APPLE PAY
ApplePay, a trustworthy and safe way to store and use payment information, has been used to send and receive money between friends, families, and landlords for quite some time. But there are many times users find themselves needing to pay and receive money from those who are not listed in their contacts. Needing to rely on third party apps or cash, ApplePay doesn't currently offer a feature that allows use without the necessity of having someone as a contact.
A feature, much like AirDrop, will be integrated into ApplePay that will allows users to send and receive money from nearby iPhones. Instead of having to share contacts, a user will be able to choose their form of payment and select the iPhone they'd like to send it to or receive it from.
Details
Project: ApplePay Feature
Timeline: 10 Days
Role: UX Designer
STEP 1. RESEARCH
RESEARCH GOALS
- What are the concerns on sending strangers or getting requests from strangers regarding money
- What works for ApplePay already and what doesn’t?
- If not an ApplePay user, why not
- What are the conveniences of different payment types?
RESEARCH METHODS
- Interviews: I will be conducting interviews with participants listed below, either via a phone call, text thread, or an in person session. I will have a set of questions, some listed previously, and write answers while also hoping to expand on answers that may lead me to questions I had not thought to ask. All questions are also not specific to ApplePay or Apple Inc., but to careless and wireless payment in general.
- Surveys: Once Interviews are complete, I will send out a Survey to a broader audience based off of information gleaned from results for finer questions
PARTICIPANTS
Ages 19-40
Men & Women
In Greater New York City Area
Has iPhone
INTERVIEWS
Questions
What form of payment would you say you usually use?1a. Why? Do you ever use more than one?
If you’ve never used wireless payment, is there a reason why? If you primarily use wireless payment, is there a reason why?
Are there any concerns you have regarding wireless payments or payment information kept on your phone?
Have you used ApplePay? Tell me more about your experience with it. If not, what is stopping you?
Is there anything you’d like to see change with available wireless payment methods?
Results
While there would have been benefits from interviewing people who did not own iPhones or work for Apple, I decided to choose these participants to get a better idea of the trust they already have in this feature. It was important to understand what is important to them, their concerns, or lack thereof. The biggest takeaway from this is the concern for speed and convenience. Because there is already trust in the company and feature itself, my focus should be to design the feature to integrate itself as seamlessly as possible. I need to prioritize the idea that this doesn’t have extra steps or is something that feels difficult.
SURVEY
Going forward we now know to focus on designs that are for iPhone X’s and up, using FaceID.
Results
- We also know that we need to focus on the process of using ApplePay when purchasing something as we want the experience to be as familiar as that.
- There is also solid confirmation that the feature being added in is something participants need and will use.
- Lastly, we know that because most participants understand and use AirDrop, we will need to closely replicate the way that works in the designs.
Number of Participants
46
95%
Use ApplePay with their phone
86%
Trust and use ApplePay
81%
Have needed to send money to people who aren’t friends, family, or in their contacts
72%
Use AirDrop often
STEP 2. PERSONA RESEARCH
These personas were designed to give an idea of the different types of users who come from different professions, locations, and financial statuses but have the same goals in mind. These are people who value their money and time, and while they would like to add new and beneficial activities into their lives, the decisions they make are weighed and calculated. Because all personas are near-experts when it comes to using technology, it becomes even that much more important for the experience to be easy and seamless for them no matter what their decisions are in the end.
STEP 3. INTERACTION DESIGN
TASK & USER FLOW
Building a user and task flow for this feature was a big priority, and was made so that I could understand what would need to be added or changed and where to integrate the AirDrop feature. It also serves as a way to see how long the process takes, as the goal is to keep the integration as smooth as possible. I used the survey and interview information to make sure the flow going forward was as seamless as possible and not a big change from the original designs. These maps will help me move forward with sketches and lo fi wireframes as well as understanding all of the options I need available to move forward with prototypes.
SKETCHES
Top sketches are the journey from a prompt. Bottom sketches are the journey from the user initiating a prompt.Sketches were made to get a quick idea of what the screens would look like through the process, and was an easy way to play around with ideas without having to change much. I used Procreate to sketch out the ideas but also used my own phone to make sure I was using the right screens and designs. These sketches will help build lo fi wireframes which will then be used as a first version prototype.
WIREFRAMES
Built both prototypes of the receiving and initiating journey to get an idea of what the sketches and user flow would look like at a higher fidelity. I used the sketches to build over in Figma, and took screenshots from my phone of most of the steps in the ApplePay process to make sure it was as accurate as possible. From these screens I can now build the first prototype and see whether or not I will need to change or alter anything.
STEP 4. USER INTERFACE DESIGN
HI FI DESIGN
Using the wireframes and iOS kit from Figma, I built high fidelity designs for the feature to represents a realistic look for the next prototype. I used my own phone screens for reference while building these pages, and had to replicate icons such as the Face ID icon to make it vectorized. With the fully fledged designs, this will help flesh out the hi fi prototype and show how the feature will be used when integrated into the iOS. Below are only the additional screens necessary for this feature.
- Because this feature utilizes AirDrop, an already existing feature, I used a reference of what a normal airdrop would look like if receiving a photo
- Aside from replacing the photo area with the amount being requested via ApplePay, all other components match a normal AirDrop
- I strived to make this as familiar as possible to user to avoid confusion/needing to relearn a process
- Initiating isn't too different from sending a photo via AirDrop either. The scroll of names/devices available nearby is the same, only now available in the Wallet app.
- Again, it is a very minor change & addition that is imperitive as iPhone users rely on the easy of use and familiarity that their iOS already gives them
HI FI PROTOTYPE
The hi fi prototype was made so that the journey is clear and concise for both myself and the users. Like the lo fi prototype, I took the designs in Figma and used the prototyping tool to build out all of the available paths. This will be the last step before usability testing, where participants will share their feedback on these designs and the journeys available through the prototype.
Next Steps
Usability Testing
Usability Testing is the next step and will be done so thoroughly. Though it was only small changes made using familiar icons and components, there now needs to be an understanding of how users will respond to the new feature and process. Once testing is completed, the design should be revisited and perfected in terms of spacing and font, plus any changes that need to be made from usability testing results.
What I Learned
Research always comes first. That does sound like the obvious, but I found that my original plan to use surveys after user and task flow backfired on me a bit. I found that I needed all of the information, even the littlest bits, before I could make a flow that works.
Let go of the initial vision and let the process be the guide. As a designer, it's so easy to get caught up in the vision, to have something in your head before you even begin. An aesthetic, certain colors, even a layout. But at the the end of the day I needed to accept that what I wanted/saw was irrelevant as the research, persona building, and task/user flows would help shape those ideas into something need.
Selected Works
DesignsPassion Projects & Design Challenges
DC ComicsEnd to End App
ApplePayFeature
North Jersey Muay ThaiResponsive Website Redesign
