Person-to-Person Payments
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management enhances its cash management offerings by expanding it’s person-to-person (P2P) payments service across all platforms and designing for accessibility.
Team + my role
1 UX/UI designer + researcher (me)
1 Product manager
1 Business analyst
3-4 Developers
When I began working on Morgan Stanley’s person-to-person service, Send Money with Zelle, in 2017 it was only available on our mobile app, the features were lagging, and the UI needed an update.
We started by assessing the existing mobile flow, all available user data, and the competitive landscape.
Prioritizing features
We determined features based on user needs and business wishes and began plotting them on a graph that would help us prioritize what is important and what can take a backseat.
Each feature in release 1.0 was based on it's value to the user, it's value to the business and keeping in mind the technical complexities.
Key Features 1.0
Ability to send, request, complete and schedule person-to-person payments across all platforms. This helps users access this service regardless of where they access Morgan Stanley Online.
Ability to filter, sort, and manage payment activity. Helping them when reviewing historical data.
The ability for all users to access the service. Enabling all users to send money by designing for various screen conditions and input abilities.
Mapping user flows
Now that we had our features, we began to pull out all the rudimentary sketches of the screens we had and began creating a flow to it. How would a user enroll in the service? Or how would they schedule payments?
Creating wireframes
Once we had the flow in good shape we started to wireframe and fill in the gaps. The designs progress through many rounds of feedback collected from other designers in our weekly peer reviews and sessions with the product manager and tech lead. Ultimately we landed on the wireframes below and relied on usability testing with users to validate our concerns.
Testing with users
We partnered with our UX research team to test the flow and several assumptions that had been raised through the design process.
Research goal
Validate desktop and mobile user flows and usability with Morgan Stanley clients
Methodology
1:1 sessions with moderator and participant
Eight 90-minute remote interviews using video sharing platform
Participants interacted with 2 prototypes
User testing tasks
Task 1: Set up a monthly recurring payment of $1,500.00 for rent to a landlord on desktop
Task 2: Complete a payment request from a friend on desktop
Task 3: Check Send Money with Zelle activity to confirm a payment went through on desktop
Task 4: Send a payment to a friend on a mobile device
The findings
Easy and straight-forward desktop designs
Clients completed the test tasks with ease, indicating the design was both clean and simple. They felt the process for sending and completing payments was clear and straightforward.
“It’s so easy, I can do it with a crying baby in my arms.”
Delightful, intuitive mobile experience
We observed clients walk through the mobile flow and report the experience as delightful and fun. They felt the process was more streamlined in comparison to other Morgan Stanley product flows.
“This flow is super simple”
Visual cues and labeling confusion
Users raised questions at several points during the flow specifically when selecting a recipient to send or request money from.
“What does it mean if the user is registered?,
What’s the difference between edit and remove recipient”
With this feedback in hand, we regrouped as a team to discuss. It was clear that users could navigate with the flow with ease yet there were a couple of areas we’d need to re-think. We prioritized the flow for selecting a recipient as this was raised by several users. This worked well for development as they could focus their time on building other screens.
The usability findings led me to consider the following within the designs:
Adding additional visual cues and labeling to provide clarity during certain points of a task
Providing user validation and verification for when a user is sending money to new or unknown recipients
Removing redundant screens and messaging that may be overbearing
Launching the service
The launch and redesign of the Send Money with Zelle across all of Morgan Stanley’s digital platforms had a positive impact on client engagement and adoption. Data indicated a significant increase in registered users, transactions processed, and year-over-year payment value and volume.