Wells Fargo
CUSTOMER FACING
MOBILE
PRODUCT DISCOVERY
RESEARCH
Wells Fargo’s Private Label Credit Card (PLCC) program enables retail partners to offer co-branded credit cards to their customers. However, the application process for these cards was previously built with little user input and desktop-focused experience. Merchants and consumers were expected to navigate a steps didn’t fit together smoothly, making the process harder than it needed to be.
Our goal was to build a new credit card application journey from the ground up, one that prioritized mobile-first usability, seamless merchant-customer transitions, and clear, trustworthy guidance throughout. With design rooted in research and real user feedback, this project focused on reducing friction and creating a process that felt modern, human, and easy to complete in just a few taps.
Problem
WF merchants and their prospective PLCC customers experienced an application process that was outdated and inconsistent. The experience varied widely across merchants - resulting in broken flows, long completion times, and reduced conversion.
Solution
We designed a mobile-first, dual-flow experience that guides both merchants and consumers through a clear credit card application. Straightforward screens, smooth transitions, and clear cues made the process feel easy to follow - reinforcing a sense of control and trust at every step.
As part of the discovery process, we connected with stakeholders across product, compliance, and engineering to better understand the product space and what limitations we needed to be aware of. These conversations revealed key requirements such as when legal disclosures had to appear, how sensitive data needed to be handled, and what constraints came with supporting multiple merchants. While these priorities were rooted in business and regulatory needs, they offered early insight into how users might experience the application: where they’d need clarity, when they’d need reassurance, and how to keep the flow consistent across different retail environments.
For user research we conducted moderated and unmoderated structured interviews and short surveys for both merchants and prospective card-holders. I led the interviews for our prospective end-users, focused on the applicant experience while referencing the assumptions we have for user needs. These interviews would later shape design decisions that effectively met the needs of target user groups.
As part of the discovery process, we connected with stakeholders across product, compliance, and engineering to better understand the product space and what limitations we needed to be aware of. These conversations revealed key requirements such as when legal disclosures had to appear, how sensitive data needed to be handled, and what constraints came with supporting multiple merchants. While these priorities were rooted in business and regulatory needs, they offered early insight into how users might experience the application: where they’d need clarity, when they’d need reassurance, and how to keep the flow consistent across different retail environments.
For user research we conducted moderated and unmoderated structured interviews and short surveys for both merchants and prospective card-holders. I led the interviews for our prospective end-users, focused on the applicant experience while referencing the assumptions we have for user needs. These interviews would later shape design decisions that effectively met the needs of target user groups.
