Making a Bizum means sending and receiving money immediately
Forget about cash when splitting expenses among friends: one person pays and the others make a Bizum.
Services
App design
Service design
Industries
Banking
Date
August 2022
Team
Product Designer(Me)
problem
We all have that one friend who forgets to send you bizum
Bizum is super comfortable, as users can just send the money over, or request it
Requesting it is however a complex process and research show users feel uncomfortable asking for their money back through a request when the meeting is already over.
solution
Bizum automatic request in the moment of payment
Bizum Request feature is now integrated into the payment screen so the user can request it right in the moment of payment. It's carefully designed to make the request seamless and efficient.
The User Interface is now easier to navigate quickly and is visually appealing.
How to simplify the Bizum Request process and increase the quantity of transactions?
Backstory
Why to improve Bizum?
This is a personal project, which means I wasn't hired to do it or paid for it. Why did I choose to improve Bizum service then?
Optimizing every major aspect of our lives has been my true passion for many years, which is why I became a Product and UX designer in the first place.
For many of us, social life plays a significant role - we share moments with friends and family, spend time together, go for lunches, or chat over coffee. Another undoubtedly crucial aspect for everybody is finance. We track our expenses and make numerous payments daily.
A mobile payment system allows us to make real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions using our mobile phones. In Spain, the major one is Bizum. My friends, colleagues, and I have been happy users of this service for years now. It's convenient and comfortable to send and receive money using Bizum. However, I have noticed a frustrating aspect, which is requesting money from someone who owes it. I saw there an opportunity for improvement and decided to act.
project scope
CaixaBank app is the most popular particular bank app in Spain
As Bizum is a service integrated to Banks apps and not a stand alone app I want to choose the app to focus on first.
The most popular app used for mobile payments in Spain - right after Google Pay and Apple Wallet is CaixaBank Pay that’s why I chose it for this project
project goal
Let's increase the number of transactions by 10% within 2 Qs
Even though it's a personal project and I'm not in touch with the Bizum provider, I strongly believe that when designing or improving a product, it needs to benefit both sides - the user and the business. I set a goal for both of them also in this project.
market size
Bizum in numbers
Understanding the market size provides me with a clear picture of the scale of the opportunity and the possible impact.
+21
million
Active users
+990
million
Payments made between individuals
+61.550
million €
Volume of transactions
16 bizums
per second
Between individuals
statistics
Bizum knows their users
There were a few questions I needed answered before moving forward.
Who are the users?
What money amounts do they operate with?
and most importantly - in which situations do they use Bizum?
Major age group
The average transaction amount
What it's used for
58%
shared
dinners & drinks
29%
10%
3%
rent,
streaming
services
group
gifts
other
Research
How do users use Bizum?
Before embarking on the journey to design an improved service, it is essential to have a deep understanding of how exactly our users are currently utilizing the feature.
10
What do you use Bizum more often to?
When you have to request money,
how do you do that more often?
I saw that majority of participants asks for the money using other ways than in app Request feature. I was curious why is it…
" It's less formal than asking through bizum "
" Because it‘s friendlier "
" it’s more personal "
" I didn't know about that option. "
" I think is better to talk face to face when the topic is money "
selected answers
I grouped and analyzed obtained answers and listed the received insights including challenges users currently face.
Feedback analysis results
Insights
Users use bizum mostly to share payments on the spot, mainly dinners and drinks.
They don't use ‘request’ feature directly in Bizum as it doesn't feel friendly and personal enough.
It happens that one person will forget to send Bizum and the person who was supposed to receive it will not bother or forgets to request and the money is lost.
ideate
Sharing a payment has to be easy, instant and friendly
Having thoroughly examined users' feedback and identified the current challenges in the Bizum service, I then embarked on the ideation phase. A critical step is where creativity meets problem-solving as I brainstorm innovative solutions that address the pain points and enhance the user experience.
Converting challenges into opportunities is a great technique to generate useful ideas
How might we…
Make requesting more friendly and personal
How might we…
Make sharing payment
quicker & easier
How might we…
Adjust Bizum transfers to payments shared on the spot
How might we…
Increase the number of transactions
design
From long request money process to automatic request
Before
Request money in... 7 steps
Current user journey to send or request money is quite long and it´s not ideal when enjoying a dinner or drinks night with friends.
Such a long transaction takes valuable time from the users. However leaving it for later sometimes sums up in forgetting which is uncomfortable for the one who paid for all the friends hoping to receive the money back.
After
The process to request money after a payment is now reduced to 3 simple steps.
The 1st step is almost automatic as the button to request bizum appears on the screen after each payment (possible to switch off in Bizum settings).
The amount is introduced automatically. Next steps are to simply select contacts or groups to request from, and confirm.
UI Improvement
Clear sections, better distribution
More intuitive navigation
Minimized number of interactions
feedback
The Automatic request is what Bizum needs
After the new prototype was ready I wanted to see how was it performing when when users interact with it.
10 users tested the prototype and were excited and amazed by the implemented innovations.
Users say:
I like the new design a lot more, it feels modern
Requesting money on the spot is now quick and doesn’t kill the moment
It would be so good if they implement it in Bizum! to just request it while paying with one click
The in app interactive notifications make it easy to confirm or decline the payment
next steps
What gets measured, gets managed!
Prototype testing looks more than promising so the next steps would be to set objectives, implement the changes into the real product and measure the success!
I selected the Key metrics that would be suitable to measure the success of the new Bizum feature:
Task success
Check If users are able to fulfill the task of request money quickly without getting too distracted from the ongoing conversation or situation.
Convertion rate
Check what percentage of users uses the new feature.
Is it indeed a desired facilitation?
Error rate
Check if the steps are intuitive enough so users finish the task easily.
Customer satisfaction
Check if in the real life situations do users find the feature useful.
learning
A Solo Journey in Project Management and Design
During the self-initiated and self-directed Bizum project, I was fortunate to learn a lot, which will make me a better designer in the future. Some of the lessons I can take away are:
End-to-End Ownership
It was a side, one-person project, which meant I had the opportunity to work on it from start to finish, serving as both the designer and project manager. I sculpted the project's direction, defined each stage, and outlined the necessary steps. It was an enriching experience.
Self-Directed Learning
I took advantage of the absence of time constraints, ensuring meticulous attention to every stage of the project and using each challenge as an opportunity for self-education whenever doubts arose. To maintain a sense of realism and keep my motivation unwavering, I set a one-month timeframe.
Passion for optimization
As I had suspected before taking on this project, I found genuine enjoyment in optimizing a crucial aspect of our daily lives - finance. This experience has only reinforced my enthusiasm, solidifying my eagerness to implement similar projects in real-world contexts.
