Intro/Background
PortX is on a mission to modernize banking infrastructure, particularly in payment transfers, compliance tools, and internal applications. The company's first flagship product, Payment Manager, is a cloud-based platform designed to streamline wire transfers, approvals, rejections, and internal messaging between financial institutions.
As the founding UX/UI Designer, I led the 0-to-1 design efforts for the MVP launch. While the Product Manager provided initial market research, I took ownership of translating early concepts into a working product. I also initiated informal user interviews to uncover gaps that weren’t on the roadmap.
One recurring issue emerged: Banks and credit unions follow strict procedures to approve or reject a wire transfer, but if clarification was needed, staff had no seamless way to communicate. Employees often resorted to awkward workarounds — such as sending a $0.00 transaction with a short memo — to keep a paper trail. These notes were limited in length, often cryptic, and sometimes required multiple back-and-forth exchanges.
During a discovery call with stakeholders at Choice Bank, I uncovered another friction point: Staff kept sticky notes or desktop documents filled with copy-and-paste phrases they used repeatedly. This insight wasn’t in the PM’s initial research — it came directly from talking to users about their real workflows.
What followed was a pivotal “aha” moment — one that would completely change how we approached the messaging tool.
This UX case study explores how a feature grew from a small insight into a high-impact experience change. How can a thoughtful tweak in workflow design reduce friction and make internal banking tools more efficient?
The Problem
That “aha” moment came during a routine conversation with Choice Bank’s operations team. While discussing how they handled wire approvals, I learned that the $0.00 memo workaround wasn’t just clunky — it slowed down decision-making, created confusion, and left room for errors in an environment where accuracy is critical.
That “aha” moment came during a routine conversation with Choice Bank’s operations team. While discussing how they handled wire approvals, I learned that the $0.00 memo workaround wasn’t just clunky — it slowed down decision-making, created confusion, and left room for errors in an environment where accuracy is critical.
Staff also revealed they often typed the same responses over and over, keeping a personal stash of copy-and-paste snippets in sticky notes or desktop text files. These quick-reference notes lived outside the banking system, meaning they weren’t searchable, weren’t standardized, and could vanish if someone’s computer crashed.
Here’s what we were up against:
❌ Inefficient communication: Seamless messaging wasn’t built into the archaic wire system, forcing users to invent workarounds.
❌ Ambiguity and inefficiency: Notes had to be shortened or cryptic due to strict character limits.
❌ Manual overhead: Staff kept sticky notes or desktop documents with daily copy-paste phrases.
It was clear this wasn’t just a minor annoyance — it was a systemic inefficiency. Messages were functional but far from frictionless. The challenge was to transform a passable process into one that was fast, consistent, and embedded directly into the workflow, without disrupting compliance requirements.
Research Goals + Methodologies
Since PortX was in its early stages, research was lightweight and fast-moving, with no dedicated research team. I conducted informal interviews with a few early stakeholder customers to understand how individuals currently manage wire transfers.
Since PortX was in its early stages, research was lightweight and fast-moving, with no dedicated research team. I conducted informal interviews with a few early stakeholder customers to understand how individuals currently manage wire transfers.
My research goals were simple but targeted:
➡ Comprehend how bank staff processed the different types of wire transfers
➡ Understand where and why internal communication breaks down
➡ Identify common pain points in day-to-day operations and their current workarounds
➡ Understand where and why internal communication breaks down
➡ Identify common pain points in day-to-day operations and their current workarounds
This is what sparked the idea for QuickNotes — a pre-filled messaging tool that lets users insert common wire responses with a single click. By adding QuickNotes to the existing messaging interface, we made wire approvals and rejections exponentially faster, more consistent, and user-friendly.
My Role
➡ Sole UX/UI designer
➡ Led UX research interviews with stakeholders (banking staff at Choice Bank)
➡ Ran remote usability tests via Zoom using Figma prototypes to validate interactions
➡ Translated insights into user flows and UX patterns
➡ Designed the messaging experience UI
➡ Collaborated with product and engineering through sprints
➡ Conducted usability testing and feedback
➡ Tools: Figma, Balsamiq, Miro, Jira, PowerPoint, Zoom
➡ Sole UX/UI designer
➡ Led UX research interviews with stakeholders (banking staff at Choice Bank)
➡ Ran remote usability tests via Zoom using Figma prototypes to validate interactions
➡ Translated insights into user flows and UX patterns
➡ Designed the messaging experience UI
➡ Collaborated with product and engineering through sprints
➡ Conducted usability testing and feedback
➡ Tools: Figma, Balsamiq, Miro, Jira, PowerPoint, Zoom
Payment Manager handles a range of high-stakes payment flows — including repairs, drawdowns, and OFAC holds — that each come with their own rules, user expectations, and compliance constraints. Our challenge was to create a unified interaction model that could support this variety while remaining intuitive, consistent, and easy to navigate. During early audits, we identified that wire users often encounter advanced workflows like:
➡ Repairs: Triggered by user input errors (e.g., wrong account numbers), which disrupt the flow mid-process and require guided correction.
➡ OFAC Holds: Regulatory delays that cause user anxiety and demand transparent but compliant messaging.
➡ Drawdowns: Recipient-initiated payments that demand trust, visibility, and precise authorization controls.These scenarios emphasized the need for error recovery flows, permission management interfaces, and empathetic communication strategies — all within a consistent design framework.
Challenges + Learnings
One challenge was advocating for UX improvements mid-sprint while the team was already building. PortX was still growing its product muscle, and speed was often prioritized over process. I spotted an opportunity that wouldn’t drastically affect scope or delivery — a small change that could make a big difference for users. Rather than let it slide, I spoke up. We shipped it.
One challenge was advocating for UX improvements mid-sprint while the team was already building. PortX was still growing its product muscle, and speed was often prioritized over process. I spotted an opportunity that wouldn’t drastically affect scope or delivery — a small change that could make a big difference for users. Rather than let it slide, I spoke up. We shipped it.
QuickNotes — now one of the most appreciated features — actually grew from revisiting the initial problem after we thought it was solved. A quick follow-up call to clarify a small detail uncovered a real pain point, showing how UX work isn’t always linear or fully clear from the start. Sometimes the best ideas come from rethinking assumptions mid-stream. These moments reminded me that UX designers aren’t just here to wireframe or for decoration — we add value by spotting gaps, asking better questions, and helping the team solve problems more thoughtfully.
Impact/Results
✅ Introduced QuickNotes — a purpose-built internal messaging tool embedded into wire transfers.
✅ Introduced QuickNotes — a purpose-built internal messaging tool embedded into wire transfers.
✅ Reduced friction and manual effort in the wire transfer process.
✅ Saved an estimated 4-6 hours per employee, per week.
✅ Streamlined communication and tracking across teams and companies.
✅ Created stronger audit trails and internal documentation with reusable note templates.
✅ QuickNotes became a surprise standout feature that users hadn’t asked for, but immediately adopted and appreciated.
Postface: I wasn’t able to stay on to iterate further after the MVP launch due to changes within the company. But based on early adoption and internal feedback, the feature made a meaningful impact and laid the groundwork for further UX improvements.
