Recurring Charges

Discover

This project originated from our routine customer interviews, where the recurring payment feature was consistently requested by merchants and Sales Agents.

Interviews

To gain insights into our merchants' subscription requirements, we aimed to understand their existing approaches. Additionally, we delved into the intricate mechanics of subscriptions, exploring setup processes, durations, payment methods, subscription amounts, and more.

Interviews were conducted with merchants from local businesses within our target industries: Home Services, Auto, and Retail.

Key Takeaways

1. Merchants – using a workaround solution for their subscription needs

2. Merchants – manually handling subscriptions with ‘One-Time Charges’

3. Identified subscriptions mechanics

Define

Feature Analysis

I conducted an in-depth analysis of the features related to our payment products' request and charging capabilities. This endeavor aimed to provide a deeper understanding of how users were utilizing our platform as a workaround solution.

Key Findings

1. I found that our ‘One-Time Request’ experience and ‘One-Time Charge’ worked great.

2. I found that our ‘Ongoing Request’ experience worked great. However, some Merchants were using ‘Ongoing Requests’ as a hack for subscriptions and that experience was not ideal.

3. I also found that our ‘Ongoing Charge’ experience was broken and not working as intended.

User Flows

Ongoing Requests Flow — Hack for Subscriptions

This flow poses limitations as merchants are dependent on customers to 'Save their Card On File' and 'Turn On Auto Pay', practices that most customers do not consistently follow. Instead, the prevailing behavior involves customers receiving payment requests and subsequently making the payment.

Subsequent Ongoing Charges

The 'Ongoing Charge' flow presents a fractured customer experience, where subsequent payments arrive as payment requests rather than seamless charges.

Problem Statement

Merchants using the Payment Platform are unable to create recurring charges for their customers. By reconfiguring the way our current ongoing payments work we will be able to provide a subscriptions feature for merchants.

Key Objectives

• Skillfully implement and launch the Subscriptions Feature into the production environment, following a meticulous testing process encompassing Product Manager, Designer, and a team of two Engineers to ensure seamless integration of all subscription-related modifications.

• Secure 10 merchant users embracing the subscriptions feature within the inaugural 3 months, where adoption is measured by the successful completion of recurring charges by customers.

Develop

Payment Product Analysis

I conducted an in-depth Payment Product Analysis, meticulously examining the areas that would undergo transformation upon the integration of a subscriptions feature. The breadth of impact was considerable.

Several areas within the Payment Product that would undergo transformation encompassed: Payment schedule, Charge type selections, Save card on file mechanics, Outstanding balances table, Card on file payment settings, Payment details, Cancelation process, Card on file management, and Consumer receipt.

Prototype

Among the various merchant workflows associated with subscriptions, I concentrated on the core process. I designed a prototype illustrating the Ongoing Charge experience, which I then presented to gather input from merchants, stakeholders, and the team.

Iterative Testing

I engaged in iterative testing with merchants, stakeholders, and the team to enhance the feature's performance. The objective was to refine the user experience. As a result, we removed the Payment Plan option from the Payment Schedule. This decision arose from merchants' desire to add an End Date to subscriptions, which we integrated into Ongoing Charges, rendering the Payment Plan option redundant. We also renamed the feature to 'Recurring Charges' based on merchant familiarity and its alignment with the new End Date functionality.

Another significant change involved making 'Saving a Card on File' a manual process. Despite setting it as a default, legal requirements necessitated users to manually check the box for consent.

Deliver

Iteration

I honed the design concept and solidified the ultimate design solution, incorporating essential adjustments based on the feedback collected during iterative testing. Below are screens showcasing the 'Payment Schedule' in both modal and desktop views.

Design Review

In close collaboration with developers, I conducted comprehensive design reviews for the recurring charge feature. These sessions played a pivotal role in dissecting and enhancing the design, ensuring its seamless fusion with the project objectives.

The image below serves to underscore the magnitude of the recurring charges project. It's important to note that this endeavor exceeded the simplicity of merely adding an option to the payment schedule.

My involvement encompassed all design aspects associated with recurring charges, including:

• Merchant viewing a recurring charge

• Merchant managing a recurring charges

• Merchant canceling a recurring charge

• Merchant or Consumer managing Cards on File

• Consumer recurring charge experience

Furthermore, these designs were meticulously tailored for both iOS and Android platforms, taking into account the unique nuances and flows intrinsic to each.

Testing & Results

• Testing done by Product Manager, Designer, and a team of two Engineers to ensure seamless integration of all subscription-related modifications.

• All bugs / issues fixed prior to release with design system improvements to quickly follow

• 22 merchants using the recurring charges feature at the 3 month mark

Learnings / Challenges

• I recognized the immense benefit of conducting regular customer interviews. Engaging in weekly conversations with customers offered a seamless avenue for consistently gathering feedback on ideas and design throughout the entirety of the project.

• Working collaboratively with the Payment activation, payment retention, copy, legal, and mobile teams presented its challenges, but I employed proactive communication and problem-solving strategies to surmount these obstacles. As a result, the project emerged as a resounding success.