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Wise is not a bank, despite sharing many features of one.Ā
They're a multi-currency financial service that,Ā during the age of incumbent banking, earned successĀ with their radical transparency.
In short: they make international transfers easier, and often cheaper.
But the world has moved on, and Wise now face fierce competition from services like Revolut and Starling.
To demonstrate my point, here are the comparative costs of sending £10, £100 and £1,000 to the US (including any FX markups).
Note: for a deeper dive on international payments, read the UX of Banking.

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
āShow, donāt tellā often beats education
Data canāt always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzoās 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
Wise is not a bank, despite sharing many features of one.Ā
They're a multi-currency financial service that,Ā during the age of incumbent banking, earned successĀ with their radical transparency.
In short: they make international transfers easier, and often cheaper.
But the world has moved on, and Wise now face fierce competition from services like Revolut and Starling.
To demonstrate my point, here are the comparative costs of sending £10, £100 and £1,000 to the US (including any FX markups).
Note: for a deeper dive on international payments, read the UX of Banking.

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
āShow, donāt tellā often beats education
Data canāt always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzoās 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