Hey
Alina Ursol

Auto top-up

Auto top-up

I designed and launched auto top-up from scratch—a modular debit account feature that enables seamless payments by covering low-balance scenarios and maintaining a target balance, reducing payment failures

Scope

Scope

Product Strategy
UI/UX/IxD
Prototyping
Design system

Product Strategy
UI/UX/IxD
Prototyping
Design system

Link

Link

App Store

App Store

Years

Years

2023 — 2025

2023 — 2025
Image of an iPhone lying on a table

Pain point

Pain point

Pay Card isn’t the primary account for most users but is valued for cashback. We needed to increase GMV and reduce low-balance payment failures

Pay Card isn’t the primary account for most users but is valued for cashback. We needed to increase GMV and reduce low-balance payment failures

We tested two approaches: instant top-up during checkout and auto top-up to maintain a minimum balance

Step 1 — Launching MVP

In the MVP, auto top-up was located in general settings, as the debit card had no dedicated section. The MVP covered core flows to validate the feature and measure results.

Image of an iPhone lying on a table
Image of an iPhone lying on a table

MVP revealed 3 key issues

  1. Entry point

The entry point was hard to find. Once the Pay card got its own section, we moved auto top-up settings there. I solved by moving auto top-up settings into debit account

Clock on the wall

  1. Errors

Since the feature relied on external bank requests beyond our control, many errors occurred, but users couldn’t see them or understand why it didn’t work. To address this, I introduced a widget-based setting that lets users see the current configuration and its status, helping them understand and resolve issues

Clock on the wall

  1. Сommunication

Users didn’t understand how auto top-up works and hesitated to enable it. Improved guidance and added in-product communication to clarify the process

Clock on the wall

Step 2 — Next iteration

In this version, users easily found the entry point and understood the feature, but the linking payment remained a weak point, which we improved in the next iteration

Clock on the wall

Step 3 — Current version

After the first version, conversion on the linking auto top-up was low. Users had to approve the transfer in their bank app, but many couldn’t find it. In the next iteration, we made the linking payment optional, as many users had already granted permission via previous transfers. Instead of removing it, we added a recommendation screen with a quick link to check it, and introduced an optional test payment to verify setup.

Clock on the wall

Settings redesign

Settings redesign

After validating that the feature worked well, we redesigned the settings. The goal was to clearly separate two flows within the same feature, as they are promoted differently

After validating that the feature worked well, we redesigned the settings. The goal was to clearly separate two flows within the same feature, as they are promoted differently

One keeps the card balance at a defined level, while the other tops up at the moment of purchase to avoid declined payments at checkout

Clock on the wall

Outcomes

The Auto top-up reduced failed payments due to insufficient balance by 33%, significantly improving overall payment reliability

+20%

Auto top-up adoption rate

0 → 160K users

-33%

Failed payments due to insufficient balance

6 → 4%

+25%

Completed purchases with low balance

60 → 75%

+8%

GMV from auto top-up users

+€3.8M
Ursol Alina
Get in touch
ursolalina@gmail.com
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