Aeropay is a digital payments provider that enables consumers to make direct, bank-to-bank payments to businesses.
While working as the UI/UX Manager for Aeropay in late 2021, I was tasked with designing a bank aggregation product to improve bank connection rates on the platform.
User Research
Interaction Design
Visual Design
1 Product Manager
2 Developers
1 Designer (me)
Figma, Adobe XD, Maze, After Effects
November 2021 - January 2023
User Research
Interaction Design
Visual Design
1 Product Manager
2 Developers
1 Designer (me)
Figma, Adobe XD, Maze, After Effects
November 2021 - January 2023
In 2021, Aeropay was dependent on third-party providers to allow users to link their bank accounts to the platform. The bank linking process was the largest friction-point for the product.
Users frequently experienced confusing flows, unclear messaging, and vague errors. Limited control over these third-party experiences made it extremely difficult to address these issues or improve the experience as a whole.
Aeropay made the decision to build it's own bank aggregation product in order to increase bank connection rates, reduce errors, and improve the end-to-end user experience. I was tasked with designing the product from concept to delivery, accounting for all user scenarios and friction points.
I began by identifying key steps in the bank linking process: institution selection, account log in, identity verification, and account selection.
Through my time at Aeropay, I had the benefit of being very familiar with the industry-leading bank aggregation products. I conducted an in-depth analysis of each product, identifying advantages and friction points for each step across the different platforms.
Next, I conducted secondary research to find more information around user behaviors and best practices for these experiences.
Taking what I learned through research and discovery, I created wireframes to identify user flows across these steps. I then built out interactive prototypes in Adobe XD, implementing all of the best practices discovered during research.
Next, I delivered the designs to the product manager, and upon approval, development was under way. I worked closely with the engineering team, joining standup each day and working through frequent design reviews.
I used this as an opportunity to make the first significant upgrades to the product's user experience by utilizing components with a better contrast ratio as well as adding more descriptive labels and messaging.
For connections to certain financial institutions, loading times could reach up to 30 seconds or more. Our initial users would often exit the flow believing the connection was frozen.
I designed and animated a series of custom loading animations using After Effects to give users additional assurance during these potentially long wait times.
In summer 2022, Aeropay joined Financial Data Exchange (FDX), a non-profit industry standards body focused on unifying the financial sector to provide secure and convenient access of consumer and business financial data.
I became Co-Chair of the UX Research Task Force where I began leading extensive research projects to understand consumer behavior and best-practices across user consent and bank linking flows. I also learned a great deal about the relationship between financial institutions and bank aggregation products by communicating with and presenting to leaders in this space.
I was able to take learnings from FDX research and apply it to the product to further improve consent messaging to users, account for different experiences across banks, and implement FDX best-practices.
Users opening Aerosync are met with a description of what will occur during the experience and how their information is kept secure.
With the platform's most popular banks listed at the top of the page, most users are able to find their bank instantly.
For other users, the search bar is clear at the top of the page with intuitive search logic for misspelled words and alternative names.
With the platform's most popular banks listed at the top of the page, most users are able to find their bank instantly.
For other users, the search bar is clear at the top of the page with intuitive search logic for misspelled words and alternative names.
For all subsequent pages, users are reassured with their bank name and logo listed at the top of the screen.
Descriptive messaging provides users with additional context for what's happening on each page.
When users complete all steps in the flow, they are provided with instant confirmation that they've successfully linked their account.
When users complete all steps in the flow, they are provided with instant confirmation that they've successfully linked their account.
Aerosync initially launched to select Aeropay merchants in early 2023. Over the next several months, Aerosync continued to expand to additional clients, and is now live across the entire platform. It is the preferred bank linking method for Aeropay merchants.
A significant number of users link their bank with Aerosync each day. Aerosync is now a core Aeropay product offering and development is ongoing. You can see Aerosync live today by signing up for Aeropay and linking you bank.
