EximPe Trade App
Transforming Cross-Border Trade Payments
Introduction
About EximPe: A pioneering fintech platform simplifying cross-border trade payments for SMEs and businesses.
Goal: Empower businesses to seamlessly manage trade payments, regulatory compliance, and trade finance through a fully digital solution.
Your Role: Senior Product Designer responsible for designing the end-to-end customer-facing flows for the trade payment Progressive Web App (PWA), ensuring ease of use, regulatory compliance, and innovative features.
Problem Statement
Challenges for SMEs and Businesses:
Lack of accessible, user-friendly platforms for cross-border trade payments.
High fees, poor FX rates, and no live forex rate booking options from traditional banks.
Complex, time-consuming onboarding and documentation processes.
Inefficient tracking of orders and payments.
Limited access to trade finance and other financial products tailored for trade businesses.
Solution
EximPe’s Trade Payment PWA simplifies cross-border payment management, offering live forex rate booking, low transaction fees, seamless KYC and onboarding, document regularization, payment tracking, and trade finance options.
Key Features:
Digital Onboarding:
Quick account creation using PAN/IEC and basic business details.
Minimal documentation submission with OCR technology for automation.
Hassle-free RM document collection at the customer’s address.
Live Forex Rates:
Real-time FX rates, better than traditional banks.
Simple rate booking to reduce conversion losses.
Zero Hassle Remittances:
Lowest transaction fees in the market.
Exim Advantage Account with zero transaction charges for premium customers.
Regulatory Compliance:
Payment regularization system allows customers to regularize payments with Bill of Entries and Shipping Bills.
Direct submission of regularized payments to government portals like IPDMS and EPDMS.
Automated updates on payment status via emails and the dashboard.
Customers can request e-BRCs (Electronic Bank Realization Certificates) for Shipping Bills under the Compliance Section, ensuring adherence to trade compliance requirements.
Order & Payment Tracking:
End-to-end tracking of every transaction with detailed status updates.
Trade Finance Integration:
On-demand access to finance products like Local LC Bill Discounting, Export Factoring, and Sales Bill Discounting.
Seamless submission and approval process within the app.
Design System
To efficiently manage and scale the design across multiple workflows, we created and maintained a comprehensive design system.
Highlights of the Design System:
Components Library: Designed reusable components like buttons, inputs, cards, and modals for consistency and speed.
Typography & Color Palette: Defined a cohesive set of fonts, sizes, and color codes tailored to EximPe's branding guidelines and user needs.
Accessibility Standards: Ensured WCAG-compliant designs for inclusive usability.
Scalability: Built with modularity to accommodate future features, such as additional finance products or dashboard enhancements.
Documentation: A detailed repository of guidelines and usage instructions for developers and designers.
Impact of the Design System:
Improved collaboration between design and development teams.
Enhanced the efficiency of design iterations and updates.
Reduced inconsistencies in the user experience.
Design System Link: Link to EximPe Design System
Design Process
1. User Research & Problem Discovery
Conducted interviews with SMEs and exporters to identify pain points in trade payments and finance.
Explored existing solutions to identify gaps and opportunities.
2. User Journey Mapping
Mapped the customer’s end-to-end journey, from onboarding to regularized payments and finance requests.
Focused on reducing friction and providing clarity in complex processes.
3. Wireframing & Prototyping
Created low-fidelity wireframes for early-stage validation with stakeholders.
Designed interactive high-fidelity prototypes in Figma to simulate the complete user experience.
4. Iterative Design & Testing
Conducted usability tests with SMEs and trade businesses to refine workflows and interfaces.
Iterated on live forex booking, payment tracking, and compliance management based on feedback.
5. Development Handoff
Collaborated with developers using tools like Figma Dev Mode to ensure pixel-perfect implementation.
Supported the development team in building a responsive, fast-loading Progressive Web App.
Key Design Highlights
1. Onboarding Flow
Designed a 3-step onboarding process for fast account creation.
Integrated OCR for seamless document scanning and verification.
Added visual cues and error validation to reduce drop-offs.
2. Customer Dashboard
Centralized access to order and payment tracking, customer management, and compliance tools.
Created a visual payment timeline to enhance transparency.
3. Forex Rate Booking
Designed a live forex rate card with an intuitive booking system.
Provided a comparison feature to showcase EximPe’s competitive rates.
4. Trade Finance
Built a simplified finance request submission form.
Designed product cards for easy comparison of finance products.
Compliance & Payment Regularization
Designed a seamless workflow for regularizing payments using Bill of Entries and Shipping Bills.
Integrated a submission flow for government portals (IPDMS/EPDMS) with real-time status updates.
Added a dedicated section for e-BRC requests to simplify compliance documentation.
Impact
Monthly Transaction Volume: Achieved $1 million in transaction volume.
Customer Satisfaction: Simplified onboarding and enhanced payment tracking led to higher customer satisfaction.
Efficiency Gains: Reduced time and effort for businesses by automating key processes like KYC, documentation, and compliance.
Market Differentiation: Introduced unique features like live forex rate booking, making EximPe stand out from traditional banks.
Compliance Adherence: Made it easier for businesses to comply with government regulations through streamlined payment regularization workflows.
Efficiency Gains: Automated submission of payment regularizations to IPDMS/EPDMS reduced manual errors and improved process transparency.
Challenges & Solutions
Challenge: Educating customers about forex rate booking.
Solution: Added contextual tooltips and a quick demo to the live rate booking feature.
Challenge: Complex compliance management.
Solution: Designed an easy-to-navigate regularization system with automated reminders for pending documents.
Challenge: Seamless integration of multiple features.
Solution: Organized the UI with a modular approach, ensuring features like finance requests and forex booking were discoverable yet non-intrusive.
Challenge: Complex workflows for government portal integration and compliance.
Solution: Designed automated submission flows and real-time status updates via emails and dashboards to simplify compliance for users.
Next Steps
Deep-dive into feature-specific case studies:
KYC and Digital Onboarding
OCR and Document Automation
Payment Tracking System
Trade Finance Solutions
Create a dedicated case study for the Operations Dashboard and Partner Portal.
Conclusion
The EximPe Trade Payment PWA represents a breakthrough in cross-border payment management for SMEs, combining innovative design with cutting-edge technology. By introducing a design system, EximPe not only streamlined internal processes but also delivered a seamless, scalable user experience. Its customer-first approach, coupled with advanced features and regulatory compliance, has established EximPe as a game-changer in the fintech industry.
