Quick Pay. The time saving was minimal, payments weren't frequent enough, and fixed details didn't match how they actually paid. What they wanted was smarter access to recent payees.
/ Design
Pivoting Based on Real User Needs
Research revealed that users simply wanted the app to remember who they paid last. This shifted focus from Quick Pay to enhancing Recent Payees within the Address Book.
Hover over the arrows to explore key improvements.
Before
After
/ What Changed
Self-service reduced call dependency (validated in usability testing)
Eligibility clarity reduced confusion across 3 brands - 5 products
Design handed over with defined success metrics and stakeholder sign-off
If confusion persisted post-launch, the next lever was product simplification, not more design.
/ Reflection
The hardest problem here wasn't the interface, it was the product logic underneath it. Aligning compliance, dev, product, and branding around a solution required documentation, clear communication, and the ability to hold steady under competing priorities, especially when internal stakeholders didn't fully agree on how the product worked. The result was two outcomes delivered from one piece of work: a design solution for what could be solved, and evidence handed to the business for what couldn't. Knowing the difference, and being able to articulate it to stakeholders, is what made this more than a design project.
Redirecting Investment Backed by Evidence: Quick Pay
Role
UX Designer - Researcher
Scope
Led the end-to-end usability testing of the bonus tracker and the final design and delivery of the tracker across 5 products (including all edge cases), for 3 brands, for iOS and Android
Outcome
Designed a validated self-service bonus interest tracker to reduce call centre dependency. Clarified eligibility across all products and edge cases. Reframed remaining confusion as product complexity, handing the business a strategic decision alongside a design solution.
The Challenge
The call centre was overwhelmed by customers calling to ask about their bonus interest, whether they qualified, why they hadn't been paid, and what they needed to do differently. Each call required individual handling, drained call centre capacity, and drove down App Store ratings across all three brands.
I Pushed for
Transparency over hand-holding and product simplification. I advocated for giving customers the visibility to track their own progress. The hypothesis was that if people could see where they stood — eligibility, timeline, and criteria — they wouldn't need to call. I led end-to-end usability testing and synthesis across 3 brands to validate this before committing to a direction.
Client
Virgin Money | ME Bank | Bank of Queensland
Stakeholders
Development Lead | PM | Design Lead
/ Context
5
Complex Products, 3 Brands, 2 Platforms
10
%
Of Call Centre Volume Came From Bonus Interest Queries
30
%
Of These Complaints Were from Virgin Money
70
%
Of These Complaints Were from MyBOQ App
How might we simplify frequent payments to the same person when amounts or timing can’t be fixed?
/ Discovery
Testing the Assumption Before the Build
I planned and led end-to-end user research to test interest, behaviours, and usability for the proposed feature.
Participant Recruitment: Created screeners and recruited 6 participants through ChitChat.
Testing Set Up: Prepared Dovetail templates and moderation guide for consistent testing.
Moderated Testing for Real-Time Insight
I facilitated all sessions to understand: a) how often users repeat payments, b) what they value in managing payees, and c) their concerns around saving payment data.
Customers find Bonus Interest criteria difficult to understand.
Pain Point
We believe clear communication of the criteria and progress visibility will reduce support queries, because customers had no way to self-serve the answer.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t know which criteria they haven’t met.
Pain Point
We believe a visual progress tracker will increase completion rates, because users can't act on criteria they can't see.
Hypothesis
Customers don’t understand why pending transactions are excluded.
Pain Point
We believe contextual messaging around pending transactions will reduce confusion, because without explanation exclusions felt like errors.
Hypothesis
Customers lack timely updates on their progress.
Pain Point
We believe timely progress updates will improve confidence and completion, because they can't complete what they don't know they have missed.
Hypothesis
Prototyping: I designed alternative payment flows in Figma to test whether Quick Pay solved a real problem or just assumed one.
Stakeholder Collaboration: I presented findings directly to the team and product lead, making the case to redirect resources before a single line of code was written.
Synthesis
Post-research, I tagged and analysed all insights in Dovetail. Patterns emerged quickly: the hypothesis didn't hold. User needs pointed somewhere else entirely.
Users didn't see value in Quick Pay. The time saving was minimal, payments weren't frequent enough, and fixed details didn't match how they actually paid. What they wanted was smarter access to recent payees.
/ Design
Pivoting Based on Real User Needs
Research revealed that users simply wanted the app to remember who they paid last. This shifted focus from Quick Pay to enhancing Recent Payees within the Address Book.
Hover over the arrows to explore key improvements.
Before
After
/ What Changed
Self-service reduced call dependency (validated in usability testing)
Eligibility clarity reduced confusion across 3 brands - 5 products
Design handed over with defined success metrics and stakeholder sign-off
If confusion persisted post-launch, the next lever was product simplification, not more design.
/ Reflection
The hardest problem here wasn't the interface, it was the product logic underneath it. Aligning compliance, dev, product, and branding around a solution required documentation, clear communication, and the ability to hold steady under competing priorities, especially when internal stakeholders didn't fully agree on how the product worked. The result was two outcomes delivered from one piece of work: a design solution for what could be solved, and evidence handed to the business for what couldn't. Knowing the difference, and being able to articulate it to stakeholders, is what made this more than a design project.