From Gut to Data: Redesigning Wallet Onboarding Twice
Accrue × SNIPES • 2025–2026
I designed the onboarding blind, shipped it, then watched real data prove us wrong. So I redesigned the whole thing.
Jump to solutionDesigned for
SNIPES mobile app with Accrue embed SDK
Team
1 Designer, 2 PMs, 3 Engineers, 1 QA Engineer
Timeline
Phase 1: Apr–Aug 2025 · Phase 2: Jan–Mar 2026
My role
Research, Strategy, Design & Testing
THE CLIENT
Accrue × SNIPES
Accrue builds white-label wallet and loyalty platforms for enterprise retail brands. I worked as lead designer with SNIPES, a global sneaker retailer and Accrue's flagship merchant, redesigning how users fund and manage their wallets.
I joined Accrue in April 2025 while they were polishing the product for launch. The existing UI was outdated, and the move to add a SNIPES card (powered by Accrue) to Apple Pay for tap-in-store required a new flow. The goal: explain KYC requirements, legal agreements, and backup payment setup without overwhelming users. Each step had its own screen, its own friction, its own drop-off cliff.
THE CHALLENGE
My first assignment was the Apple Pay and backup payment flow. The scenario: a user standing in a SNIPES checkout line, downloading the app, trying to pay. They needed to finish onboarding fast enough to use the wallet before giving up and pulling out their regular card.
PROJECT GOALS
- 1Reduce onboarding drop-off and increase wallet activation
- 2Make identity verification feel approachable
- 3Explain backup payment so users trust the system
- 4Create patterns reusable across all Accrue merchants
THE PROCESS
Phase 1: Design by Instinct
Apr–Aug 2025No real user data. I redesigned based on stakeholder feedback, competitive analysis, and lean testing with internal teams. Soft launched with 50+ SNIPES employees.
Phase 2: Design by Data
Jan–Mar 2026Months of live Mixpanel, Clarity recordings, and user interviews revealed where the real drop-offs were. I rebuilt the experience around observed behavior.
Phase 1: Design by Instinct
Apr–Aug 2025No real user data. I redesigned based on stakeholder feedback, competitive analysis, and lean testing with internal teams. Soft launched with 50+ SNIPES employees.
Phase 2: Design by Data
Jan–Mar 2026Months of live Mixpanel, Clarity recordings, and user interviews revealed where the real drop-offs were. I rebuilt the experience around observed behavior.
THE PROBLEM
The existing onboarding was a wall of friction.
I audited the flow and found problems on every screen: intimidating language, missing context, buried rewards, and a progress bar that made users feel behind before they started.
Before: old 'Verify your Identity' screen (pre-redesign)
"Verify your Identity" sounded like a government audit
Feedback from Matt, Jordyn, and Michael confirmed it. All we asked for was a birthday. I renamed it 'Set Up Profile' and moved it after backup payment, since a DOB check is less intimidating than entering card details.
Before: old backup payment screen with unclear copy
Nobody understood why they should add a backup payment
The copy said 'backup payment' without explaining backup for what. I rewrote it to connect the dots: 'We'll charge this card beyond your balance. You'll earn 3% back on that amount.'
Before: old static reward screen
The reward screen felt like a popup ad
The onboarding reward ('$10 earned!') was static, small, and buried. I mapped all 26 possible reward states (known vs unknown, conditional vs unconditional, across SNIPES and Westside Market) and designed a celebration moment matched to the reward type.
Before: old full-width checklist progress bar
The checklist bar ate too much screen space
Users saw three unchecked steps and felt the weight of the process before they started. I compressed the progress indicator and added a pre-checked first step. People responded to feeling partway done.
PHASE 1 · DESIGNING BLIND
The product hadn't launched. Zero real users. We designed anyway.
SNIPES was months from going live. No Mixpanel, no Clarity recordings, no user interviews, because there were no users. I made every decision from stakeholder feedback, competitive instinct (Cash App's deferred KYC, Venmo's value-first sequencing), and the fastest feedback loop we could build. We shipped it and soft launched with 50+ SNIPES employees.
Before/after flow diagram: old sequence vs new Reward → Profile → Payment → Barcode
Reordered the flow to front-load value
I moved the $10 reward reveal to the beginning, before profile completion, before card entry. Users who saw the reward first were more motivated to complete the remaining steps.
STEP 1 OF 3
Select payment method
Apple Pay integration flow — 3 screens
Apple Pay as the primary payment method
I added Apple Pay as a first-class funding method for iOS users. One tap to authenticate, instant balance update. This addressed the in-store shopper's core need: speed at the register.
Step-by-step value prop cards with benefit copy
Every step now explains why it matters
Profile setup: 'This unlocks your $10.' Backup payment: 'Earn 3% back on every charge beyond your balance.' No step exists without a clear user benefit. The words were the barrier, so the words became the fix.
Soft launch event photos — SNIPES employees testing the app in-store
Shipped to 50+ SNIPES employees
We soft launched with store employees as beta testers. Their feedback validated the flow changes and gave us confidence before the public rollout. Phase 1 was done.
THE DATA
Six months after launch, we had real users. The funnel was worse than we expected.
By December 2025, SNIPES was live and we had months of Mixpanel data from real users. The funnel showed that drop-offs weren't where we assumed. The problem was motivation, not mechanics.
Mixpanel funnel: Wallet Created → KYC Submitted (55.9% drop-off)
55.9% dropped off at KYC
More than half of users who created a wallet never submitted identity verification. The step that felt minor to us felt monumental to them.
Mixpanel funnel: KYC → Load Cash screen (23% drop-off)
23% dropped off between KYC and Load Cash
Users who verified their identity still walked away before reaching the funding screen. Nothing between steps gave them a reason to keep going.
Mixpanel funnel: Load Cash screen → Any funding action (86% drop-off)
86% abandoned the load cash screen
86% of users who saw the load cash screen had created a wallet, verified their identity, and added a payment method. They left without funding. The business model depended on this step.
Card entry success rate: 99.99% — problem is upstream
Card entry worked at 99.99%
Users who attempted card entry completed it. The problem was upstream: 43,000+ users who finished their profile never tried to add a card.
RUNNING MY OWN RESEARCH
I sat down with family and friends.
I didn't wait for a formal research sprint. I walked Ranjana, Rajiv, and Mithu through the flow and listened to their confusion. Their questions told me things the funnel data couldn't.
Quote card: Ranjana's feedback on load cash confusion
"Why should I load cash first when I want to shop?"
Ranjana didn't understand the value. The 5% offer was tempting but she thought the cash was 'going to waste.' She asked if the reward would carry forward to her next purchase, and said if it did, she'd load. The flow didn't make this obvious.
Quote card: Rajiv's feedback on transfer confusion
"Cash transfers to whom?"
Rajiv wanted to know if this was SNIPES-only or if he could use the money anywhere. The phrase 'in-store' made him think it worked everywhere. He also didn't realize he could change his load amount. The defaults felt fixed.
Quote card: Mithu's feedback on value prop clarity
The percentage didn't land
Mithu didn't understand reward clearance timing. But she liked lifetime rewards, the idea that her total was accumulating. The percentage framing wasn't clicking. A concrete dollar amount ('You'll earn $1.50 on this purchase') would have worked better.
Nobody understood what loading cash did for them. The flow failed to answer the two questions every user had: "What do I get?" (kya milega) and "How do I use it?" (kaise use karenge).
THE PIVOT
Then the business changed the checkout model.
Store associates couldn't see user balances with tap-to-pay, so leadership shifted to barcode-based scan-and-pay. This dissolved the 'backup payment' framing and created a new challenge: how do you convince users to add a card when the concept that justified it no longer exists?
Scan-to-pay barcode screen with balance toggle
From tap-to-pay to barcode scan
Store associates kept raising the same complaint: they couldn't see a user's balance to encourage wallet transactions. Leadership shifted to barcode-based scan-and-pay, changing the checkout paradigm and introducing a balance toggle for users.
V2 load cash screen — hero layout with 3 benefit cards and primary CTA
Load cash got a value prop section
Three to four short, specific benefits with icons. 'Faster checkout.' 'Higher approval chance.' 'Protect your bank card.' Each one targeted a concern from the interviews.
KYC blocking states — blocked vs under review vs resolved
KYC blocking states got honest
A rise in fraudulent activity led to stricter rules, pushing more users into blocked states. I simplified the experience: if you're blocked, the dashboard tells you. If you're in review, we set a time expectation. No dead ends, always a way back.
STEP 1 OF 3
Select payment method
OCR card scanning flow — camera viewfinder → auto-detect → confirm
OCR card scanning to eliminate manual entry
I researched 18 competitor apps and recommended OCR card scanning via on-device SDK (BlinkCard or Apple Vision). Camera-based scanning removes manual entry, critical for the in-store context where speed matters most.
THE SOLUTION
A simplified, data-informed onboarding.
I rebuilt the onboarding around one rule: every screen must justify its existence with a specific data point or user quote.
3-step stepper flow: Sign Up → Profile → Payment
Streamlined 3-step stepper
Feedback from Jesse, Mimi, and Jordyn confirmed the onboarding was too long. I compressed it into a 3-step stepper: Sign Up → Complete Profile → Set Up Payment. Each step shows why it matters.
Barcode hero screen with balance display and card-linking nudge
Barcode screen as the hero moment
The barcode screen, the thing users need to pay in-store, became the destination. The onboarding points toward it. 'Complete your profile to get your barcode' is a stronger motivator than 'verify your identity.'
Safety Net — Tap to explore
Barcode screen with card-linking nudge pill
"Spend more than $10? Add a card."
Jordyn's idea: a pill nudge on the barcode screen that drives card linking at the moment users understand why they need it. When they're about to pay and their $10 balance falls short, the nudge has context.
Skip friction screen — value props with respectful dual CTAs
Skip friction that educates
When users try to skip a step, they see what they're leaving behind, presented with respect. 'Continue without a card' is always available. No guilt-trip copy, no dark patterns.
FINAL DESIGNS
The complete onboarding experience, screen by screen.
From sign-up to barcode. Every screen redesigned for clarity, speed, and trust, with a real data point behind each decision.
Complete onboarding flow — all screens from checklist to barcode
The full stepper flow: checklist overview → profile → payment → barcode
Scan & Pay barcode screen with balance toggle
The destination: scan-and-pay with Reserve balance toggle
OCR card scanning viewfinder
Camera-based card scanning for faster payment setup
Skip friction with value props
Respectful skip flow that educates without guilt
Mixpanel funnel overlay — before and after redesign
Data-informed design: every change traced to a specific funnel insight
THE IMPACT
67K → 108
The funnel we're fixing
67,000 wallets created. 108 completed funding. Phase 2 targets the 86% drop-off at load cash. In development now.
99.99%
Card entry success rate
Card entry mechanics work. The redesign shifts focus to creating motivation: 43,000+ users who completed their profile never attempted card entry.
12 → 3
Onboarding steps
Compressed from a multi-screen checklist to a 3-step stepper. Reduced perceived effort before users start.
In dev
Phase 2 status
The redesigned stepper flow, barcode hero, and OCR card scanning are in development. Tracking first-fund rate, card-link rate, and time-to-barcode.
Phase 2 is in development. Outcome metrics are pending. But the redesign reframed the problem: card entry mechanics worked (99.99% success). 43,000+ users who completed their profile never attempted to add a card. Phase 2 targets motivation, not plumbing.
LOOKING BACK
Gut instinct gets you started, data gets you there
Phase 1 shipped without live user data, and it worked well enough to launch. Phase 2 showed that our assumptions about where users struggled were wrong. The biggest drop-off was in a place we hadn't prioritized.
Copy is design
Renaming 'Verify your Identity' to 'Set Up Profile' changed how users perceived the step. 'Backup payment' meant nothing until we explained backup for what.
Test with real people
Sitting down with Ranjana, Rajiv, and Mithu gave me more actionable insight in one afternoon than weeks of funnel analysis. Their confusion was immediate and specific.
WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY
I would have pushed harder for Mixpanel and Clarity integration from day one. We spent months designing in the dark when instrumentation could have told us where to focus.
LOOKING AHEAD
Exploring post-transaction hooks to drive card linking, expanding OCR card scanning for faster onboarding, and iterating on the scan-and-pay barcode experience based on in-store associate feedback.