Simpl App Evaluation

What is Simpl?

Simpl is a seamless payment portal that let’s you pay your bills on credit and gives the user 15 days to pay back a consolidated bill of multiple transactions done through Simpl.

What’s the main objective of the app?

The main objective of Simpl is to make payments seamless for the user. Simpl cuts down the steps a user need to go through every time they make a payment. Simpl is a one tap payments app and does not require the user to input pins and multiple information like in the case of a credit or debit card. The application also lets the user pay the total amount of multiple bills once in every 15 days which makes it easy for the user as they can pay seamlessly with multiple merchants that Simpl supports.

Evaluating the App

Let’s start off by mapping personas based on the data available on Simpl’s website and using a few other sources like case studies by product designers at Simpl.

Empathy Mapping

Empathy Mapping for Ayushi

Empathy Mapping for Amit

Our study finds out that the users face some issues that are not addressed in the application.

1. Amit does not get enough credit to user for his daily grocery spend. The limit ends up within a week which renders the app useless once the limit is over. Amit has a great credit score and can pay back easily, but is not able to do so.
2. Ayushi is a college student and survives on a pocket money, which means she needs to save money wherever possible. She tried to look for the best offers on the app but is not able to do so with ease as the offers are in a carousel format which makes it difficult for the user to browse multiple merchant offers.
3. Auto-pay is a great feature and Amit absolutely loves it. Amit is forgetful and usually forgets to pay his phone bill on time. This feature pays Amit’s phone bill automatically before the due date.
4. Ayushi used to face a lot of payment failures before she started using Simpl. Now she can do transactions seamlessly and gets a few days to pay the bills.
5. Amit is not able to find any policy on the app he is ordering (example zomato) for when he cancels an order through a merchant (zomato) and is unsure about it.

Simpl Heuristic Evaluation

1. Keep users informed about its status.

Simpl app keeps users informed about the status by promptly showing the due amount as well as the transaction history on the home page of the application.

2. Show information in ways users understand

Simpl app shows “available limit” in the home page that often confuses a new user as to what does this mean. The way words are phrased are important as they tell the user the meaning of a particular section or feature, if the user is not able to understand it clearly, the app might not be used as intended and might result in a bad user experience.

3. Offer users control

Simpl offers great control to it’s users as it allows user to cancel a recharge being made through the app for a few seconds in case of incorrect selection. This helps the user to have control over the app and avoid mistakes.

4. Consistency

The application is not consistent as some pages have icons and some do not. Users look for visual cues first and then read the text, this helps the user with quick decision making which is lacking in the menu of the application.

5. Prevent errors

Simpl prevents errors from the user’s side by giving them only the option user requires on a screen.

6. Have visible information, instructions, etc. to let users recognize options, actions, etc.

Simpl app clearly assists user to complete their task by giving clear instructions. Example: if any amount is due, in the home page it has a CTA that says “pay in advance” which assists the user in making payments with just a few taps. The application is user friendly and has all the information a user would need.

7. Be flexible

There is no flexibility in the application for a novice user or an advanced user. Each user can only use the available tools and UI.

8. Have no clutter

Currently the application’s home page is filled with quite a few things which makes it easy for the user to navigate, but also adds to the clutter. There are too many transactions shown in the home screen itself instead of having a view more option. Similarly, a single section could be made to show merchants Simpl is available for and the ongoing offers.

9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

Simpl does not recognize an invalid phone number in the login screen and the user does not realize it till they don’t receive the OTP on their mobile number. This results in a bad user experience as the user might think they never received the OTP as there is no text that asks the user to check their mobile number again.

10. Help and Documentation

The home page lists 6 merchants and the user is not able to view which other merchants does the service work this. To do so, the user has to follow a different flow which is much longer than just giving a “view more” option on the home page itself. The offers also follow a carousel format that takes a lot time for the user to go through, instead a grid format in the form of a pop up would’ve made the documentation and in turn the user experience much more seamless.

Peer to Peer Transaction

Goal

• The business objective of peer to peer transaction for Simpl is to increase user engagement with the application for optimal use of Simpl Credit.
• The personal objective of peer to peer transaction for the user is to make use of unused Simpl credit balance.
• Peer to peer transaction will allow users to make use of their Simpl credit limit at the maximum as they would be able to spend their credit limit at local shops and pay anyone instantly without having to worry about payment failures.

Objectives

• To allow users to pay almost anywhere using their credit limit.
• To give user the flexibility to pay anyone using their Simpl credit through the application. This also allows the user to consume more of their credit limit, resulting in higher usage of the services provided by Simpl.
• To give an easier method of payment to the user where they don’t have to input pins and deal with payment failures.
• To allow users the convenience of paying from a single payment source everywhere without having to switch between payment methods.
• Letting the users build a credit even in their local shops without relying on the shopkeeper’s credit system. As we know, people usually ask the shopkeeper to add the bill amount in their credit and pay once every few weeks, this allows the user to not do a payment every time they purchase something from the shop, but pay the cumulative amount together.

Integrating New Feature

There are a two ways peer to peer transaction can be achieved.

1. Sender’s credit limit to Receiver’s credit limit

• This particular way of transaction might not be suitable for the receiver in all cases. Example: A shopkeeper might not want to increase their Simpl credit but would rather prefer money in their account.
• Likewise, if person A owes person B INR1000, person B would much rather have that money directly into their account.

2. Sender’s credit limit to receiver’s bank account

• This is suitable for both the sender and the receiver since the sender can pay through their Simpl credit limit which also fulfills the business goal of Simpl which is lending people money.
• This also fulfills the receiver’s goal as they receive money in their bank account.

Synopsis

The new feature should be integrated in a way that the sender’s Simpl credit is used for the transaction to pay the receiver directly into their bank account. This way the sender does not face payment errors since they’re paying through Simpl and the sender’s credit limit is also used up which is the primary goal of the business.

Implementing Peer to Peer Transactions

1. The sender should be able to choose contacts from their phone to whom they wish to transfer the money to.
2. The sender should be able to scan a QR code to make a payment. This feature also helps the user at most of the stores since every shop has a QR code for accepting payments. This feature will also increase user engagement in app and more users will be using their credit limits.
3. For the first time users, the details for syncing the user’s UPI or bank account for accepting money should take place. The first time user should also sync their contacts to send money to people in their contacts.
4. For existing users, they should get a pop-up notification to sync their bank details or UPI for accepting payments as well as give permission to sync contacts for sending payments.

Conclusion

As we can see in the wireframes, peer to peer transactions take place from the sender’s Simpl credit limit and the money is transferred to the receiver’s UPI ID. This makes it convenient for the person doing the transaction as they can make use of their credit and without worrying about failed payments and putting in the pin for every transaction. This meets the business goals of the application which is to make user’s use their credit limits and also gives the user the flexibility to pay anyone who might or might not have the Simpl application.