Pay Monthly
Buy bigger, breathe easier. A loan product that provides the ease of monthly payment plans, $0 down, and no sign-up or late fees.
Lead UX Designer
Role
Figma, Miro
Tools
12 Months
Timeline
Design Thinking
Methodology
Design Thinking
I employed the Double Diamond framework to guide the design process.
Team
Product Managers
UX Designers
Content Designer
Software Engineers
Legal Compliance
Risk Management
Cross-Functional Teams
Overview
Pay Monthly is another addition to Global Pay Later – a suite of deferred payment offers. It is a closed-ended, interest-bearing loan product that gives buyers the opportunity to finance larger purchases by spreading their payments between 6-24 months with an APR calculated on a risk basis. Customers can view offer details through a simple interface and apply in advance to see their qualification amount or receive instant approval during checkout.
Merchants can present long-term installment options early in the shopping journey, similar to other “Buy Now, Pay Later” offers. Additionally, merchants have the option to buy down the APR rate to 0%.
Goals 🚀
Design Scope
Design Tenets
Principles that put people first, always. 🫶🏼
Research
Before initiating the design process, we conducted a discovery phase to gather relevant data and gain insights into customers’ needs, challenges, motivations, and goals. This informed our design opportunities.
Customer Segments
Based on Global Pay Later U.S. usage data from January 2021, we identified key customer segments to tailor our design approach effectively.
Customers’ Needs
Dream Team in Action: Ideation
I initiated the design process with a collaborative session involving UXD, Product, and Engineering to define the problem, discuss pertinent questions, and suggest ideas.
Next: Brainstorming
Where ideas take flight: UXD + product + engineering = solutions.
Mapping Autopay Flow
Pay Monthly is the first BNPL product with fully optional autopay functionality. Customers can choose not to set up autopay during the application process and enable it later in the PayPal app or continue with manual payments. The task task was to map all possible autopay scenarios, considering factors like interrupted payment schedules, missed payments, business cut-off hours, and changing funding instruments, and devise solutions for each.
Designing + Prototyping
Bringing vision into reality. ✨
Acquisition: Application Flow
I designed the Pay Monthly application process through the merchant’s website, incorporating upstream presentment into the merchant’s shopping website.
Servicing: Make a Payment Flow
I laid out and mocked up the manual payment process within the PayPal native mobile app.
Servicing: Disable Autopay Flow
I created the flow for turning off autopay in the PayPal native mobile app.
End-To-End Experience
I created the end-to-end prototype starting with the acquisition flow from the merchant’s website (upstream presentment) to the servicing experience in the native PayPal App, where customers can manage their plans and payments.
User Testing
It’s time to validate product direction, design choices, and usability with users. 🧪
UXR Goals
We conducted a round of moderated usability testing with 10 consumers via a remote platform. Each 60-minute session involved participants, both existing and new PayPal users, completing tasks such as making a purchase using Pay Monthly and managing payments through the PayPal app.
User Testing Results
Overall, participants were able to successfully complete the Pay Monthly purchase flow with minimal friction. No major usability issues were identified. However, a few participants expressed confusion around specific terminology—such as “hard vs. soft credit check,” “Pay Later,” and certain legal disclosures.
We promptly refined the language and content design to improve clarity, ensuring a more intuitive and trustworthy user experience.
To validate performance at scale, we proceeded with a phased rollout plan—starting with 1% exposure in Release 0, ramping to 5%, 20%, and ultimately 100% within the following month. This approach allowed us to monitor adoption, identify edge-case behaviors, and proactively address any issues in subsequent optimization sprints.
“This installment offer comes from PayPal? My trust level just went up.”
Success & Impact 🚀
Jun ’22 – Nov ’22
$262M
Total Payment Value
0,27M
First-Time Users
6.4%
Click-Through Rate
0,5M
Total Transactions
95,27%
Loan Usage
51%
Completion Rate
Final Thoughts 💭
Bringing Pay Monthly to life was one of the most meaningful and challenging experiences of my time at PayPal. From the start, we knew we weren’t just building another financing option—we were creating an entirely new way for people to feel empowered and in control of their larger purchases. The stakes were high: we were launching a new lending product from scratch, with real financial impact on users’ lives and complex business constraints behind the scenes.
Leading design end-to-end meant I had to deeply understand user fears, goals, and motivations when it comes to borrowing. Many users are hesitant to take on debt or feel intimidated by the process, so clarity, trust, and ease became the north stars of every design decision. Through research and iterative design, I worked to demystify the experience—making things like APRs, loan terms, and payment schedules feel less overwhelming and more human. Small touches, like transparent fee structures and upfront disclosures, helped reduce anxiety and build confidence.
This project also pushed me to think holistically, not just about individual screens but about how product, content, legal, and engineering all intersect in fintech. I collaborated across teams to balance user needs with regulatory requirements and business goals—shaping a product that was both elegant and compliant.
Looking back, I’m proud of what we built. We created a product that resonated with users, saw meaningful adoption, and contributed to PayPal’s growth in the Buy Now Pay Later space. More than anything, it reinforced my belief that good design is about earning trust—especially when you’re designing for people’s wallets.