Venmo | PayPal
Bringing cross-wallet transfers to Venmo
Venmo and other wallets partnered up with Visa to bring interoperability to P2P transfers in the US.
DURATION
ROLE
UX TEAM
TEAM
Context
Visa+ is a program developed by Visa in partnership with financial apps to enable interoperability and cross-wallet transfers. It will also allow users to receive payouts from businesses, focusing on gig economy use cases.
Project goals
Integrate Visa+ functionalities to enable cross-wallet transfers between Venmo, PayPal, and other apps.
Insights and problem definition
Bank transfers in the US can be expensive, complicated, and take multiple days. Nearly 50% of people use digital wallets for casual payments, such as paying back a friend for dinner or paying their babysitter.
Venmo’s P2P (peer-to-peer) functionality is the most used feature in the app. Visa+ services and capabilities were initially limited, preventing the replication of our P2P experience. Features like search, profile pictures, and saving frequent contacts were unavailable.
Transfers are conducted through a unique Visa+ tag called a “payname.” We quickly identified this as a potential friction point, as it was an unfamiliar term for users.
Venmo and PayPal have distinct P2P payment flows, which made it challenging to create a unified solution to reduce development efforts.
UX goals
Roll out in phases, starting with a pilot between Venmo and PayPal to measure adoption.
Collaborate with PayPal’s design team to design a solution that works for both apps.
Integrate the feature in a way that doesn’t disrupt the current user experience, offering it as an opt-in functionality.
Design process
I collaborated with PayPal designers to ensure consistency in the “Send money” flow across both apps. Together, we defined mockups and aligned the steps of the flow. We decided to leverage each app’s P2P flow and maintain the existing structure to avoid disturbing our users’ mental models. Then, we refined the UI using our respective design systems and patterns.
Collaborative design board
I created an educational screen to display on first use, aiming to introduce the concept of the payname to users and highlight Visa as a partner.
To simplify payname creation, the Venmo username was pre-filled as the default. I also added the .Venmo extension as a suffix to reinforce that it’s part of the payname.
Educational modal for first-time use
Payname creation
We developed a “hub” for users to manage all Visa+ related features: receiving and sending payments, and managing their payname.
I worked closely with designers from the PayPal team to maintain a consistent layout for this section across both ecosystems.
Venmo Hub
PayPal Hub
Visa+ Send money flow
Usability testing & Iteration
With support from UX research, we conducted a usability study with 20 Venmo users to assess the usability and comprehension of the Visa+ “Send money” functionality.
PROS
+
All users were able to successfully send a payment.
+
Users found this feature more convenient than creating and funding an account in a new wallet.
+
Users appreciated the extra step to verify the recipient’s phone number as a security measure.
CONS
—
Users wanted more upfront information about fees and the timing of receiving payments.
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Users would like more clarity on what data is shared with Visa.
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The entry point was challenging to find, though users understood they needed to “turn on” or enable the feature.
Iteration
To improve clarity around fees, I introduced a modal at the beginning of the flow that displayed the different fees for sending to PayPal and other wallets. This also helped highlight that transactions between Venmo and PayPal are free, promoting the ecosystem.
I added a link in the payname creation step for users who wanted more information about the feature. It directed them to a Help article, and the content team included brief information about what data is shared with Visa, instead of requiring users to read the full User Agreement.
Modal showing fees
Link to Help article
Results
Final flow
Impact
8 / 10
Consumers expressed interest in centralizing P2P transfers.
87%
Of consumers agreed that Visa+ is easy to use.
83%
Said they’d likely use Visa+ to receive payments.
1.1M
Visa+ transactions are expected between Venmo and PayPal in the first year.