OTO PAY: Redefining Crypto Payments
Project Overview
As a startup holding the Australia Digital Currency Provider License, OTO PAY is committed to developing a brand-new application designed to provide crypto-based payment, transaction, and management services for the Australian market. In this project, I served as project manager, responsible for guiding the product development lifecycle from concept to launch, coordinating cross-functional teams, defining project scopes and timelines, managing resources, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, and continually optimizing user experience based on feedback and market trends.
Market Challenges
We recognized that existing products in the market were not fully meeting user needs, displaying issues such as complex user interfaces, security vulnerabilities, and a lack of educational resources. My job was to ensure that OTO PAY excelled in these areas, meeting and exceeding user expectations.
Target Audience
Our target customer base is incredibly diverse, including cryptocurrency investors, tech enthusiasts, small businesses, international students, fintech aficionados, and more. My role was to understand their needs and enhance user experience through creative solutions and design innovation.
Sydney
Headquater
Finance
Industry
Product Manager
Position
Oct 2022-Present
Timeline
Brand Design
In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, simplicity is key. OTO PAY’s design philosophy is rooted in minimalism, creating a user-friendly and approachable atmosphere. This not only makes the application more accessible to newcomers in the crypto space but also ensures that experienced users can navigate and perform transactions with ease. The straightforward design aligns perfectly with the needs of our diverse customer base, ranging from tech enthusiasts to small businesses.
Logo and Symbolism
The logo features an owl, a visual play on 'OTO' and a symbol of vigilance and security, crucial in digital currency and resonating particularly with crypto investors and fintech enthusiasts.
Color Palette
The color palette combines dominant blue tones (HEX: #22CCEE, #2498F1, #1F88DE) suggesting trust and stability, with neutral grays and white (HEX: #F0F1F3, #FFFFFF) for a modern feel, and a dark tone (HEX: #292E34) for professionalism. This blend aims to attract a diverse audience, including tech innovators and environmentalists.
Design Elements
Owl motifs throughout the design emphasize both brand identity and a commitment to environmental responsibility, connecting with the values of environmentally conscious users.
User Experience Design
In our UX/UI design process, I led the design team in an extensive market research phase, delving deep into a range of applications, from major crypto exchanges and decentralized exchanges to niche, innovative start-ups within the crypto and DEX realms. Additionally, our scope extended to Australian banks and emerging international online banks, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of dominant design trends and popular features. Our goal was always rooted in simplicity; the world of cryptocurrency, often daunting to the uninitiated, needed a more approachable presentation. We aimed to demystify the complexities of crypto, presenting it in an accessible and friendly manner to alleviate initial hesitations and foster a stronger bond between the product and its users. Hence, our designs prioritize reducing user operational steps and adopting straightforward, user-friendly language as our UX narrative.
User Onboarding
Registration: A simple yet comprehensive sign-up process to ensure user authenticity.
KYC (Know Your Customer): Ensuring compliance and security by verifying user identity.
Funds Management
Deposit
Seamless integration for users to deposit fiat or crypto. Enhanced security with 2FA, email, and SMS confirmations.
Trading & OTO PAY Virtual Credit Card Recharge
An intuitive trading interface combined with options to recharge the OTO PAY virtual credit card.
Withdrawal
Facilitating easy withdrawals of fiat or crypto, again with reinforced security protocols.
Safety & Notifications
User Security
Implementing double confirmation through 2FA, email, or SMS for significant actions.
System Notifications
Automatic email reminders to keep users updated and engaged.
OTO PAY Deposit Feature Overview
Introduction
The deposit functionality of OTO PAY seamlessly integrates both traditional (fiat) and digital (crypto) currency deposits, catering to a wide range of users.
Project Rationale
Crafted for a diverse user base, the deposit feature offers a comprehensive solution for everyone, from cryptocurrency enthusiasts to forex traders.
UI/UX Highlights
Main Deposit Page
Intuitive navigation options.
Dynamic currency switcher.
Real-time currency conversion.
Mobile View
Streamlined currency selection with a user-friendly pop-up feature.
Performance Metrics
Ensures swift response times.
High system availability for an uninterrupted user experience.
Designing for tech enthusiasts and crypto traders aged 18-50.
Infusing the dense world of cryptocurrency with a forest-themed, user-friendly experience.
Elevating Team Synergy and Product Excellence
Collaboration and Implementation
In my collaboration with various team members such as designers, engineers, and interns, my primary role was to ensure that both the design and implementation of the product met user needs and maintained a high standard of quality. I enhanced communication and collaboration within the team through holding review meetings and team building activities.
Indeed, there were some challenges in communicating UI details with front-end engineers, especially when there were deviations in the implementation of designs. To resolve these issues, I introduced CSS Lint and visual regression testing tools to help identify and fix discrepancies. We also held regular review meetings to ensure consistency between design and code.
I was involved in a series of strategies and techniques to ensure high-quality implementation of the product, including code reviews, static code analysis, unit and integration testing, security reviews, performance optimization, user experience and accessibility reviews, a strict release process, as well as monitoring and log management.
Results and Feedback
Although this project has not officially launched yet, we have already received positive feedback from our internal team and investors. We are utilizing this feedback to further refine product details, ensuring that we can provide the best user experience upon official release.
Skills and Tools
In this project, I used a range of tools to enhance the efficiency and quality of the project. This included Figma for design collaboration, Notion for document management and task tracking, Jira for agile development and issue tracking, GitHub for version control and code reviews, as well as Slack for team communication.
I maximized the capabilities of these tools to improve our workflows, such as using Figma’s components and styles to create reusable design elements, utilizing Notion’s knowledge base feature to collect and share best practices, and leveraging Jira’s reporting and analytics tools to assess team performance.
In the OTO PAY project, I believe my most significant contributions were establishing clear requirements with investors, conducting in-depth market and user research, as well as ensuring communication and collaboration among the team. I also participated in formulating relevant security measures and compliance policies to safeguard the security of user and platform funds.
After completing this project, I realized the importance of staying up-to-date with technical and market trends, as well as strengthening team communication to build consensus and a shared vision. These experiences and insights will be very helpful for my future work and professional development.