Scaling Jupiter's Debit Card Experience. Online and Offline
Role: VP of Design at Jupiter.money | Collaborated with Product, Engineering, Operations, Banking Partner (Federal Bank), and Compliance.
Summary
When I joined Jupiter.Money as VP of Design in 2020, I took on a very interesting problem. This project was not part of yearly roadmap and OKRs. However, we took on this challenge to establish voice of Design in an early stage startup. It not only built trust among users, made design a strategic partner in the organisation but also became an industry standard for over 3+ million accounts in India.
A debit card kit made by external agency (before I joined)
Our debit card kit was visually stunning. Thick premium envelopes, extensive branded literature, stickers, protective sleeves, exactly what you’d expect from a design agency trying to make a splash. But as we scaled from hundreds to thousands of daily dispatches, this “premium” experience became our operational liability.
Each card took 8 minutes to manually assemble. Industry standard was 4 minutes. Our delivery time had gone up to 7 days. Industry standard was 5 days. With over 5,000 accounts opening daily, the operations team was facing bottlenecks. Customer Care was reporting complaints.
Defining goals + adding in quarterly plan.
I as a design leader established a direct connection between, delay in delivery will result in lowering brand trust and poor experience. A non-scalable card kit and workflow will become a bottle neck as the startup grew in volumes.
To get buy-in from other stakeholders (marketing, engineering, legal and compliance, customer care) the design team set ambitious and objective goals:
Time to order a debit card
Time to deliver physical debit card
Time to activate debit card on the app
CSAT score improvement
Cohesive online and offline experience
These were then part of a roadmap and aimed at finishing in 1 quarter.
Why these goals made sense and everyone was aligned?
The operations team was vocal about not meeting the promised SLA for debit card delivery. Customer Care team was reporting complaints after delivery. We already knew about non standard packaging, too much literature in the kit and most importantly, product had evolved so communication was in-coherent.
The deep dive research
To make a case stronger, I formed a 2 member design team to identify JTBD of people responsible for debit card. We conducted 2 day field study to understand current workflow in a secure dispatch facility in Mumbai. (Thanks to Ops team for letting us into highly secured facilities). We saw firsthand, the manual, multi-step process resembling a traditional factory assembly line; labor-intensive, repetitive, and inefficient.
70% of the work at debit card centres was manual (Due to it’s odd size)
The process was labor-intensive, and inefficient (Packaging was complicated)
Manual security checks increased possibilities of errors.
Each card took 8-9 mins to pack (Industry standard is 3 mins)
This resulted in 8 day delivery timeline (Industry standard is 5 days)
Plan of action
We did 1 day workshop and followed (slightly modified) double diamond framework to generate ideas. Design team was excited to learn new things beyond their regular UI.
We were now aware of how other big banks operate. How we should not reinvent the wheel and work within existing machinery. As a brand, we need to continue impress millennials (Target audience) and also reduce literature (save paper, save time, make it simple). All this ensuring offline and digital experience cohesiveness. Security was non-negotiable and handled by main Bank.
Treating above as guardrails, we
Changed the envelop
Make the kit light, friendly and memorable
Made a new sticker
Redesigned the Card (BIG win, more later)
Additional win (that had no tangible metric)
As they say, ‘make hay while the sun shines’. We managed to improve the card during this exercise. This was a quick unplanned activity which design team did to ensure a personalised experience. We worked with VISA team to ensure we follow required standards and improve the PVC of the card. Usually these sort of “change request” can not be justified with measurable outcomes - so it’s smart of get it done in the flow.
Time to order a debit card
We did bunch of experiments by adding “Order your debit card” as part of onboarding flow. “Get your debit card” as the first step once your account is opened and more. These experiments continue as part of culture chasing target numbers.
We fetched physical address to make the the flow seamless and fast. The instructions written on the physical kit were well written and robust to handle future developments on the app.
Enhancing the App Experience
The redesign extended seamlessly into our digital app onboarding and management experience, reinforcing brand consistency and user satisfaction.
Intuitive onboarding and activation flow
Consistent visual design aligning physical cards with digital representations
The Unboxing Experience Reimagined
The redesigned packaging now offers an exciting unboxing experience that is both practical and delightful:
Envelope and One-Pager: Efficiently printed on 120 GSM paper with a matte finish for durability and appeal.
Securely Attached Card: Simplified and secure, ensuring accuracy and reducing manual handling.
Vibrant Sticker Sheet: Adding user delight upon opening the kit.
Impact of the Redesign
The new design dramatically improved operational efficiency, reducing card packing and dispatch time from 8 to under 2 minutes. The simpler process significantly decreased errors and enhanced overall customer satisfaction
Key Learnings
This redesign journey at Jupiter made revisit the critical balance between creativity and practical usability.
Design is beyond UI and UX
Proactive fixes need to be timed smartly
Mapping efforts to outcomes is critical for a leader
Sometimes Design has to go extra mile to build credibility
Designers have to ‘earn’ seat at the table
Don’t re-invent the wheel
Design for outcomes. Craft is implicit.
2 videos of people unboxing the debit card.
Before
After
Hope you enjoyed the post!