Reducing friction in sign-up

Problem

44% of experts were dropping off during onboarding when asked to enter banking details. It was the first time we asked for sensitive information, and most users weren't ready. Fewer experts meant fewer completed tasks, which meant less revenue for the company.

Goal

Increase the number of experts who complete onboarding and submit payment details.

Process

I followed a design-thinking process to explore and test new approaches quickly.

Understand the problem

Research users, business goals, and context.

Define the opportunity

Identify the core problem worth solving.

Explore solutions

Generate and evaluate potential approaches.

Build & iterate

Create prototypes and refine through feedback.

Validate impact

Measure outcomes and learn what worked.

Research

User research showed the issue was a lack of trust in an unestablished product. Experts didn't feel confident entering banking details so early. Key themes from the interviews included:

Users wanted proof the platform was legitimate
There was confusion about how payment info would be used
Users weren't sure who covered customer fees

Define

We reframed the problem with key questions:

How might we improve trust and legitimacy?
How might we delay sensitive steps?
How might we provide reassurance early in the journey?

How might we ensure experts feel comfortable entering their payment information?

Sketch

We explored ideas like delaying payment entry, highlighting Stripe earlier, and clarifying how payments worked.

Solution sketches.

Decide

We prioritised ideas that addressed trust and timing. The most promising concepts:

Defer payment setup
Show Stripe branding early
Trigger payment entry only after real user intent (e.g. accepting a task)

Prototype

I used our design system to build a high-fidelity prototype that reflected the new onboarding journey. The goal was to feel transparent and secure without interrupting flow.

Adding banking later — prompted only after accepting a task.

Validate

We tested with experts again. Most appreciated being able to skip payment and felt more confident seeing Stripe. The experience felt clearer and safer.

Explaining Stripe as a safe, trusted service.

What we changed

We redesigned the onboarding flow to build trust and reduce friction:

Experts could now skip payment setup and add it later
We clarified how and when payment info would be used
We delayed the prompt for payment until after accepting a first task