Intro/Background
PortX is on a mission to modernize banking infrastructure with its flagship cloud-based platform, PortX Cloud. One of its cornerstone offerings within Cloud is Payment Manager, which is an ecosystem in itself. Payment Manager contains several sub-products designed to support different payment types and workflows, including Wires, Checks, ACH, FedNow, and more.
Within Payment Manager, the Wires sub-product has its own suite of tools and features. One of these is an integrated wire messaging application — and is the focus of this case study. While just a small part of Wires, improving it had the potential to speed up operations, reduce errors, and drive efficiency across the broader payment management ecosystem.
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.
While designing Wires, one recurring issue emerged: Banks and credit unions follow strict procedures to approve or reject a wire transfer. But if clarification was needed on a wire transfer, staff had no seamless way to communicate. Employees often resorted to an awkward workaround of 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. The initial MVP solution was a simple messaging tool. Sounds straightforward, right?
Deep into the sprint cycle, I uncovered a friction point that hadn’t surfaced in the initial research. What followed was a pivotal “aha” moment — one that would completely change how we approached the messaging tool.
This UX case study focuses on solving that exact problem: How can a thoughtful design solution transform a small insight into a high-impact experience that reduces friction and makes internal banking tools more efficient?
The Problem
The “aha” moment came during a call with Choice Bank’s operations team. While discussing the $0.00 memo workaround they used for individual wire transactions, staff revealed another pain 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 original findings — it came directly from talking to users about their actual workflows. Here’s what we were up against:
The “aha” moment came during a call with Choice Bank’s operations team. While discussing the $0.00 memo workaround they used for individual wire transactions, staff revealed another pain 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 original findings — it came directly from talking to users about their actual workflows. 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
➡ Lead UX research interviews with stakeholders (banking staff at Choice Bank)
➡ Run remote usability tests via Zoom using Figma prototypes to validate interactions
➡ Translate insights into user flows and UX patterns
➡ Design the messaging experience UI
➡ Collaborate with product and engineering through sprints
➡ Conduct usability testing and feedback
➡ Tools used: Figma, Balsamiq, Miro, Jira, PowerPoint, Zoom
➡ Sole UX/UI designer
➡ Lead UX research interviews with stakeholders (banking staff at Choice Bank)
➡ Run remote usability tests via Zoom using Figma prototypes to validate interactions
➡ Translate insights into user flows and UX patterns
➡ Design the messaging experience UI
➡ Collaborate with product and engineering through sprints
➡ Conduct usability testing and feedback
➡ Tools used: 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.
