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The experience of making a payment is undeniably the most important user journey for these services.
It’s a process that on the surface looks very simple to build, but is subject to awkward use cases which make it incredibly difficult to get right.
Which of these payment service providers has the best experience—for both the employees, and the customers?
Let’s dive in.
Summary: Most iZettle, Square and SumUp customers would save money by switching to Verifone. But that doesn’t mean they should.
🙋♂️
Why you’ll need to turn off your phone’s notifications.
🏝
Why Verifone isn’t suitable for everyone.
⚡️
How (not) to time permission modals.
👈
SumUp’s lack of an undo button.
👀
Why the consumer benefits from a screen.
🌍
The problem with using Square at a car boot sale.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points
The experience of making a payment is undeniably the most important user journey for these services.
It’s a process that on the surface looks very simple to build, but is subject to awkward use cases which make it incredibly difficult to get right.
Which of these payment service providers has the best experience—for both the employees, and the customers?
Let’s dive in.
Summary: Most iZettle, Square and SumUp customers would save money by switching to Verifone. But that doesn’t mean they should.
🙋♂️
Why you’ll need to turn off your phone’s notifications.
🏝
Why Verifone isn’t suitable for everyone.
⚡️
How (not) to time permission modals.
👈
SumUp’s lack of an undo button.
👀
Why the consumer benefits from a screen.
🌍
The problem with using Square at a car boot sale.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points