Before I joined, Parcel.money offered essential payment features like one-time and recurring payments, mass payouts, and CSV uploads. However, poor usability, a weak brand identity, and a frustrating user experience held it back.
Key Impact Metrics:
✔️ 30% Faster Onboarding – Streamlined setup and better guidance.
✔️ 25% More Successful Transactions – Simulation feature reduced failures.
✔️ 40% Reduction in User Drop-offs – Improved navigation, clarity, and accessibility.
✔️ 1.75x Growth in Adoption – Better reporting and recipient management, with $300M+ in payouts processed.
How might we improve Parcel’s UX and visual identity to make it easier to use, increase transaction confidence, create a smoother experience?
UX Design, User Research, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Visual Design
As a fast-paced startup, there was no fixed timeline—the product evolved weekly based on user needs.
Figma, FigJam
In early 2021, DeFi payment solutions lacked strong infrastructure, leading to security risks and friction. Parcel aimed to simplify crypto transactions for DAOs, but users struggled with:
❌ Confusing onboarding → Difficult setup & poor guidance.
❌ No reporting tools → DAOs struggled to track payouts.
❌ Frequent transaction failures → Users lost gas fees on failed payments.
To fix this, I conducted a UX audit to uncover usability gaps and drive improvements.
To identify key friction points, I conducted a UX audit using:
🔍 User Interviews → Gathered insights from DAO treasurers & contributors.
🔍 App Audit → Identified usability gaps in Parcel V1.
🔍 Competitor Benchmarking → Studied industry best practices.
🔍 User Personas → Mapped key behaviors to refine user workflows.
Key Challenges & Insights
Users faced multiple hurdles that slowed adoption:
Confusing Onboarding – Users struggled to set up accounts.
Lack of Payment Education – Unclear steps led to hesitation.
Poor UI Hierarchy – Key details (approvals, balances) were hard to spot.
Security Concerns – Users lacked confidence in transactions.
Mobile Experience – The platform wasn’t optimized for mobile users, affecting accessibility.
Scalability Issues – The existing design couldn’t support future feature expansions smoothly.
We needed to rethink Parcel’s core workflows to make DAO payments smoother and more scalable.
Parcel had already processed $55M+ in payouts for 200+ DAOs and 2,500+ individuals, but usability challenges slowed adoption and efficiency. To scale payments effectively, we prioritized a UX revamp that streamlined transactions, improved clarity, and enhanced user guidance.
Parcel Stats Source: X.com post
To understand which features needed improvements, we categorized them based on impact and demand. This helped us focus on high-priority updates while ensuring scalability.
Feature Revamp & Prioritization
This breakdown gave us clear direction on where to focus. Given its high demand and frequent use, we prioritized Quick Payout as the first feature to be redesigned. The goal was to streamline the process, eliminate friction, and improve transaction speed for DAOs and individuals.
Next, let’s dive into how we approached the Quick Payout redesign and the impact it created.
In Parcel V1, the "One Time" feature allowed users to send one-time payments, but feedback showed it lacked efficiency for DAOs handling multiple instant payouts. Users consistently mentioned they needed a faster, more flexible way to process payments. Based on this, we rebranded it as "Quick Payout" in V2—highlighting its core value of speed and convenience in handling instant payments seamlessly.
To address key pain points, we overhauled the feature with a focus on bulk transactions, better tracking, and enhanced user control.
Key Issues in (V1) VS. Quick Payout (V2) – Key Improvements
See the before-and-after screens of Quick Payout.
BEFORE
AFTER
To overcome these issues, Quick Payout V2 introduced key improvements for faster and more flexible transactions.
What changed?
✔️ Users can now pay up to 10 recipients in a single transaction.
✔️ Added recipient search via wallet address or ENS name.
✔️ Users can pay new recipients without manually adding them.
What changed?
✔️ Real-time balance & USD conversion displayed inline.
✔️ Users no longer need to switch wallet screens to verify funds.
What changed?
✔️ Added Tags, Categories, and Comments for tracking payments.
✔️ Example: “Product Designer,” “Expense,” “Web Development.”
What changed?
✔️ Left side: Input recipient details.
✔️ Right side: View all recipients in queue + edit/delete options.
✔️ Summary section: Displays total payout amount in USD before initiating transaction.
What changed?
✔️ The simulation feature helps avoid failed transactions by testing them on-chain first, saving gas fees. If an issue is detected, users see a warning instead of losing fees on a failed payment. (Powered by Tenderly.com)
While Quick Payout was a major focus, other key areas of Parcel V2 were also improved. Here’s a look at the before & after transformations across different features:
1. Streamlined Onboarding
Key Issue (V1):
❌ Lengthy, confusing setup process led to high drop-offs.
❌ Users lacked clarity on required approvals.
Improvements (V2):
✔️ Guided onboarding flow with clear steps.
✔️ Design a user-friendly layout to reduce confusion.
BEFORE
AFTER
2. Dashboard Revamp
Key Issue (V1):
❌ Lack of key stats made decision-making difficult.
❌ Poorly designed token distribution pie chart.
❌ Recent transaction listing was cluttered and unclear.
Improvements (V2):
✔️ Clear financial stats overview for quick insights.
✔️ Refined token distribution visualization for better clarity.
✔️ Improved recent transactions with structured data.
BEFORE
AFTER
3. Enhanced Transactions Tracking
Key Issue (V1):
❌ No centralized view for pending and past transactions.
❌ Users struggled to track approvals and execution status.
Improvements (V2):
✔️ New Pending Transactions tab for better visibility.
✔️ Clear approval statuses and execution history.
BEFORE
AFTER
4. Optimized Mass Payouts
Key Issue (V1):
❌ Bulk payment process was unclear and lacked flexibility.
❌ Unable to add multiple tokens per recipient.
Improvements (V2):
✔️ Inline recipient editing before execution.
✔️ Streamlined steps to select recipients, assign tokens, and review payouts.
✔️ Added simulation feature here too.
BEFORE
AFTER
5. CSV Payouts – Smoother Processing
Key Issue (V1):
❌ Complicated process for CSV payouts.
❌ Modal layout is confusing for complex payments.
Improvements (V2):
✔️ Real-time validation for CSV errors before submission.
✔️ Step-by-step process for executing CSV payout.
✔️ Added simulation feature here too.
BEFORE
AFTER
1. Requests – A New Way to Manage Incoming Payments
Challenge:
🔴 DAOs had no structured way to request payments from contributors.
Solution:
✔️ New Payment Requests feature for easier fund requests.
✔️ DAOs can create and manage invite links for payment requests.
2. Due Payouts – Improved DAO Payment Management
Challenge:
🔴 DAOs struggled to track due and upcoming recurring transactions
Solution:
✔️ Due Payouts Dashboard displaying pending transactions.
✔️ Automated reminders for unpaid dues.
Improved user experience & adoption by making:
✔️ 30% reduction in onboarding time
✔️ 25% increase in transaction success
✔️ 40% reduction in user drop-offs
✔️ 75% increase in DAO adoption (1.75x growth)
✔️ Better Business Outcomes
✔️ Higher user retention & engagement.
✔️ Streamlined transaction management.
➡️ User Research is Key – Direct feedback led to impactful changes.
➡️ Data-Driven Design Decisions – UX metrics validated design success.
➡️ Leadership in Product Design – Strengthened my ability to drive meaningful UX improvements.
This redesign transformed Parcel from a confusing, inefficient payment platform into a seamless, high-confidence DeFi transaction hub. By leveraging user insights, data-driven design, and iterative improvements, we delivered a faster, more scalable payment experience.
Thanks for reading! Great design isn’t just about looks—it’s about impact. 🚀
