PayPal P2P Transfers

A UX redesign focused on reducing uncertainty in peer-to-peer payments, giving users confidence through clearer payment confirmation, proof of payment, and recipient verification.

Reducing Mistakes
and Simplifying Transaction

through transparent fees, clear confirmations, and smoother payment journeys

Key skills

Figma

Problem solving

UX methods

Team members

Narges Shoghi
Sara Eskandari
Fahime Mahzoun
Maede Sadat miri
Mitra Danesh

Roles

Product Designe

Time

2026

Mentor

Marziye Nadali

Summary

Can’t confirm who, Can’t predict fees

People use PayPal to move money quickly, but the send moment stalls on two doubts:

Is this the right person?

What exactly am I paying?

Unclear recipient identity and fee visibility trigger backtracks,

extra checks, and canceled sends.

Unclear recipient identity and fee visibility trigger backtracks,

extra checks, and canceled sends.

Our challenge

Make who and how much unmistakable in-flow, preventing misdirected payments and preserving momentum.

StoryBard

PayPal’s Share in the P2P Market

Optimizing UX impacts millions of users daily.

📊 436M active accounts

26.3B transactions in 2024
🔄 60.6 transactions per user (source)

📊 436M active accounts

26.3B transactions in 2024
🔄 60.6 transactions per user (source)

P2P is massively popular but errors and trust issues are alarmingly high.

📲 84% of users try P2P.

🔄 44% use it weekly.
⚠️ 23% sent money wrong (source)

📲 84% of users try P2P.

🔄 44% use it weekly.
⚠️ 23% sent money wrong (source)

P2P is booming ،small UX improvements can impact millions and trillions.

🌍 2.6B active P2P users by 2024
💸 Global P2P market: $9.9T by 2025 (source)

Research

Lack of Fee Transparency and Complex transaction flow were the main repeating patterns

By diving into App store reviews, Trustpilot, Reddit, Quora, and Competitor benchmarks, we began to see the same story unfold

When we listened to users directly,
their frustrations echoed what the data revealed.

Repeating Patterns

Missing Recipient Check Before Payment

Users lack a clear reassurance step, like reviewing the recipient’s name, photo, or note, which leaves them feeling rushed or uncertain before confirming a transfer.

Unexpected Fees in Money Transfer

The charges are often hidden or only shown at the final step, which surprises people when sending money to friends or family.

Too Many Taps/clicks

The interface feels unnecessarily complex, requiring extra steps for simple tasks, which creates friction and frustration.

Persona

The people we are designing for

Two types of senders, both struggling with trust and clarity in PayPal’s P2P flow.

Sam

On repeat

Sam

On repeat

Family Supporter

“For people I’ve paid before, it’s easy, The process feels confusing, and I never know what fees will pop up at the end.

He needs a transparent experience with clear upfront fees and an easier flow to remove stress while quickly get the job done.

Ava

Once-in-a-While

Ava

Once-in-a-While

Student

“I only use PayPal when I have no choice. Specially for new recipient, as there’s no strong identity verification, I always worry about sending money to a wrong person.”

She needs secure verification for new recipients, while keeping the process convenient for regular transfers

User journey

The Ups and Downs of Sending with PayPal

This journey map follows Ava and Sam through PayPal’s P2P flow,

highlighting where clarity, and ease break down,

from hidden fees to uncertainty about recipients.

This journey map follows Ava and Sam through PayPal’s P2P flow,

highlighting where clarity, and ease break down,

from hidden fees to uncertainty about recipients.

Competitive analyze

Learning from Competitors Who Simplify P2P

The core gap in Paypal is lack of upfront fee visibility and clarity of the flow.
Competitors (Wise, Revolut, Listo) put fee transparency before the send button, while PayPal often leaves it to the last step, or hides it under options.

👉 This creates a trust gap that directly impacts user confidence and transaction frequency.

2. Payment confirmation/Proof of Payment

3. Recipient Verification

HMW

How Might We Turn Frustration Into Confidence?

HMW make fees feel transparent and predictable so users aren’t surprised at the last step?

HMW balance speed with accuracy of recipient, so users feel confident their money goes to the right person and can avoid mistakes?

HMW provide users with professional, shareable proof of payment that feels effortless?

HMW might we help users complete their transactions quickly while minimizing the chance of mistakes?

How Might We Turn Frustration Into Confidence?

HMW make fees feel transparent and predictable so users aren’t surprised at the last step?

HMW balance speed with accuracy of recipient, so users feel confident their money goes to the right person and can avoid mistakes?

HMW provide users with professional, shareable proof of payment that feels effortless?

HMW might we help users complete their transactions quickly while minimizing the chance of mistakes?

Ideation

Designed Around Real User Friction

We simplified the moments that slowed users down, from choosing recipients and viewing fees to sharing links and reviewing details, creating a smoother payment flow with less effort and confusion.

Improving PayPal Transfers with Clearer Steps and Better Payment Control

Payment Friction:

Users struggled with checking recipients, understanding fees, reviewing details, and tracking shared payment links.

Clearer Payment Flow:

The redesign adds recipient badges, transfer tabs, fee visibility, progress tracking, editable review, payment link tracking, receipt sharing, and an undo option to make payments easier to complete.

Adding Verification for New and High-Value Transfers

Risk of Incorrect Transfers:

Users may accidentally send money to the wrong person when paying a new recipient or transferring a large amount.

Recipient Verification Step:

For new recipients or high-value payments, users confirm the transfer through email or SMS verification before the payment proceeds.

Verifying New Recipients Before Sending

Uncertainty with First-Time Recipients:

Users may feel unsure when sending money to someone they haven't paid before.

Tiered Recipient Verification:

New recipients can be verified through a quick email or SMS confirmation, while regular recipients continue through the standard payment flow.

Simplifying Payments for People Outside Your Network

Recipient Details Aren’t Always Available:

Users may not have the recipient’s email, phone number, or PayPal account details, making it harder to send or request money quickly.

Payment Links and Tracking:

Users can send or request money through a shareable link, receive early notice of potential fees, and track the payment status from creation to redemption in a single place.

Lessons learned

Clarity Matters More Than Features

The biggest lesson from this project was that users don't just want to send money quickly, they want to understand what is happening at every step of the process.

Fee Visibility

Unexpected fees create frustration, especially when they appear late in the flow. Users want to know about costs before committing to a payment.

Recipient Confirmation

When sending money, even small moments of uncertainty can cause hesitation. Clear recipient information and verification cues help users feel more comfortable moving forward.

Simplicity

Payment flows should minimize unnecessary decisions and extra steps. Reducing navigation and keeping actions in one place makes the experience easier to complete.

Control & Recovery

Mistakes happen. Features like editable review screens, payment tracking, and short undo windows give users more flexibility when managing their transactions.