Marketeq Wallet
Overview
Marketeq Wallet is a 0→1 desktop web wallet built for clients who manage service payments across multiple IT consulting projects. When returning clients couldn't see their remaining balance spread across projects, states, and currencies, they paid again instead of reusing existing funds, creating unnecessary refunds and operational overhead.
I led end-to-end UX research and design, reframing the problem from refund delays to balance visibility. The result is a centralized wallet that surfaces usable funds by currency and project state, with inline USD–TEQ conversion transparency to support confident payment decisions.
The Problem
Before our design intervention, 30% of returning clients paid again instead of reusing existing balances. This resulted in a high volume of refund requests and created significant operational overhead for the backend support team.
Quick Context (for non-fintech readers)
Who are the users?
Operations leads or finance contacts who manage budgets and authorize payments across multiple consulting projects on the platform.
What is TEQ?
TEQ is an internal balance that clients can use to pay for services on the platform, similar to stored credit rather than a public currency.
Why dual-currency?
Due to business and accounting constraints, payments are made in USD while value can be stored and reused as TEQ for future projects.
Research
Through 5 client interviews and competitive analysis across 20+ platforms, I identified key patterns across user behavior and system workflows. The findings reframed the problem from refund delays to balance visibility, uncovering its impact on decision confidence and repeated payment behavior. I brought this evidence to the PM and CEO to shift the project direction.
Rather than asking for faster refund processes, users wanted to know if they had usable credit in their accounts. We realized that showing remaining balances at checkout and in a centralized dashboard would eliminate duplicate payments.
Design Goal
How might we help clients confidently decide whether to pay again by clearly surfacing usable balances across currencies and project states?
Working with the CEO and PM, we prioritized balance visibility as the core problem to solve. TEQ incentive features were deferred to a later phase, with the business planning to introduce TEQ adoption once the core wallet experience was stable.
Design Exploration
Decision 1: Displaying balances
We designed a way to display both USD and TEQ balances in one place, broken down by account state, ensuring they are visually distinct.
Decision 2: Tracking project states
We mapped USD and TEQ visibility through different project states, indicating locked vs. usable funds clearly.
Decision 3: Conversion transparency
We designed an inline preview showing exactly what the USD-to-TEQ conversion rate is before clients move funds.
Decision 4: Auto-checking health
We surfaced project allocation and balance health dynamically, eliminating the need for manual calculations or checks.
Final Solution
The final interface organizes budgets, allocations, and conversions into one clear layout. By mapping balance states visually, it allows clients to read available balances instantly and avoid redundant checkout actions.
FEATURE 01 — UNIFIED BALANCE OVERVIEW
To make each balance type clear at a glance, USD, TEQ, and the combined total are displayed as separate cards. This prevents clients from confusing the total with what is actually available to spend in each currency. Defining 4 balance states gave clients a shared vocabulary for where their funds were. Visualizing the breakdown as proportions made it easier to read allocation at a glance, without calculating the numbers manually.
FEATURE 02 — USD-TEQ CONVERSION PREVIEW
Clients needed confidence in the TEQ rate before committing to a conversion. Surfacing the live rate and historical trend inline gave them the context to make the decision without leaving the page.
FEATURE 03 — PROJECT ALLOCATIONS AND INSIGHTS
Clients needed to know which projects required attention without checking each one individually. Three layers of visibility work together: balance state cards at the top, health badges per project, and a portfolio summary at the bottom.
Before
- Balances were scattered across project pages, emails, and invoices.
- Clients couldn't tell how much was still usable before checkout.
- Internal support teams handled frequent refund requests and manual adjustments.
After
- Remaining balances are centralized and visible in one place.
- Clients see what's available before deciding to pay again.
- Balance clarity reduces confusion across currencies and projects.
Impact & Takeaways
I ran a comparative usability study with 8 returning clients, testing identical tasks across the existing workflow and the redesigned prototype. The feedback showed that the centralized overview removed guesswork and built confidence.
My biggest takeaway: The most impactful decision was how to present and visualize the information users already needed, making balance states readable at a glance rather than something to calculate manually.
Reflection
Designing a 0→1 product was initially uncomfortable because many assumptions were unproven. I learned that clarity doesn't come from having all the answers, it comes from asking better questions and staying aligned with the people around you. Working closely with the CEO, PM, and engineer taught me how business priorities and technical constraints shape design scope, and how early alignment makes iteration faster.
If I had more time…
- I would track post-launch metrics such as repeat payment rate, refund volume, and funding time to validate long-term impact.
- I would also run more usability testing rounds to iterate and confirm whether the design truly matches what users need.
- I would explore predictive prompts that proactively surface remaining balances before checkout.
More Case Study
