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Paul One: Gold Loan App

From 35% Payment Failures to Digital Success:

Redefining how users pay loans through intuitive digital design.

Transforming gold loan interest payment experience through research-driven design. What started as my first fintech project at Paul Merchants in 2022 became a learning laboratory—revisited in 2025 with advanced UX knowledge to solve real user problems and drive business impact.

Original Challenge - 2022

High payment failure rates and user frustration

Solution Delivered - 2022

Digital payment app adopted by 14k+ users

Impact

35% to 5% error reduction, €2.8M payments processed.

Problem?

In 2022, Paul Merchants faced a critical challenge: a significant portion of gold loan interest payments were failing due to customers unable to visit branches - whether from distance, time constraints, or other barriers. This traditional branch-only payment system was creating customer frustration and revenue loss. Paul Merchants needed a digital solution to eliminate mandatory branch visits and make interest payments accessible anytime, anywhere.

Complex navigation requiring 3 taps to reach payment

Scattered payment information across multiple sections

Poor error handling leaving users stranded

No clear payment guidance or smart defaults

Real Challenge

This was my first professional project, and I had no mentor to guide me through the process. The problem was clear — users had to visit the branch to pay their loans — but the solution wasn’t. While introducing a digital experience was the obvious next step, the real challenge lay in figuring out how to design it in a way that truly made an impact on users.

Rework

Returning to this project in 2025 with an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction, I approached it with systematic UX methodology:

Research First Approach:

HEURISTIC ANALYSIS

Finding what's broken.

Checked the original app against usability best practices. Found 12+ problems: hidden buttons, confusing errors, and messy navigation.

COMPETITORS ANALYSIS

Fintech Market is Huge.

A competitor analysis of gold loan providers, comparing their digital experience, strengths, weaknesses, platforms, and customer ratings.

Features

Loan Overview

Loan Management

Strength

Fully digital experience.

Strong presence and brand awareness.

Service available in urban and rural.

Digital-first banking.

Strong brand with flexible loans.

Weakness

New market player.

Incomplete digitization.

Depends on physical checks.

Few options for gold loans.

Cut focus on digital loans.

Platform

Mobile App

Mobile, Web App

Mobile, Web App

Mobile, Web App

Mobile, Web App

Ratings

4.0

4.6

4.6

4.8

4.3

JOURNEY MAP

Following the user's path.

Mapped every step from login to payment. Spotted exactly where users got stuck and why. Payment info was scattered everywhere—making simple tasks hard.

Stages

User Actions

Current Pain Points

Information Needed

Success Criteria

App access

OTP delays, session timeouts, poor biometrics support

Confirmation they’re logged in & loan account is accessible

Fast login (<10s) with biometric/OTP fallback

Open App

Enter Mobile Number/OTP

Manual entry of amount; risk of errors; confusing interest vs principal display

Auto-calculated interest amount, clear breakdown

Pre-filled payable amount, editable if needed

Payment Setup

Select Loan

Tap on “Pay Interest”

Enter amount

Delayed confirmation; sometimes no receipt

Receipt number, transaction ID, next due date

Instant success screen + downloadable receipt + push/SMS/email notification

Confirmation

See Success Screen

Receive SMS/email receipts

Limited payment options; failed transactions; poor error messaging

Confirmation of selected method, status of transaction processing

Multiple secure options (UPI, card, netbanking), real-time processing

Payment Execution

Choose Payment Method

Enter Details

Submit

Loan info hidden under multiple menus; unclear CTAs

Outstanding interest amount, due date, penalties (if any)

Payment info clearly visible on home/dashboard

Payment Discovery

Navigate Dashboard

Search for Loan Information

Tap on “Loan Details”

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Organizing the mess.

Reorganized everything to make payments easy to find. Reduced clicks from 3 to 2. Put payment info where users expect it—right on the home screen.

Onboarding Page

Payments

Make Payments

Payment History

Schedules Payments

Payment Methods

Account Management

User Profile

Linked Accounts

Security Settings

Logout

Support

FAQ’s

Contact Support

Loan overview

Outstanding Loan

Due Date

Scheduled Payments

Home

Quick Actions

Make a Payment

Contact Support

Login / Sign Up

BRANDING & WIREFRAMES

Bringing research into execution

Translating user pain points and research insights into a visual design system. Establishing the brand identity, color language, and wireframe structure that would guide the entire redesign.

BRANDING

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WIREFRAMES

Access the whole UI library here

MORE THAN JUST A GOOD UX

This home screen gives an overview of the user’s finances. It includes a greeting, total interest, and highlights upcoming payments. Quick buttons like “Pay Now” simplify repayment. The navigation allows access to Bank Details, Loan Overview, KYC, and Application Tracking, focusing on clarity and simplicity.

Home Screen

This Quick Pay screen makes loan interest payment fast and simple using clear amounts, upcoming payment reminders, and easy card/UPI selection for finance management. The intuitive layout, large fonts for critical info, and one-tap payment methods follow UX best practices for reducing errors, speeding up decision making, and lowering stress in financial tasks

Quick Pay Screen

This loan details screen summarizes an individual loan, showing the next payment due date, interest amount, and a “Pay Now” button. It has two tabs — Overview and Payment History. Overview displays loan type, principal, interest rate, and maturity date, while Payment Summary shows total interest paid and remaining principal.

Loan Details Screen

Meet the Mascot

This screen greets users with a cheerful mascot and friendly message, creating an inviting impression. The spacious layout and minimal text reduce cognitive load, focusing on the mascot's greeting. The progress indicator reassures users that account setup is underway, building trust and reducing onboarding anxiety.

Conclusion

What started as my first fintech design challenge became a €2.8M success story. The Paul One app proved that thoughtful UX design directly translates to business value—transforming frustrated branch visits into seamless digital payments.

NUMBERS SPEAK LOUDER

€2.8 Million+ in payments processed

95% payment success rate achieved

14K+ users empowered with financial accessibility

2 taps instead of 3 to complete payment

The app exists no more! But the impact remains constant

WHY?

In 2024, Paul Merchants sold its gold loan business to L&T Finance, and the app was unpublished from the Play Store. While the app is no longer live, the impact remains real—both in the business value it created and in the design lessons it taught me.

Source: L&T

Key Takeaways

This case study represents more than a redesign—it's a snapshot of my evolution as a designer. From focusing on visual appeal to thinking strategically about information architecture, user flows, and measurable outcomes.

THANK YOU!

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Full Fledged User Research

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Paul One: Gold Loan App

From 35% Payment Failures to Digital Success:

Redefining how users pay loans through intuitive digital design.

Transforming gold loan interest payment experience through research-driven design. What started as my first fintech project at Paul Merchants in 2022 became a learning laboratory—revisited in 2025 with advanced UX knowledge to solve real user problems and drive business impact.

Original Challenge - 2022

High payment failure rates and user frustration

Solution Delivered - 2022

Digital payment app adopted by 14k+ users

Impact

35% to 5% error reduction,€2.8M payments processed.

Problem?

In 2022, Paul Merchants faced a critical challenge: a significant portion of gold loan interest payments were failing due to customers unable to visit branches - whether from distance, time constraints, or other barriers. This traditional branch-only payment system was creating customer frustration and revenue loss. Paul Merchants needed a digital solution to eliminate mandatory branch visits and make interest payments accessible anytime, anywhere.

Rework

Returning to this project in 2025 with an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction, I approached it with systematic UX methodology:

Real Challenge!

This was my first professional project, and I had no mentor to guide me through the process. The problem was clear — users had to visit the branch to pay their loans — but the solution wasn’t. While introducing a digital experience was the obvious next step, the real challenge lay in figuring out how to design it in a way that truly made an impact on users.

Conclusion

What started as my first fintech design challenge became a €2.8M success story. The Paul One app proved that thoughtful UX design directly translates to business value—transforming frustrated branch visits into seamless digital payments.

Scattered payment information across multiple sections

Poor error handling leaving users stranded

No clear payment guidance or smart defaults

Complex navigation requiring 3 taps to reach payment

COMPETITORS ANALYSIS

Fintech Market is Huge.

View in web

A competitor analysis of gold loan providers, comparing their digital experience, strengths, weaknesses, platforms, and customer ratings.

JOURNEY MAP

Following the user's path.

View in web

Mapped every step from login to payment. Spotted exactly where users got stuck and why. Payment info was scattered everywhere—making simple tasks hard.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Organizing the mess.

View in web

Reorganized everything to make payments easy to find. Reduced clicks from 3 to 2. Put payment info where users expect it—right on the home screen.

BRANDING & WIREFRAME

Bringing research into execution

Translating user pain points and research insights into a visual design system. Establishing the brand identity, color language, and wireframe structure that would guide the entire redesign.

BRANDING

Figtree

Aa

Bb

Cc

Dd

Ee

Ff

Gg

Hh

Ii

Jj

Kk

Ll

Mm

Nn

Oo

Pp

Qq

Rr

Ss

Tt

Uu

Vv

Ww

Xx

Yy

Zz

#FFFFFF

#F6C644

#262626

#45984F

#F1C3E4

Click to view Wireframes

HEURISTIC ANALYSIS

Finding what's broken.

View in web

Checked the original app against usability best practices. Found 12+ problems: hidden buttons, confusing errors, and messy navigation.

Research First Approach:

THANK YOU!