Prepaid Card user Journey Optimization
The Skrill prepaid card project, a significant initiative undertaken by Skrill, aimed at revolutionizing its digital financial services' user experience and market reach. With a strategic focus on the Italian market, this endeavour sought to expand Skrill’s presence by increasing accessibility and simplifying user entry points. A key aspect of this project was removing the initial deposit requirement, a move designed to attract a broader user base and streamline the process of acquiring a prepaid card. This decision was a tactical change and a pivotal step towards making digital financial services more inclusive and user-friendly.
Faced with a challenging timeline of just 30 days, during a period marked by holidays and a company-wide code freeze, the project demanded exceptional coordination and agility. Teams across different regions, including Italy, Canada, the UK, USA, and Bulgaria, collaborated to ensure the project's success, overcoming significant logistical and operational hurdles. The goal was clear: to launch a revamped prepaid card service by January 6th, achieving 25,000 new card applications and 16,000 activations to reach a break-even point of 400K euros. This ambitious project was not just about meeting financial targets; it was a testament to Skrill's commitment to innovating user experience and expanding its digital footprint in a competitive market.
Strategy
User-centred design focuses on the rapid iteration of prototypes with users and stakeholders.
Methodology
Product development using value proposition canvas.
Tools
Skrill's prepaid card initiative was primed to expand its user base in Italy successfully. By removing the initial deposit requirement, the service became more accessible, leading to broader market penetration. This change made the card more appealing and convenient, especially for those new to digital financial services. The initiative reflected Skrill's commitment to making financial management easier and more inclusive in the Italian market.
Skrill simplified the entry process for new users by eliminating the first deposit requirement for its prepaid card. This adjustment attracted over 25,000 new card applications, indicating a positive response from users seeking accessible financial solutions. The change was aimed at reducing barriers to entry, making it easier for more people to start using Skrill's services.
The Skrill prepaid card project achieved significant milestones, with 16,000 new card activations contributing to the project breaking even at 400K euros. This performance demonstrated solid growth and strong user adoption of the prepaid card. The project's success underscored the card's appeal as a reliable and convenient option for everyday financial transactions.
Most carriers do not have a specific idea of their coverage blind spots and rely on users’ complaints to detect them, considering investigating an area only after several complaints have been filed.
A mobile network is a complex system that can easily be overwhelmed by larger-than-expected users gathered in one single place, like an impromptu concert and multiple users streaming video all at once.
With the increasing popularity of mobile phones, tablets, IoT, and wearables, the usage of cloud storage has become more prevalent. This means that a single car could have up to a dozen devices that require internet connectivity, and this demand is only expected to grow in the future.
Phone coverage is distributed by antennas and its efficiency and optimization could be affected by multiple factors, like weather, new buildings, other antennas and changes in the landscape. It. is also possible the materials in a building can affect the penetration of the network, some rooms might have fantastic coverage while others could barely have one bar.
Lack of cellphone coverage can have unexpected effects, from economic loss in local businesses to unsuccessful emergency response. This drives the desire to understand the user’s experience from the device’s perspective.
A significant segment of prepaid card users include individuals who prefer not to use traditional banking products due to accessibility issues or a desire for greater control over their spending.
These users often include young adults and students who are just beginning to manage their own finances, as well as travelers who require a secure and convenient way to carry funds internationally without the risks associated with carrying cash. Additionally, prepaid cards are popular among online shoppers and gig economy workers who appreciate the ease of online transactions and the ability to manage funds digitally.
This strategy was created to offer a complete platform so carriers would be able to get a single solution for all their mobile network needs. The early stages of user research and stakeholders’ interviewing reported the following paradigms:
Paradigm 1
Surveying equipment is expensive and complicated
Desired outcome
Simplify surveying hardware to be affordable and simple
Paradigm 2
Only network engineers are in charge of network testing and surveys
Desired outcome
Reduce complexity to the point that anybody can survey a network.
Paradigm 3
Efforts to improve network performance go unnoticed by consumers
Desired outcome
Make surveying efforts remarkable and noticeable. After all, it shows the company they care.
Paradigm 4
Marketing efforts focused on network speed can backfire.
Desired outcome
If the current scenario is not positive, have a way to change the conversation
Budget Management and Control: Prepaid cards are widely used by individuals who want to manage their spending more effectively. By loading a fixed amount of money onto the card, users can easily track their expenditures and avoid overspending, making these cards an excellent tool for budgeting and financial discipline.
Travel and International Transactions: For travelers, prepaid cards offer a convenient and secure alternative to carrying cash or using personal bank cards abroad. They are ideal for international transactions, providing a safer option with typically lower fees than traditional credit cards and the ability to lock in exchange rates.
Online Shopping and Digital Payments: Prepaid cards are popular among online shoppers, especially those who are cautious about using their bank cards on the internet. These cards provide a secure way to make digital purchases, limiting the risk of fraud and controlling spending.
Financial Inclusion for the Unbanked or Underbanked: Individuals who do not have access to traditional banking services, either due to geographical limitations or credit issues, often rely on prepaid cards. These cards serve as an alternative to bank accounts, allowing users to participate in electronic transactions, receive direct deposits, and manage funds efficiently.
A simple plan for complex solutions. We need methods to collect reliable information, which is analyzed and communicated to stakeholders so they can make decisions.
A network analyst uses a benchmark box to quickly sample the area around a client’s office before a meeting.
The spot between the metro stations finally has good coverage and people can keep watching Netflix on its way back home.
A customer service specialist sees the status of the networking net in a customer’s home, this area is highly problematic.
With more information at hand, it is possible to plan long term and invest in R&D to cover customers needs.
My car sharing service had issues locating its vehicles around this are parking lot. Not anymore!
The marketing department at company X can confidently say they have the fastest and more reliable network, they have real data to support it.
She is a social butterfly. During the summer brake she would rather be hanging out with friends, but she needs to find a part time job. She loves long walks and hikes, really dreads the idea of being in an office during the summer, but well, she needs to get some money before going back to school in the fall.
He likes being in charge and being the first one to jump in if a conflict arises. This is ideal because he has to deal with grouchy clients, bad landlords, paperwork, having to assist customers with tasks that they should be able to do and managing contractors. He has an office, but he spends most of the day in his car driving from one location to another. His phone and his tablet are his life.
In recent years, customers had considered access to high speed internet and mobile coverage as a factor before buying a new property.
She loves helping people, that is why she has become really good at understanding the technical side of how a network functions, at least good enough to determine where the problem is and who can solve it.. She hates dealing with rude customers, having to get the managers approval for a lot of things, waiting for slow computers.
Troubleshooting and fixing problem areas, creating feasible solutions to problems. He spends a lot of time analyzing boring data in a spreadsheet. By not having nice visualizations for viewing network data he needs to pinpoint areas in a map to understand how slow systems or software failure are affecting people.
He has to visit multiple areas to figure out technical issues and work overtime. He would like to spending that commuting time with his family. Has been using in the industry for ages, he is developing arthritis, and he is starting to worry about his future.
Dealing with Poor Coverage calls, Jackie is assigned a customer who has been struggling with their cell phone coverage and is very frustrated. Customers can’t remember precisely when these outages occurred, but it affects their business. Jackie would like to determine whether these outages are due to the network or the customer’s phone by viewing summary statistics (i.e. minutes used, number of calls dropped vs. calls made without drop). If it appears to be the phone, she wants to see some statistics about the customer’s phone. (Benchmark customers' devices against average device performance).
Jackie is assigned a customer who is looking to upgrade/renew their phone plan. The customer requests a better deal or a discount because “they have not been getting good coverage”. Jackie would like to be able to determine if these are legitimate claims. Suppose they are legitimate claims then she would like to determine if it is the customer’s phone or the network that is the problem by viewing summary statistics (i.e. minutes used, number of calls dropped vs. calls made without drop). If it appears to be the phone, she would like to be able to see some statistics about the customer’s phone, and she might be able to suggest a deal in the phone department. If these are bogus claims made by the customer then she would be able to determine this and counter-argue with facts.
Viewing Current Network Coverage (Overview), Darren would like to view the current status of the network. He would like to quickly see where the network is performing well and where it isn’t. He must also be able to view the location of his company’s cell towers. He would also like to see summarized metrics such as the total number of dropped calls vs. not dropped and tower load metrics.
Viewing Current Network Coverage, Darren needs to view more details about the network, such as network activity, tower load, data transmission speeds, specific signal-‐lost and signal-‐regained events and geographic factors that may influence these metrics. If a signal-‐lost event occurs, Darren would like to see more details about the user's device, including device type, firmware, OS, battery percentage, signal strength, time & all those pesky details. Still, there is not much information to start with.
This device was created to be able to analyze the reasons for poor voice quality during a call. There are many factors that can influence the perception of how clear the voice is, at least two devices are involved, phone reception, ambient noise or other electronics can interfere with a call.
This Android-powered device uses a high-end smartwatch as an external voice quality tester. It is meant to be delivered to a customer's home, so they would be able to do manual tests on their own. The device had the option to use Bluetooth or a phone jack to collect voice quality.
The tester was designed to be attached to any android device available at the time.
Hugh calls the carrier’s complaining about voice quality.
Jackie takes the call and assigns a tester to Hugh. It will be delivered in a couple of days.
Hugh gets the package and reads simple instructions.
Hugh installs the customized version of the MMC Android app, and connects/synchs the tester to the device.
Hugh installs the customized version of the MMC android app, and connects/synchs the tester to the device.
The tester is repackaged and returned by mail or delivered to a branch near by.
The benchmark box is a network performance recording device. It powered two displays to communicate survey results in that area and streamother marketing messages.
One of the use cases we had for testing networks were concerts. A crowd of users streaming HQ video is the perfect hotspot to measure network performance. Also, our testers will not pass a good opportunity to enjoy a concert for free as long as they protect the equipment.
A second iteration of the backpack needed to include a three battery set to extend the operational range so it operates multiple devices for up to 8hrs. This version also included the option to run two voice quality testers (Bluetooth synched).
Shopping malls and retail stores are good places considering the effectiveness of the network.
Consider a carrier store trying to gain new customers but whenever they try to set up a new account, the coverage display shows only two bars. Not good for business.
The backpack was also designed to be able to use it as an in-store display, streaming marketing announcements and collecting network information.
The benchmark box was designed so it could be attached to a stand or wall mount and become part of the store’s decoration, featuring custom marketing information in real-time.
The goal was to display the network speed in Mbps and an example of what they could do with it, E.g. Downloading a full Netflix movie in 20 minutes. If the speed was unsatisfactory, other marketing messages were shown, and data was collected.
The app controlling the box was also used to monitor the status of the devices inside the box, battery charge, and/or sync other devices to it, like the voice quality testers.
A benefit of simplifying network performance tools is that pretty much anybody in the company could perform network surveys and collect information while doing other unrelated tasks for the company.
A company phone could constantly monitor voice quality over the network, providing extra value.
The voice quality app worked similarly to the voice quality tester (smartwatch version).
In order to coordinate every element in the system, the platform needed a customizable dashboard where the user would be able to visualize the areas the testers were in, their direction and their status.
Benchmark box
on company vehicle
User with
Backpack
Benchmark box
on store kiosk
The Skrill prepaid cards project highlighted the critical importance of user-centric design in guiding project priorities and decisions. Regular user testing and data-driven UX insights were pivotal for efficient decision-making and focusing development efforts on critical user journey touchpoints. This approach was instrumental in streamlining user flows, enhancing user satisfaction, and reducing unnecessary complexities in the product interface. Additionally, the project demonstrated the effectiveness of clear, data-informed user journey mapping in enhancing development efficiency and ensuring that each project component directly addressed user needs.
Cross-functional and international collaboration was another key takeaway, emphasizing the value of diverse perspectives and unified team efforts across different markets. The project's success under tight deadlines, including a holiday period and a code freeze, underscored the importance of strategic planning, adaptability, and maintaining a balance between speed and quality. It also highlighted the need for resilience in UX projects, especially when facing changing circumstances and feedback. This case study stands as a testament to the power of integrating user experience insights into broader business strategies and the essential role of UX in achieving cohesive product and market development.
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