PayXpress

To enhance the digital payment experience for users by creating a seamless, intuitive, and secure platform for bill payments, airtime/data purchases, wallet funding, and transaction management across web and mobile.

Web

Mobile

Project Overview

Project Name

PayXpress

Role

UX Researcher, Product Designer

Duration

8 Months

Platform

Web, Mobile

Background

PayXpress is a Value-Added Services (VAS) platform under Xpress Payment Solutions. The platform allows users to:

Purchase airtime, data, and utility bills.
Fund their wallets via cards, bank transfers, or agents.
Access services through mobile apps, the web, and POS.

Before this redesign, the user experience was fragmented, with inconsistent layouts, limited user guidance, and a high rate of incomplete transactions—especially on mobile.

Problem Statement

Users often find the PayXpress experience confusing and unintuitive, leading to a high drop-off rate during transactions, low repeat usage, and a heavy reliance on support teams for help.

Goal Statement

Our PayXpress platform will let users fund their wallets, pay bills, and manage transactions on both web and mobile, which will affect everyday customers and agents by providing a faster, more intuitive, and secure payment experience. We will measure effectiveness by tracking task success rates, user retention, reduction in support tickets, and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

UX Process

Empathise

User research, stakeholder interviews

Define

Synthesise findings, define problem and goals.

Ideate

Sketching, wireframes, brainstorm flows.

Prototype

Interactive prototypes for web & mobile.

Test

Usability testing, surveys, A/B tests.

Implement

Collaborate with devs to ensure quality delivery.

User Research

Competitive Analysis

Audit Goal

To evaluate how PayXpress compares to direct and indirect competitors in terms of user experience, functionality, and service offerings, in order to identify strengths to leverage, gaps to address, and opportunities for differentiation and innovation across web and mobile platforms.

Direct Competition

Opay

Unique Selling Point: All-in-one mobile wallet for payments, savings, and ride-hailing
Strength: Massive user base and strong brand recognition
Weaknesses: Customer service delays during peak times
Opportunities: Streamline UI/UX for better accessibility

Paga

Unique Selling Point: Seamless agent-based financial services and wallet transactions
Strength: Good trust from early market entry
Weaknesses: Limited UI innovation
Opportunities: Introduce loyalty features and smart wallets

Indirect Competition

Flutterwave (Barter)

Unique Selling Point: Global-facing digital payments and virtual card services
Strength: Strong cross-border payment infrastructure
Weaknesses: Not focused on airtime/data bills or agent model
Opportunites: Introduce agent or VAS-lite feature

MTN Momo

Unique Selling Point: Telecom-backed mobile money service with agent and USSD model
Strength: Strong offline reach
Weaknesses: Outdated UI/UX on app
Opportunities: Expand to a neutral app with open biller support

Usability Tests

Participants: 10 users (5 web, 5 mobile).
Tasks: Purchase airtime, fund wallet, pay electricity bill.
Findings:
- 60% of users failed to complete tasks on the first attempt.
- Users found button labels and hierarchy confusing.
- Mobile users struggled with poor information architecture.

Depth Interviews

Users: Existing agents, regular customers, and first-time users.
Insights:
- Agents wanted bulk actions and faster access.
- Customers preferred more secure wallet management.
- First-time users lacked trust due to poor onboarding.

Survey

Respondents: Existing agents, regular customers, and first-time users.
Top Complaints:
- Confusing flow (46%)
- Unclear error messages (28%)
- Poor mobile layout (16%)
- Lack of transaction history filtering (10%)

Analysis

Using affinity mapping, I clustered finding into four major categories:

Navigation Friction – Inconsistent menu structures between web and mobile.
Trust & Feedback – Lack of confirmation states, unclear errors.
Information Architecture – Redundant or hidden actions.
Agent Needs – Bulk transactions, printable receipts.

User Personas

"I just want to pay my bills quickly and get back to running my shop."Age: 29
Occupation: Civil Servant
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Income Level: ₦150,000 – ₦200,000/month

Chinedu

Chinedu runs a small convenience store and frequently needs to buy airtime and electricity tokens for himself and sometimes for customers. He prefers mobile apps that are fast and easy to use, especially when he's multitasking.

Goals

Complete transactions within seconds while attending to customers.
Access transaction history for personal and business-related bill tracking.
Use a lightweight app that doesn't consume too much data.

Frustrations

Slow app load times during peak hours.
Confusing navigation and payment confirmation screens.
Lack of offline or low-data mode for unstable network conditions.

User Journey

"I'm always worried about putting my card details in random apps"Age: 22
Occupation: University Student
Location: Benin City, Nigeria
Income Level: ₦30,000 – ₦50,000/month (from allowance and gigs)

Tobi

Tobi is a tech-savvy student who recently downloaded the app to buy discounted airtime and data. He's cautious about scams and prefers apps that guide him clearly and feel secure from the start.