Creating Topper, a Seamless User Experience in the Cryptocurrency Industry
Challenges
Create a secure environment for customers to buy cryptocurrency.
Services
Product Research and Strategy UI and UX Design Backend Development Frontend Development
Outcomes
A widget ensuring regulatory compliance. User asset safety for seamless on-ramp cryptocurrency purchases.
Uphold is a global multi-asset digital trading platform
Uphold is a multi-asset digital money platform offering financial services to a global market. Their unique ‘Anything-to-Anything’ trading experience enables customers to trade directly between asset classes with embedded payments, facilitating a future where everyone has access to financial services. Built on a core of proprietary technologies and e-money apps, Uphold embraces a future where people and businesses around the world have access to safe, transparent, fair, and affordable financial services.
Uphold also serves 184+ countries, across 200+ currencies (traditional and crypto) and commodities with frictionless foreign exchange and cross-border remittance for members around the world. Since their launch in 2015, they have powered more than US$4+ billion in transactions.
Read more about Uphold.
Uphold’s B2B team wanted to create a new on-ramp crypto purchase method
As their B2C products, like their Wallet, were already providing great results and already making a statement in the cryptocurrency market, it was time to reach out to other customers.
Uphold wanted to build an on-ramp payment platform that would allow new customers to buy cryptocurrencies with ease, Topper, using as leverage the already well-implemented wallet and exchange platform that they already had. The goal was also to reach the B2B market, allowing Uphold to provide a solution to partners that would solve their problems.
Project Aspirations: Our Pursuit of Goals
Why can purchasing crypto be a challenge? Create a secure, user-friendly on-ramp payment method in accordance with the different legalities of each region, that delivers an easy and dynamic user experience are just some of the many factors considered here. To successfully create a payment system that meets customer needs, user experience and business decisions have to be considered as well.
By taking into account the legalities of each region, creating secure payment options, and providing a unique user experience, businesses can turn the on-ramp payment process into a smooth and safe experience for their customers.
First things first: find a competitive advantage
Every research process has to start somewhere and for a successful on-ramp widget for purchasing cryptocurrency, it was no different. Our team began by exploring the existing on-ramp options available in the market, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding their target audience.
After analyzing the competitors' flows, there was a clear pattern: you select the amount, authenticate, select the payment method, pay, and get your funds. However, this seemed too good to be true if it was this easy.
Anti-money-laundering policies and compliance were needed to make sure that this new crypto purchase method was not financing illegal activities or, for example, terrorist organizations. Uphold wanted to go even further and guarantee that everyone transacting with Topper would at least have a valid ID.
Countries’ jurisdictions are different between geographical zones and/or countries
Dealing with a country’s jurisdiction requires a long process of meeting up with the legal team, let alone 4 different geographical and political zones. Some countries have tighter policies than others when it comes to money transactions and this meant dealing with different total amounts that were allowed to be transacted, depending on the level of KYC that the customer had.
Turning a legal limitation into a strength
As we approached a solid security level in the authentication and KYC, we found out with the legal team that we needed to provide a solution for preventing fraudsters from using the Topper account to move funds after the ID validation process is complete.
There was a legal limitation that would prevent keeping data stored in Topper’s database, and as a good design process dictates, we quickly turned this limitation into a strength, making it an extra level of protection.
As we reached the end of the UX process, we were able to find a solution to these bumps on the road, which is what we strive for: finding solutions and simplifying the lives of clients and customers.
User-centered design balanced with legal compliance for a seamless experience
To bring this product to life, it was really a joint effort between Uphold and Untile, bringing a truly collaborative process to the equation, where the line between client and customer roles was blurred. This allowed us both to work as a single team, instead of simply delivering work and getting feedback.
It clearly made a huge difference in the final result, as it was more focused by having a clear scope and more feasible by having continuous technical validation.
For several months, we collaborated with Uphold to get the best out of it. We focused on user experience design (UX), the backend and frontend teams worked together and we provide ongoing support, including post-launch maintenance to ensure the product performs as expected.
A secure, user-friendly on-ramp payment method ready for the market
Topper, a regulatory-compliant on-ramp widget for purchasing cryptocurrency, was a result of our research-driven design process and careful attention to legal and compliance requirements. The widget’s compliance with KYC and jurisdictional policies ensured that Uphold was able to operate legally and avoid any regulatory issues.
This back-and-forth with the legal and compliance team was clearly the biggest challenge that this project had, and we like to believe that we were only able to solve it because we truly worked as a single team, uniting efforts for a single purpose: create the easiest way possible to purchase cryptocurrencies.
The fast-paced iterative process quickly uncovered the challenges of a seemingly straightforward flow, and at the same time, quickly stepped up to solve them as they came.
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