Dash Mobile App

Dash, in an attempt to expand into other markets, discovered that the UK has the largest number of migrants due to the need for skilled workers. As we ventured into this market, we acknowledged the necessity of tackling fresh challenges and delivering customised services that surpass our current offerings.

We pinpointed a prevalent issue encountered by immigrants in the UK: the complexity and challenges associated with cross-border transfers.

I led the design of the Dash remittance app, working closely with designers, engineers, and product managers. My focus was to understand the business goals and user pain points and behaviours, then design the end-to-end visual experience.

According to the Migration Observatory, net migration hit 824,000 in 2022. 60% of these immigrants migrated from underserved countries. Sending money back home to family or for personal use became stressful, inefficient, unreliable, and broken. Dash saw an opportunity and decided to solve this problem associated with international remittance.

Users faced multiple challenges with existing remittance services, which include:

• High fees and poor exchange rates
• Lack of trust and security concerns
• Complicated user flows
• Limited cash pick-up options
• No real-time tracking

Working together with the PMs and key stakeholders, I interviewed users and sent out a survey with two objectives in mind:

• Understand the context, pain points, and behaviour of diaspora users in the UK using international money transfer products to send funds abroad.
• Understand their priorities while choosing a remittance app.

• 73% would switch providers due to lack of security
• 67% lose money due to poor exchange rates
• 54% prioritise low fees and fast delivery
• Real-time tracking and flexible delivery options were high priorities

Before diving into design, I set up some how might we questions that address the key problem we are solving:

• How might we make the onboarding seamless and frictionless for users?
• How might we reduce the waiting period for both sender and receiver?
• How might we communicate the exchange rate?
• How might we make the send money experience seamless?
• How might we make the app secure?

Frictionless onboarding that is compliant with AML and KYC policy

To make onboarding easy and smooth while staying compliant with AML and KYC rules, we needed to balance business needs with a good user experience. I designed a simplified process that uses a third-party API to verify users, which cuts down the number of steps they need to take.

Designing for trust means clearly showing users the exchange rates and any extra fees at each step, without making it too complicated. I also redesigned the currency conversion process to make it easier for users to convert money from one currency to another.

This design led to instant success:

• Over 48,000 new users joined the Dash platform, helping to boost user growth across Dash's ecosystem and in the markets where Dash already operates
• 23% increase in user engagement monthly on the Dash remittance app
• 89% task completion on every transaction initiated by customers every month

• Build for adoption: Building the MVP is just the first step. Make sure to optimise it for maximum user adoption afterward.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborating with both direct and indirect stakeholders helped me understand that crafting a seamless user experience, especially in the fintech space, must align with regulatory requirements.
• Feedback is key: I gained insights into how early feedback from user testing can inform the design process.