Digipay Split Bills “Designing a Feature That Makes Splitting Bills Feel Natural”

Splitting bills with friends should be simple. But between the awkwardness of asking for money and the chaos of tracking who paid what, it rarely is. This is the project where we fixed that.

Company: Digipay | 2025-2026

Industry: B2C | Fintech

As the product designer for DigiPay’s ''Split the bills'' feature, I led the process from problem definition to validation. I conducted research, designed user flows and high-fidelity prototypes, and aligned user needs with business goals to create a clear, low-friction group payment experience.

What is the problem?

Why This Problem Matters?

When shared payments are difficult to manage, users experience stress, loss of trust, and friction in relationships. A poorly handled payment experience can turn a simple social moment into an uncomfortable one reducing confidence in digital payment solutions.

Design Goals

Research Phase

I interviewed active DigiPay users to understand how shared payments happen in everyday situations. By synthesizing observations through affinity mapping, clear patterns emerged. The main challenges were social rather than technical, forgetfulness, unclear payment status, and discomfort around reminders. These insights shaped the feature’s priorities and interaction design. I interviewed active DigiPay users to understand how shared payments happen in everyday situations. By synthesizing observations through affinity mapping, clear patterns emerged. The main challenges were social rather than technical, forgetfulness, unclear payment status, and discomfort around reminders. These insights shaped the feature’s priorities and interaction design.​

Drag

Pain points

After conducting interviews with users, I realized that the main sources of frustration are:​

  1. Forgetting Payments😕: Payments are delayed due to forgetfulness.
  2. Lack of Accountability😶‍🌫️: No clear tracking of who has paid.
  3. Manual Process😵‍💫: Sending requests is tedious and time-consuming.
  4. Social Discomfort🫣: Asking for money feels rude to users.


Benchmark

Next, I conducted a benchmark analysis of the Split Payment feature across Revolut, Klarna, PayPal, and Splitwise, comparing ease of use, key features, user experience, and usability.​

User Journey

To better understand the dynamics of shared payments, I mapped journeys for both the person paying the bill and those transferring money, highlighting pain points and opportunities for clarity and ease.

Ideation Phase

Impact-Effort Matrix​

I started by noting down my ideas and organizing them in an Impact-Effort Matrix to prioritize those with high impact and low effort for maximum efficiency.

Criteria

Then, I assessed each feature based on user value, feasibility, business impact, user adoption, and cultural sensitivity, rating each as high, medium, or low to determine its overall viability.

Automated Reminders and Notification

Wireframe (low-fi)

After prioritizing features, I began the design process by creating wireframes to visualize the structure and layout of the solution.

Usability Testing

Testing Setup

Key Insights

Iteration

  • Payment Reminders
  • Group Structure and Organization

  • Bill Upload Capability
  • Net Balance Calculation
  • Flexible Participant Management


These insights informed several design iterations, including the introduction of hierarchical groups, automated expense creation, and simplified balance calculations to reduce user effort and improve task efficiency.

Flexible Participant Management
: Users needed a flexible way to include both Digipay and non-Digipay participants. We solved this by enabling invitations via QR code and shareable link.

Net Balance Calculation:
 Users expected the system to automatically calculate the net balance between participants to simplify settlement. For example, if User A owes User B 1000 SEK and User B owes User A 500 SEK, the app should present a simplified result showing that User B owes User A 500 SEK.

Payment Reminders
: Participants expressed the need for a reminder feature that automatically notifies users who have not yet settled their share. A reminder is automatically sent when a group is created. After a few days, user can send a follow-up reminder to members who still owe money .

Group Structure and Organization
: Users preferred a hierarchical structure for organizing expenses. Instead of creating separate groups for each activity, they wanted the ability to create a main group (e.g., a trip) with sub-groups for individual events such as dinner, lunch, or drinks. This structure was perceived as more intuitive and easier to manage.

Bill Upload Capability
: Several users requested the option to upload or scan receipts directly within the app. This feature would improve accuracy.

Onboarding

This onboarding was designed to introduce a completely new feature that users in this market are not familiar with. It helps clarify the value of the service and guides users to learn more about how it works.

Wireframe (High-Fidelity)

Following key improvements and iterations, we developed high-fidelity prototypes focused on simplifying group expense management, reducing manual effort, and improving clarity across the experience.

By addressing key usability gaps, this solution transforms a fragmented experience into a structured and intuitive flow. The design reduces cognitive load, supports flexible real-world scenarios, and creates a more scalable foundation for future features.

Key Learning

This project reinforced the importance of designing around real user behavior rather than ideal assumptions. Users naturally think in terms of events and contexts (e.g., a trip with multiple activities), which highlighted the value of introducing hierarchical group structures to better match their mental models.

It also emphasized how small system-level decisions—such as automated balance calculations and payment reminders—can significantly reduce cognitive load and manual effort, leading to a more seamless experience.

Another key learning was the need for flexibility in real-world scenarios. Supporting both platform users and non-users through simple invitation methods (like shareable links and QR codes) proved essential for creating an inclusive and scalable solution.

Overall, this project strengthened my approach to simplifying complex flows by combining clear structure, automation, and user-centered thinking.