Famacash
I led end-to-end design for both the mobile app and internal admin dashboard. Working closely with the founder and developers, our polished MVP helped secure a total of $5M in funding over 3 rounds.
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Industry: Fintech
Duration: Nov 2015 - Jan 2017
01
The Challenge
Business Challenge:
Famacash aimed to stand out by combining money transfers, bill payments, top-ups, coupons, and merchant payments into one simple app. We targeted both banked and unbanked users globally, as well as merchants wanting flexible, low-cost tools to accept payments and run promotions.
My Role & The Process:
As the solo designer, my main goal was turning product specs into wireframes and polished UI. This was a UI-focused project where I worked asynchronously with the founders, keeping feedback loops tight while moving from structure to final design.
Constraints:
Our biggest constraints: earning trust in a sensitive financial market, and designing for users in different regions with inconsistent banking infrastructure.
These challenges guided every design decision, keeping usability and credibility at the center of the product.
02
The Approach
Problem Statement:
Most payment apps only cover one slice of the ecosystem: money transfer, gift cards, or coupons but not all. Users and merchants had to juggle multiple apps or services, leading to frustration, inefficiency, and high costs. We responded with a flexible, all-in-one solution.
User Personas:
 | Maria, 22, Overseas WorkerSends money back home regularly, wants a fast and affordable way to transfer money while also being able to top up her family’s phones. |
 | James, 31, Small Business OwnerNeeds an easy way to accept payments, run promotions, and offer digital gift cards without paying steep fees to third-party platforms. |
Pain Points:
Users and merchants had to juggle multiple apps or services, leading to frustration, inefficiency, and high costs.
These major points became our key drivers of our design approach across both mobile and web platforms.
03
The Solution
Visual Direction/Moodboards:
Inspired by Facebook Messenger’s clean look during that time, the proposed moodboard emphasizes simple colors and minimal UI. The goal: making transfers or top-ups feel as natural and seamless as sending a message.
Userflow:
This flow was built after reviewing the founder’s specs, focusing on sign-up, sending, and requesting—where I also added recommendations to simplify steps and improve usability.
Wireframes:
From discussions and specs, I crafted wireframes as our visual foundation. They helped capture key requirements and confirm with developers which flows were feasible.
User Interface Design:
Using our moodboards and wireframes, I've proceeded with the UI for the app and dashboard with the main focus of conveying trust and control especially for money-related tasks. Some highlights of design decisions made:
Clean and simple UI
The UI was kept clean to ensure compatibility across different regions and user types. A simple color theme was applied, with blue reserved only for CTAs and buttons to make actions easy to spot.
Built for quick clarity
The dashboard was designed to be straight to the point, showing only the most relevant information upfront. By stripping away clutter, users can quickly understand their balances, recent activity, and key actions without digging through menus.
Iteration & Trade-Offs:
For the mobile UI, the early versions are packed in options but felt cramped and harder to scan. The final version simplified navigation and prioritized readability for smoother use.
Early: dual navigation, small rows, tight typography
Final: unified top-left nav, larger UI elements, improved text size for clarity
For the dashboard, the first version leaned on colorful charts that distracted from the real goal: seeing money clearly.
Early: colorful charts and comparisons, less focus on key data
Final: clean numbers, muted colors, direct view of money
The final version stripped it back to numbers and a simpler theme, keeping focus on raw information.
04
The Outcome
Final designs with Interaction:
As part of handover, I shared short video walkthroughs that show how people move through the app to find parades and use key features in real situations.
Sending airtime to a contact
Impact & Result:
Within a year, we delivered a full MVP that brought the product vision to life. The clarity and polish of the design helped the team secure funding, proving the business case and setting the stage for future growth.
MVP within a yearThrough tight collaboration and polished design, we delivered to support funding. |
Funding achievedOur MVP helped the team secure funding with design support. |
The final release evolved from the original designs but kept the core UX principles of clarity and ease of use.
Learning & Reflection:
Designing Famacash from the ground up taught me how to move fast without losing clarity.
Async collaborationCollaborating remotely with the founder and developer in an async setup sharpened my ability to communicate ideas early. |
Design for the businessMore than building an MVP, it showed me how the right design choices can directly support business goals and make a vision fundable. |
If I could do it again, I’d push for earlier user testing to validate flows sooner and spot edge cases before handoff.
