Afropay, An international banking system for Africa

Abubakar Zubair

UX Designer

Product Designer

Discord

Figma

Afro pay is a payment solution positioned to make use of the PAPSS Infrastructure of the African Union. This payment solution is to enable users within Africa send and receive money to local receiving banks from local sending banks.

So this is how it will work in summary: A user in Nigeria using the Afro pay solution will be able to link their Nigerian local bank to Afro pay, and will be able to use Afro pay to send money from their linked Local bank to the local bank account of any receiver residing anywhere in Africa.

And this will be done without converting to Naira which is the local currency of Nigeria to FX before converting to the currency of the receiving country.

The Problem

Sending (or receiving) money across various African countries currently is tasking as most funds would need to be converted to FX before initiating transactions to Recipients (or senders) in their own currency.

This makes the boundless payment for goods and/or services between African countries tedious (or cumbersome)

The Goal

To be able to make and receive payments for goods and services across Africa without the hassles of converting the local currency to FX before conducting the transaction.

Its a complete roadmap for every product

Design is a process

01

Meetings & Briefs

Hearing directly from stakeholders and documenting the crued problem for understanding the problem at hand.

02

Empathize

Learning more about the problem by hearing from the users facing the problem or secondary data.

03

Define d Problem

Creating Problem statement stating the problem from the perspective of the users facing the problem

04

Ideation

Brainstorming to come up with ideas that can serve as solutions to the problems in the problem statement

05

Prototype

Prototyping Fidelity designs help designers gather feedback, iterate on concepts, and refine their solutions.

06

Testing

By testing, designers can identify potential issues, validate assumptions, and make informed design decisions.

User Persona

Damain Anuli

Damian is a student at the Njala University in Sierra Leone.

Limitations

Paying for my fees is such a hassle as most times I have to carry Naira with me to Sierra Leone, and then convert to the Sierra Leonean leone.

Goals

A Virtual rTo be able to pay my school fees from Nigeria to my University’s account without going through the hassles of converting the Naira to the Sierra Leonean leone everytime before payment.

User Persona

User Research

Within the research phase due to the short period of time for this project, we were only able to get in-touch with few users for an open-end interview. The major aim of the interview was to understand how we could create a digital solution where user can be able to make and receive payments across Africa without having to convert to FX before completing the transaction.

User research is the basic means by which data are collected, categorized and analyzed in order to create a solution that solves “real life” problems. Research was a key part of this project and the design journey as it helped to get insight from potential users as well as the opportunities it will create. The primary criteria for carrying out a user research are the qualitative and quantitative methods. As explained below;

We carried out a quantitative research of about 10 participants and online research with the focus to finding the current solution that they use and finding ways to improve on it and make their experiences better. And we had an open end interview with the participants with the aim to understanding their motivations and pain points from their previous experiences.

We created a survey form which had 18 participants as part of the quantitative research to get some direct answers to some question like age bracket, participants preferences. The information gathered fueled the rest part of the design process.

Competitor Analysis

While analyzing and researching we were able to find some Fintech related solution to check their strengths, weaknesses, benefits and opportunities that could be implemented in our solution.

Pain Points

Pain points from various users from different background was identified and documented through open end interviews and also reference to our user personas, and real life issues while desiging the solution.

User Persona

In order to understand out users better, and how they might interact with our solution, with these we got insight as to how the users utilizes the solution and how the solution would solve the users problem.

User Tasks / Task Flows

We were able to point out model methods for the solution being designed( Fintech product). Identified task was then presented with a flow to understand how the user will interact with the product in general.

User Research

Task Flows / User Tasks

We followed a lean UX design thinking process to ensure that the decisions were supported through user research and feedback.

Task Flows / User Tasks

Explorations

Low & High Fidelity Mockup

Low-fidelity wireframes are simplified and rough representations of a digital interface or design concept. They are typically created during the early stages of the design process to quickly explore ideas and concepts without getting into detailed visual design or interaction specifics.

High-fidelity mockups refer to highly detailed and visually polished representations of a user interface or design concepts. They are created using design software or tools that allow for precise control over visual elements, typography, colors, and interactive components.

Onboarding Flow

The primary goal of the onboarding flow is to provide a smooth and seamless experience for users while collecting the necessary information to establish their accounts and verify their identities

High Fidelity

Authentication Flow

The authentication flow for a fintech mobile app typically involves a series of steps that allow users to securely log in and access their accounts. The primary goal is to verify the user’s identity and protect their sensitive financial information.

High Fidelity

Sign Up & Forgot Password

The sign-up flow allows new users to create accounts and verify their email addresses, while the forgot password flow provides a mechanism for users to securely reset their passwords if they forget or need to change them.

High Fidelity

Sign Up & Forgot Password Flow

High Fidelity

Link bank to Afropay Flow

The flow to link a bank account to the AfroPay wallet in a fintech mobile app typically involves several steps to securely connect the user’s bank account with the app.

High Fidelity

Fund Afropay Wallet Flow

The fund wallet flow in Afropay refers to the process of adding money or funds to the user’s digital wallet within the Afropay. This allows users to store funds securely within the app for various financial transactions and services.

High Fidelity

Transfer Funds Flow

The transfer funds flow in Afropay, refers to the process of sending money from one user’s Afropay wallet to another user’s wallet or to an external bank account.

High Fidelity

Transaction History Flow

The flow to view transaction history in Afropay mobile app allows users to review and track their past financial transactions.

High Fidelity

It's fully built

Lessons

Trust building and credibility establishment using simple modern and standard designs

Leadership skills and also the ability to work with fellow designers from remote locations

Importance of data and privacy protection especially for a fintech application

Next Steps

Conduct thorough testing of the app to identify and resolve any bugs, errors, or usability issues.

Ensuring that Afropay complies with relevant laws and regulations.

Develop a comprehensive marketing and promotion plan to raise awareness and attract users to your fintech app.

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Posted Sep 9, 2023

Afro pay is a payment solution positioned to make use of the PAPSS Infrastructure of the African Union.

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