Project

Visa Donate

About
Visa Donate is a roundup product that allows users to donate their transaction roundups to charities or causes of their choice. When a user makes a purchase, the charge automatically rounds up to the nearest dollar, and that roundup difference collects in a fund to be donated by the user. The goal is to make donating and supporting good causes easier for people as they go about their daily lives.
The Product
This product is delivered by a web-first SDK that functions within card issuer sites and applications. For the pilot, users round up to the nearest dollar and donate to one charity. They have two options for sending their donation transfers - manual to enable more control, or automatic for set-it-and-forget-it convenience. Post-pilot, these capabilities will be expanded, and additional features will be introduced (e.g. donation gamification, education on charity causes).
The Team
Our team consisted of two product owners, two designers, a researcher, and a team of developers.
My Role & Contribution
  • Led the product design
  • Listed as inventor on patented product
  • Ran brainstorming workshops to align team
  • Responsible for determining all post-enrollment UX and UI
  • Created all responsive designs
  • Managed multiple prototypes
  • Provided usability testing support
  • Supported development team at all stages
The Outcome
This product was fully developed and patented, and the line of business was looking for a partner bank to launch with when the project was put on hold. However, the project acted as the first proof of concept for the new Innovation team, and was a high-visibility success.
User Research
Our research team conducted preliminary user research with both habitual donators (of various levels) along with charity representatives that manage donations. The main priorities that donators wanted to see in a roundup donation platform were control, ease, and clarity of donations.
Getting Started
After a new product team started on the project, there was a lot of questions surrounding what we were going to prioritize for pilot and later MVP. To better determine our focus and development stages, my partner designer and I conducted a brainstorming session to align on product scope.
Brainstorming Output
Service Blueprint
Once prioritization was achieved, the design team led work on a service blueprint to better align project development across functions. This mapping distinctly identified concerns the development team had about backend functionality, and we were able to address how said concerns would interact with the user actions.
Service Blueprint
Illustrative Prototype
In order to validate demand and engage stakeholders for our new project, my partner designer and I created a rapid illustrative prototype for Visa leaders and clients to view at the Visa Payments Forum. Our prototype went over very well, and we gained a lot of support for the project and team.
View Illustrative Prototype
Understanding Impact
Users reported not knowing what kind of impact their donations have. Central to the illustrative dashboard is tracking current roundups alongside donations over time.

Learning More
Users also wanted to better understand how their donations might be used by a charity, and how to better find charities they could trust. In the bottom section of the dashboard, I included placeholder links that would provide relevant details about selected charities.
Selection of screens shown at Visa Payments Forum
Transition to Web
First Concept
Soon after the illustrative prototype was created, the business decided that the product would be a SDK that sits within partnered banking platforms (for the pilot), so we prioritized web-first responsive design.

At this point, we thought the SDK would be full-screen, so I took advantage of that. With the increased real estate of a web-first product, I wanted to create an understandable and functional dashboard for users. Because the product would exist within a user's banking website, I wanted all actions to be able to be taken without the user having to leave the Donate dashboard page. In the wireframes below, when a user makes a payment, the dashboard elements would expand, minimize, and rearrange for them to be able to do so.
Visa Donate Dashboard Wireframes (dashboard and payment)
High-fidelity
During the transition to high-fidelity, development informed us that rather than a full-page SDK, Visa Donate would exist as an overlay. Additionally, we continued to shift our pilot scope, narrowing the focus in some areas while expanding in others. However, the overarching goal of user simplicity, clarity, and ease remained.
Visa Donate Dashboard High-fidelity (dashboard and payment)
Visa Donate - All Screens
Usability Testing
We went through several rounds of usability testing to fine-tune the product details that would be developed for the pilot. Overall, the product was very intuitive and well-understood by the testing audiences.
View Prototype
Development
I worked closely with our development team to ensure that all design details and interactions were well-understood. I designed all of the mobile responsive screens, as well as all error/alternative states that were needed.
Next Steps
Plan to Launch Pilot
There were many personnel changes during this project, but the team that remained continued to push the product toward successful development. Once Visa Donate was fully developed, its launch was put on pause, as there were further organizational changes that impacted all Innovation products. Visa Donate will launch once a pilot partner is secured.

Branding Alignment
We were working with the branding team to ensure this product was ready to be released under the Visa domain. Together, we looked to bring brand moments of delight to the experience, and would have continued to do so if the project wasn't paused due to restructuring.
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New Features, Improved Product
Personally, I would have looked forward to bringing this product to the next stage of user experience post-pilot as more features are incorporated. As it grows, I do believe that this product could become one that enables users to look forward to donating.