Can I make a payment right now?

Making our customers payment processes more seamless one transaction at a time.

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My Role in this transformation

• Research coordination
• Visual QA and product testing
• Design enhancement
• Stakeholders involvement
• New patterns documentation

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Take it one transaction at a time!

Do our days pass without a single payment transaction? Rarely, if ever. If prompted to recall our most recent payment, it's likely that many would cite today, yesterday, or at the very least, within the past week. In today's digital age, the convenience of online payments reigns supreme, offering a sense of accomplishment when executed seamlessly and without complication. However, the reality often falls short of this ideal. Navigating the myriad platforms and payment processing systems online can transform a simple task into a bewildering ordeal, demanding heightened attention and precision. Shouldn't the act of making a payment be as effortless as tapping a button and moving on? This question drove our team to prioritize user-centric design in our quest to streamline the payment experience. By harnessing the principles of conversational design and delving into the intricacies of payment processing, we embarked on an extensive research endeavor. We examined common queries posed by our customers and closely observed their behaviors throughout the payment process. Armed with this understanding, we embarked on refining existing user journeys, with a keen focus on accommodating user needs and preferences. The result? An enhanced payment experience designed to be more intuitive and user-friendly, accompanied by comprehensive support every step of the way. Our commitment to facilitating seamless transactions underscores our dedication to delivering exceptional service and meeting the evolving needs of our valued customers.

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Let’s make a payment now

With Verizon's extensive history of developing chatbot components spanning over a decade, I inherited a robust foundation upon which to build. Drawing inspiration from both web and app experiences, I embarked on refining our system to imbue it with a more conversational tone, particularly focusing on optimizing the payment journey for our customers. Through the evolution of our Verizon assistant, customers can now seamlessly make payments directly within the chat interface, eliminating the need for cumbersome login procedures or navigating through various platforms. To initiate this project, I conducted a comprehensive review of our previous designs and backend data, identifying areas for enhancement to streamline the payment process and elevate the overall user experience.

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Leveraging Generative AI

Generative AI serves as a cornerstone in our content strategy and design initiatives, providing invaluable support in our pursuit of strategic objectives. Collaborating closely with this technology has empowered us to concentrate on strategic imperatives while harnessing AI capabilities to drive efficiency and foster innovation in content and design production. Central to our approach is the meticulous selection of language that is clear, non-intrusive, and oriented towards emphasizing user benefits. This deliberate choice ensures that our communications resonate positively with customers, prompting them to engage seamlessly in bill payment activities and fostering a pleasant overall experience.

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The redesign process

During our analysis of the existing flow, we identified shortcomings in both the layout and logic. Concurrently, we sought validation of our findings through the Verizon Community forum, where customers echoed our concerns. Their feedback emphasized the need for a more seamless experience, one that minimizes the need for frequent pauses and deliberations at each step.

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The way I proceeded with my improvement followed these key intents:

• Always promote Auto Pay as it is a crucial part of the payment experiences.
• See where we can declutter and bring in more explanation to the widgets, when needed.
• Make sure it’s clear what information goes in the widgets and what needs to show in speech bubbles.

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Key Takeaways

Addressing our low customer success rates in payment submissions required a reevaluation of how we present critical information to our users. Previously, our designs inundated users with excessive data devoid of clear benefits. Our revamped approach centers on enhancing user engagement through conversational interactions with our virtual assistant. We meticulously refine the responses it delivers, aiming to instill confidence and impart relevant information to users. A pivotal change lies in the initial stage of the "Pay now" flow, where we've overhauled the approach to customer intents. In contrast to the previous setup, which directed users to select a service without contextual information, our new approach prioritizes clarity and comprehension. For instance, users are now provided detailed bill information for joint accounts, while past due customers receive concise status updates. This strategic adjustment ensures a more user-centric experience, fostering greater success in payment submissions.

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Improvements

Implementing changes to the initial speech bubble for standalone customers and enriching information for joint customers is essential. By presenting users with pertinent details at the outset of their interaction, we enhance their familiarity with the flow and facilitate a smoother experience. This phase also presents an opportune moment to consider integrating new functionalities, a task I diligently pursued. Concurrently, I conducted a thorough examination of existing backend capabilities to ensure comprehensive utilization within this flow. The revised happy path flow now boasts enhanced coherence, underscoring a unified experience shared by both Mobile and Home services.

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To be noted

During the creation of the payment flows, careful consideration was given to accommodating various payment methods, including an important one for Verizon—gift cards. Recognizing the significance of this payment option, our design now ensures that customers are kept informed about the remaining balance on their gift cards. This enhancement was prompted by customer feedback, addressing previous complaints regarding the lack of visibility into gift card balances. By incorporating this feature, we have significantly improved the customer experience, aligning with their expressed preferences. It's worth noting that gift card payments are exclusively available to Mobile customers.

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A significant departure from the previous design involves providing customers with assistance in paying past due balances. Past due customers now have the option to either settle their past due balance or pay their full balance, offering them flexibility and alleviating concerns about affordability. Our rationale behind this approach is rooted in the belief that by empowering customers to address their past due balances directly, they are more likely to take proactive steps towards resolution. This straightforward option facilitates their transition out of the "past due" status, promoting financial stability and peace of mind.

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Some more details

Now that you saw the full “pay now” flows, its time to take a look at the more detailed use cases that we had to bring into the flow. These functionalities could only be found on the web experience, so we had to see how we could add them to the assistant so customers could fulfill all their requests in one, easy, conversational spot.

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The functions are:

• Same day payment restrictions
• One-time payment for unauthorized users
• Member-only one-time payment
• Hotline customers (restore a past due interruption)

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For unauthorized one-time payments, Home customers are sent out to the web because of the way payments are processed, but Mobile customers  are actually able to make these payments within the assistant chat. Mobile customers can also choose between their active account and disconnected accounts, if needed.

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Another version of a one-time payment is for member payments. This is when a member of an account who is not an owner is logged in and wants to make a payment towards the bill.

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Last but not least is for when customers, who had their services turned off due to being past due, have the ability to restore their account. We prompt them to make a payment in order to have their service restored.

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Conclusion

This project served as a profound revelation regarding the integral role of same-day payments within the Verizon assistant experience. As designers, our foremost objective is to furnish customers with the necessary information and guidance to facilitate their payment processes, recognizing the potential confusion and complexity inherent in such transactions. By ensuring customers are well-informed and guided through each step of the payment journey, we preemptively mitigate issues that may otherwise lead to escalations due to inadequate clarity or understanding. Navigating the intricacies of payments, replete with various restrictions and authorization statuses, can indeed be daunting for customers. Our approach, therefore, was centered on implementing a seamless, step-by-step guidance system, designed to alleviate confusion and streamline the payment experience. Through this concerted effort, we empower customers to navigate the payment process with confidence and ease, fostering greater satisfaction and trust

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Accomplishments

After our new and improved Pay now services were rolled out, we saw:

• a difference in satisfaction from customers by 8% - Web was 79% and Chat Bot was 87%
• a difference in containment of 8% - Web was 81% and Chat Bot was 89%