Designing for the future of debit
Extra is a series B fintech startup focused on making credit accessible for more people. Extra Debit is Extra’s subscription based debit card that helps users build credit through everyday purchases. I led the end-to-end design and strategy for the updated cardholder experience — including onboarding, home, and transactions.
Role
Lead Designer
Key Results
Timeline
Apr - Sept 2022
+96%
Monthly Active Users
Team
PM, Eng, Brand
+14%
45 Day Retention
300K+
Active Users
Credit building — without a credit card
Extra identified a market need from people who wanted to build credit but didn’t want or couldn’t get a credit card. Enter Extra Debit — a debit card that builds credit without a credit card.
Many of our users are just starting to build their credit history, or are rebuilding their credit after missed or late payments. These individuals are often considered high risk by lenders and financial institutions, making it difficult for them to get approved for a traditional credit card.
Reducing new user churn
Extra Debit operates on a monthly or annual subscription-based model. Many of our new users cancelled their subscriptions within the first month. Since our customer acquisition cost exceeds $100 per user, these early cancellations result in substantial revenue loss for our business, especially since we offer a 30 day refund policy for new subscriptions. To address this, we wanted to understand why users were canceling and identify opportunities to improve retention.
Helping underserved users build credit
Extra’s target audience consists of individuals with limited or poor credit history who are often overlooked by traditional financial institutions. To make credit building more accessible, Extra offers tiered credit limits that increase over time with responsible card usage. This approach minimizes risk while enabling us to approve nearly 99% of applicants, giving thousands of Americans the opportunity to build credit when other options may be out of reach.
Users didn’t understand how our debit card worked
For many users, credit and personal finance can be complex and overwhelming. Because Extra’s debit rail differs from traditional debit and credit cards, it creates a steep learning curve even for those familiar with credit building. In particular, new users were confused about how much they could spend and how much they owed. Our goal was to simplify this experience, empowering users to feel confident using their debit card while improving their financial literacy.
Prioritizing key information
With the new home page, users can now quickly access their most important financial data, such as their spend power and recent Extra transactions. By removing non-essential information, users can navigate the app more efficiently, make quicker financial decisions, and better understand how they’re using their Extra card.
Demystifying how payments are processed
We wanted to make it easier for users to check how much money they had available to spend. By clarifying the relationship between spend power and funds in transit, we hoped to decrease the number of users who attempted to spend beyond their limit. We also hoped that this initiative would reduce churn by helping users better understand their spend power and feel more confident using their cards.
Iterating on spend power
Creating a unified digital experience
Following our brand refresh in early 2022, I led the development and implementation of a new design system for our mobile app. I organized discussions and collaborative workshops with various departments, including engineering and marketing. Our goal was to streamline our development process, maintain consistency in user interface elements, and reinforce our brand presence across multiple digital touchpoints.
