Case Study
Stax Engage
Team
Joshua
Product Designer
Ryan
Product Manager (STAX PAY)
Overview
As a Product Designer at Stax Pay, a fintech platform supporting merchants with digital payment solutions, I led the design of an integrated messaging system that enabled secure and seamless communication between merchants and their customers.
Our goal was to create a messaging experience that felt intuitive and familiar—similar to apps users already rely on daily—while meeting the unique demands of financial communication. This included accommodating users who needed to chat casually, share documents, and stay connected whether they were at their desk or on the go.
The Challenge
Balancing usability with security
In the fintech space, user trust is critical. The messaging tool needed to support secure document sharing, such as financial reports, invoices, and sensitive customer data. However, we also wanted to keep the learning curve as shallow as possible—especially important for our diverse merchant base, many of whom aren’t tech-savvy.
Key challenges included:
Designing an experience that felt instantly familiar to users
Ensuring robust security for sensitive communications
Making it responsive and accessible across both mobile and desktop platforms
Design Solutions
To meet these needs, we anchored the design process around familiarity, flexibility, and security.
Familiar, User-Friendly Interface
We modeled the messaging UI on common consumer chat apps, including intuitive elements like conversation threads, message timestamps, read receipts, and attachment icons. This allowed users to engage with minimal onboarding and reduced friction from the start.
Cross-Platform Flexibility
Recognizing that merchants interact with customers from various environments—whether on their desktop in an office or via mobile while in the field—we designed a fully responsive experience. The interface adapts fluidly between screen sizes, with no compromise to usability or functionality.
Smart Security by Design
To protect financial communications, we implemented:
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Adding an extra layer of security for logins and access to the messaging portal.
End-to-End Encryption: Ensuring messages and attachments remain private and tamper-proof.
Secure Document Handling: Allowing merchants to upload, view, and share files without compromising confidentiality.
Outcome
The final product successfully merged ease-of-use with enterprise-grade security. Early user testing showed that merchants found the tool intuitive, and adoption rates during the beta rollout exceeded expectations. The feature is now a core part of how merchants maintain trust and transparency with their own customers—without relying on third-party communication tools.
