Redesign of Samsung Wallet/Pay

Redesign unified Samsung’s fragmented wallet and payment experiences across phone and watch. The new platform simplifies onboarding and payments, elevates trust through visible security, and integrates cards, loyalty, and passes into one intuitive app.

We reimagined Samsung Wallet/Pay end-to-end, merging disparate features, clarifying security, and streamlining key tasks. The redesign increased adoption, transactions, and satisfaction while establishing a scalable foundation for future financial services.

Multiple apps and inconsistent flows eroded trust and usability. Users faced confusing setup, unclear security, weak card management, and uncertainty around merchant acceptance, leading to low adoption and high onboarding drop-off.

Competitive review: Apple Pay, Google Pay, regional apps

Security perception studies; merchant/partner research

Personas: tech-savvy early adopter; security-conscious mainstream; cash-preferring skeptic Key insights: show security without friction; unify wallet and loyalty; surface merchant acceptance; integrate tightly with the Samsung ecosystem.

Stakeholder and bank workshops; IA redesign; security-first patterns; journey maps from onboarding to payments. Lo-fi to hi-fi prototypes tested with 60+ participants; iterative refinements for speed, trust, and clarity.

A unified wallet with streamlined onboarding, biometric authentication, clear acceptance indicators, and consistent feedback across phone and watch for fast, trusted payments.

Unified dashboard for cards, passes, and loyalty

Camera card capture and bank integration

Biometric auth with clear status and fallback

Tap-to-pay with haptic/visual confirmation

Categorized history and spend insights

Merchant acceptance locator

Loyalty integration with auto-applied rewards

Quick access from lock screen/notifications

Multi-card and default management

One UI principles with trust-first hierarchy, security color cues, consistent iconography, purposeful motion, dark mode, and accessible targets/contrast.

Layered security visuals; clear biometric benefits; simple tokenization explainers; real-time notifications and fraud actions; privacy controls; visible certifications.

WCAG 2.1 AA; TalkBack optimization; high contrast and text scaling; one-handed use; alternative auth options.

• +78% adoption; +124% transactions; onboarding completion 34%→81% . • 97% payment success; −43% security tickets; rating 3.2→4.6 (MAU growth) .

NFC reliability; bank API/tokenization variance; real-time merchant data; biometric hardware differences; Wear OS sync/battery; EMV/PCI-DSS compliance.

Greater ecosystem stickiness, stronger merchant partnerships, higher transaction revenue, competitive differentiation, and a base for new financial features.

Balanced security and simplicity via progressive disclosure; managed complex partnerships and regional norms; addressed device constraints; transparency built trust.

Make security visible, not obstructive

Simplify to drive adoption

Earn trust through consistency

Optimize onboarding as the conversion moment

Reflection on leading the Samsung Wallet/Pay redesign as Senior Product Designer. Focused on designing for trust in a high-stakes domain by balancing security, simplicity, and speed across global markets and legacy systems.

Led strategy and execution for four designers, partnering with engineers, PMs, and banking partners. Operated under strict security and regulatory constraints while competing with Apple Pay and Google Pay across diverse markets and devices.

Strong in mobile UX, new to financial design and payments regulation. Underestimated how deeply security drives behavior and how fragmented features eroded clarity and trust.

Make security visible without friction

Simplify tokenization, biometrics, fraud concepts

Build trust where money risk is high

Unify legacy systems into one wallet

Design for diverse global behaviors

Balance speed with error prevention

Security visibility vs. simplicity: Progressive disclosure at setup and first payment; reduced minimalism for transparency.

Onboarding depth vs. speed: Deeper education upfront to lower anxiety and support load.

Biometric prominence: Primary auth; PIN backup to set modern expectations.

Card hierarchy: Default to most-used; confirm payments over thresholds.

Merchant visibility: Acceptance locator to reduce uncertainty despite complexity.

Financial UX patterns and mental models

Trust and security design

Cross-platform for mobile and wearables

High-frequency, high-stakes interactions

Progressive disclosure increased trust

Biometric-first strengthened perception of security

Merchant acceptance reduced pre-payment anxiety

Strong confirmations built confidence

Unified wallet simplified mental models

Lock screen access drove habits

Engage banks earlier in exploration

Invest more in regional behavior research

Start error recovery testing sooner

Build a reusable security pattern library

Define trust metrics beyond adoption

Prototype with real transactions earlier

Users need to see security working

Confirmations should feel substantial

Loyalty drove adoption more than expected

Wear OS shifted phone expectations

Failed payments disproportionately harm trust

Onboarding completion predicts engagement

Treat trust as a designed outcome. Prioritize transparency over minimalism, design error states early, and deliver contextual education through progressive disclosure. Design for behavior change, not just interface efficiency.

Advanced emotional design for anxiety and confidence, reframed regulation as design parameters, improved facilitation across stakeholders, and led through ambiguity at scale.

Trust = visibility, consistency, reliability

Security must be felt to be believed

Simplification requires deep domain fluency

Onboarding wins or loses trust

High-frequency flows demand invisible excellence

Design worst-case scenarios first

Ecosystem integration compounds value

Users trade convenience for confidence when money is involved

Users need to see security working; first payment shapes ongoing trust.

Failed transactions cause outsized anxiety; success confirmations matter.

Loyalty rewards drive adoption more than speed; lock screen access builds habits.

Merchant acceptance uncertainty blocks first use; locator reduces friction.

Biometrics preferred over PINs when explained; Wear OS reshapes phone expectations.

Users want spending insights without manual work; onboarding completion predicts engagement.

Competes with Apple Pay/Google Pay; bank partnerships are essential and complex.

Regional behaviors vary; NFC infrastructure inconsistent.

Ecosystem lock‑in is an advantage; cash remains strong in key demographics.

Progressive disclosure builds trust; security animations make processes visible.

Multi‑sensory confirmations (haptic/visual/audio) build confidence.

Merchant locator eases pre‑transaction anxiety; biometric‑first onboarding sets expectations.

Real‑time fraud alerts increase perceived security; unified wallet reduces cognitive load.

Lock screen shortcuts drive frequency; robust error recovery is trust‑critical.

NFC reliability varies by device/terminal; bank APIs add latency.

Tokenization is opaque to users; biometric hardware varies across devices.

Wear OS battery/sync constraints; real‑time merchant data hard to maintain.

Visible security increased adoption; users wanted more security info.

Loyalty outranked speed; Wear OS created new mental models.

Onboarding clarity beat brevity; merchant acceptance was a major barrier.

Failed payments had ~10x the trust impact of slow payments; substantive confirmations preferred.

Trust = visibility, consistency, reliability; security must be felt.

Onboarding is the trust moment; error states define trust more than happy paths.

Ecosystem integration compounds value; users trade convenience for confidence.

Worked: Progressive disclosure, biometric‑first auth, merchant locator, strong confirmations, unified wallet, lock screen access, loyalty, real‑time fraud alerts.

Didn’t: Minimalist security, late bank engagement, underestimating regional differences, delayed error recovery testing, assuming tokenization understanding.

Adoption +78%; transaction volume +124%; onboarding 34% → 81%.

Payment success 97%; security tickets −43%; rating 3.2 → 4.6.

Make security visible; design onboarding as conversion.

Prioritize error recovery; use progressive disclosure for complex concepts.

Use multi‑sensory confirmations; show merchant acceptance.

Integrate loyalty; leverage ecosystem shortcuts; track trust metrics alongside adoption.