meCash Cross-Border Payment Platform

I designed meCash, a passport to borderless transactions. With meCash, sending and receiving money across borders has never been easier. The digital app provides seamless and secure transfers, empowering users to effortlessly manage international transactions.

Designer

W. Calfos

Role:

UX, UI

Date:

May 2023

Introduction: Discover meCash

Overview

Overview

meCash is a pioneering mobile and web app designed to facilitate cross-border payments using blockchain technology. This project included designing an intuitive mobile app, a user-friendly web app, and an engaging website landing page.

Objective

Objective

The goal was to revolutionize payment systems across Africa, which are often slow, costly, and inefficient, thereby leveraging the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enhance economic growth and development.

Introduction
Introduction: Discover meCash
Introduction: Discover meCash

Objective

Task

Task

Develop a universal identity service template to be deployed across Vodafone's global markets, including those in Africa, aiming to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency.

Develop a universal identity service template to be deployed across Vodafone's global markets, including those in Africa, to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency.

Develop a universal identity service template to be deployed across Vodafone's global markets, including those in Africa, aiming to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency.

Scope

Scope

This case study describes the end-to-end design process from research to implementation of a scalable Global Identity Service template for Vodafone that aimed to reduce development and maintenance costs by 45% and increase operational efficiency.

This case study describes the end-to-end design process from research to implementation of a scalable Global Identity Service template for Vodafone that reduced development and maintenance costs by 45% and increased operational efficiency.

This case study describes the end-to-end design process from research to implementation of a scalable Global Identity Service template for Vodafone that aimed to reduce development and maintenance costs by 45% and increase operational efficiency.

Challenge

Challenge

Despite the AfCFTA's potential to significantly boost intra-Africa trade, existing payment systems are fraught with delays, high costs, and inefficiencies. These issues pose considerable barriers to the seamless transaction flow necessary for sustained economic growth and development across the continent.

The Process: Research and Discovery

Market Research

Economic Outlook: McKinsey forecasts Africa's e-payments market to expand by 20% annually, reaching $40 billion by 2025.

Regional Insights: Nigeria and South Africa are leaders in mobile money transactions, with e-wallets and online payments witnessing rapid growth due to the digital transition of SMEs and offline merchants.

Technological Innovations: The rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, which promise instant settlements and lower transaction costs.

Industry Dynamics: Fintechs are becoming crucial in the payment landscape, providing digital wallets and services like foreign exchange and lending.

Competitor Analysis: The competitive analysis has revealed significant opportunities for meCash to establish itself as a leader in the cross-border payment space by capitalizing on the strengths of blockchain technology and a superior user experience. 

Market Research

Economic Outlook: McKinsey forecasts Africa's e-payments market to expand by 20% annually, reaching $40 billion by 2025.

Regional Insights: Nigeria and South Africa are leaders in mobile money transactions, with e-wallets and online payments witnessing rapid growth due to the digital transition of SMEs and offline merchants.

Technological Innovations: The rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, which promise instant settlements and lower transaction costs.

Industry Dynamics: Fintechs are becoming crucial in the payment landscape, providing digital wallets and services like foreign exchange and lending.

Competitor Analysis: The competitive analysis has revealed significant opportunities for meCash to establish itself as a leader in the cross-border payment space by capitalizing on the strengths of blockchain technology and a superior user experience. 

User Research

Extensive interviews and surveys with small business owners revealed:

- High fees, long processing times, and a lack of transparency are major pain points.

- Significant concerns about the trustworthiness and security of adopting new technologies like blockchain for financial transactions.

User Research

Extensive interviews and surveys with small business owners revealed:

- High fees, long processing times, and a lack of transparency are major pain points.

- Significant concerns about the trustworthiness and security of adopting new technologies like blockchain for financial transactions.

The Process: Design and Development

User Personas

I developed user personas representing different user groups across markets to tailor the design effectively.

User Personas

I developed user personas representing different user groups across markets to tailor the design effectively.

User Flows and Information Architecture

Onboarding: Streamlined registration, identity verification, and account setup.

Send Money: Simplified currency selection, transaction details entry, and verification processes.

Account Management: Easy management of personal info, security settings, and support access.

User Flows and Information Architecture

Onboarding: Streamlined registration, identity verification, and account setup.

Send Money: Simplified currency selection, transaction details entry, and verification processes.

Account Management: Easy management of personal info, security settings, and support access.

Visual Design

I developed low-fidelity wireframes to determine the basic layout, followed by interactive high-fidelity prototypes in Figma.

I chose a colour palette that conveys trust and professionalism and designed intuitive icons and responsive layouts to enhance the user experience on various devices.

Visual Design

I developed low-fidelity wireframes to determine the basic layout, followed by interactive high-fidelity prototypes in Figma.

I chose a colour palette that conveys trust and professionalism and designed intuitive icons and responsive layouts to enhance the user experience on various devices.

meCash Business

meCash Business is a dedicated web-based solution, crafted to address the unique cross-border payment requirements of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Large Corporations. It was designed exclusively for registered businesses to streamline their operations.

meCash Business

meCash Business is a dedicated web-based solution, crafted to address the unique cross-border payment requirements of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Large Corporations. It was designed exclusively for registered businesses to streamline their operations.

The Process: Post-design

Iterative Design and User Feedback

Multiple iterations based on user feedback from testing sessions led to continuous refinements in the user interface, addressing usability issues and enhancing the overall user experience.

Iterative Design and User Feedback

Multiple iterations based on user feedback from testing sessions led to continuous refinements in the user interface, addressing usability issues and enhancing the overall user experience.

Development Handoff

Comprehensive design specifications, style guides, and assets were provided to the development team, ensuring a seamless transition from design to implementation. Regular collaboration with the development team facilitated the alignment of design concepts with technical capabilities.

Development Handoff

Comprehensive design specifications, style guides, and assets were provided to the development team, ensuring a seamless transition from design to implementation. Regular collaboration with the development team facilitated the alignment of design concepts with technical capabilities.

Results and Impact

Post-Launch Success

meCash has experienced a surge in downloads and received overwhelmingly positive feedback, highlighting its reliability and the seamless, secure payment experience it offers.

The platform's early success is inspiring further enhancements to continuously meet and exceed user expectations.

We conducted tests across various markets on a soft launch of the redesigned ID flows.

The new onboarding solution tested positively when compared to the existing experience.

Post launch data

Post-Launch Success

meCash has experienced a surge in downloads and received overwhelmingly positive feedback, highlighting its reliability and the seamless, secure payment experience it offers.

The platform's early success is inspiring further enhancements to continuously meet and exceed user expectations.

Post launch data

Business Impact

The meCash app has empowered small businesses with easier access to international markets, contributing to economic growth and the success of the AfCFTA initiative.

Business Impact

The meCash app has empowered small businesses with easier access to international markets, contributing to economic growth and the success of the AfCFTA initiative.

Conclusion and Reflections

Through extensive research, a user-centred design approach, and an iterative development process, the meCash platform has effectively addressed the needs of its target audience, simplifying complex payment processes and fostering trust. This has enhanced user experience and supported broader economic initiatives across Africa.