Pre-funded card
Pemo is an all-in-one spend management platform for SMEs across the MENA region, with their card product at the heart of what they offer. To expand that ecosystem, I designed the pre-funded card, a new card type that lets companies load funds before spending happens.
COMPANY
Pemo
Role
Product designer
Team
Product manager, Front-end, Back-end
Problem statement
How can we help business owners prevent their employees spending all of their assigned budget?
Small and medium business owners are concerned that employees might spend their budgets too quickly. They want more control over how money is used and better visibility into each purchase so they can feel confident about where their funds are going.
Research and analysis
Customer feedback
Featurebase data and conversations with existing clients kept surfacing the same theme: business owners wanted tighter control over employee spending. That feedback became the foundation for defining what the pre-funded card needed to do.
Competitor research
One of our main steps, was to review what competitors had done and, more importantly, understand why they made certain choices. The following questions were asked:
What card types do other competitors have?
How do they differentiate between these cards?
Are there any card limits?
etc.
Internal constraints
There was an important limitation around how funds could be handled. We couldn’t move money into a separate wallet, which meant we couldn’t create cards that work like typical top-up cards. Instead of loading money onto the card in advance, all spending had to come directly from the main account.
Spending comes from the main account
This means the wallet shows the total available balance. Any spending through all cards is included in that amount, rather than being set aside separately (as would be the case for a top-up card).
Design audit
With all the information we gathered, I realized that the current design wouldn’t support adding another card type without making things more complicated for the user.
User struggles
Too much information in a small drawer which make things overwhelming for the user
Hierarchy is complicated to understand
Not all actions are mandatory which isn't always as clear as it should be
Difference between card types isn't clear
No room for switching fields based on the card type selected
Explorations
Exploration meant generating options, not jumping directly to solutions. I developed concepts across different levels of complexity so the team could compare them against time and resources, in order to make a clear decision.
Option 1: Similar structure
The simplest approach would be to build on the existing design and add another section. However, this ended up cluttering the interface and made the card selection process more complicated.
Option 2: Minor adjustments to existing drawer
By making small improvements, such as clearly separating card types through dropdowns, users would more easily understand the differences between each card and the benefits they offer.
Option 3: Create card flow overhaul
This would be the biggest change and require the most time, effort, and resources, but it would make the experience much easier to follow by organizing each card type into clear sections, each with its own flow.
User flow
To keep the flow redesign moving, I mapped out the entire flow so we could spot opportunities to merge or separate sections, making the card creation process clearer and easier to follow.
Final solution
It quickly became clear that the only real option was to redesign the entire card creation flow from scratch. After aligning with stakeholders, everyone agreed this was the best path forward, especially as the existing flow was becoming increasingly complex.
Implemented improvements
A clear, step-by-step card creation flow
More space to explain each card type
Separate flows for each card type, showing only the necessary fields
Card labels are updated in real time, reducing confusion
A clearer card type selection, without relying on small subtext
Built-in flexibility to support future additions
More room to highlight and explain specific requirements
Important numbers
After redesigning the card creation flow and introducing the pre-funded card, key metrics improved. Completion rates increased, drop-offs decreased, and adoption of the new card type showed strong user interest.
13.84%
Adoption rate
(past 6 months)
90.87%
Activation rate
~510 AED
Average spend per card
(new card type)