Impact

  • 2× increase in user retention through onboarding redesign

  • 45% growth in monthly active users

  • 200,000+ virtual cards issued

  • $100M+ transaction volume enabled through virtual cards

  • $8M+ processed in cross-border settlements

  • $30M+ OTC transaction volume through Host+ Pay

The Problem

HostFi offered powerful financial infrastructure but lacked a cohesive user experience.

Key challenges included:

  • fragmented product interfaces across financial tools

  • complex onboarding processes requiring too many steps

  • inconsistent visual language across app and marketing

  • low perceived trust despite strong technical capabilities

  • difficulty scaling design across multiple product lines

As a financial product handling sensitive transactions, trust and clarity were essential.

Without a strong design foundation, users struggled to understand product value quickly.

Design Challenge

How might we create a unified financial experience that:

  • simplifies onboarding for complex financial tools

  • increases user confidence in crypto and cross-border transactions

  • supports multiple product types within one ecosystem

  • scales across retail and enterprise use cases

  • aligns product experience with brand credibility

  • enables faster iteration across teams

Leadership Scope

At HostFi, design extended beyond UI improvements.

I led design direction across product, marketing, and brand systems while mentoring a small team consisting of a graphic designer and junior product designer.

Responsibilities included:

  • defining design principles across the ecosystem

  • mentoring designers and improving design quality

  • aligning product decisions with business strategy

  • improving collaboration between product, engineering, and leadership

  • building scalable design foundations across multiple surfaces

This role required balancing hands-on execution with strategic oversight.

Redesigning Onboarding for Growth

Onboarding complexity was a major barrier to adoption.

The original flow required more than 10 steps, introducing unnecessary friction before users experienced product value.

We redesigned onboarding to:

  • reduce steps from 10+ screens to 4 core flows

  • improve KYC clarity through structured inputs

  • provide better progress feedback

  • simplify decision points during setup

The redesign contributed to:

  • 2× increase in user retention

  • 45% growth in monthly active users

Simplifying entry points allowed more users to successfully activate accounts.

Scaling the Virtual Card Experience

Virtual cards became one of HostFi’s highest-impact product areas.

We redesigned the experience to improve:

  • card creation clarity

  • transaction visibility

  • card management workflows

  • user confidence during payments

The improved experience supported:

  • 200,000+ cards issued

  • $100M+ transaction volume

Clearer interaction patterns helped users better understand how digital cards function in real-world transactions.

Improving Cross-Border Transactions

Cross-border settlements required careful UX improvements due to complexity and sensitivity around financial transfers.

We redesigned flows to:

  • reduce transaction errors

  • improve transparency during transfers

  • provide clearer confirmation states

  • simplify settlement tracking

Design improvements contributed to:

  • 15–20% increase in transaction success rates

  • $8M+ in processed settlements

Reducing friction in high-stakes transactions significantly improved reliability perception.

Host+ Pay — Enterprise Payment Experience

Host+ Pay focused on B2B payment infrastructure for enterprise users.

We redesigned the product narrative and checkout experience to:

  • better communicate value proposition

  • reduce complexity in enterprise flows

  • improve clarity around transaction states

  • support decision-making for business users

Results included:

  • 10–15% increase in activation

  • $30M+ OTC transaction volume supported

Improved clarity helped enterprise users better understand how the system supports large-scale transactions.

Organisational Impact

Design improvements extended beyond interface delivery.

Key contributions included:

  • mentoring junior designers to improve output quality

  • introducing clearer design workflows

  • improving collaboration across teams

  • aligning product decisions with business goals

Leadership credited design direction as instrumental in improving team alignment and product clarity.

Improved brand clarity also enabled new partnership opportunities, including collaboration campaigns with Gowagr.

Reflection

Designing for financial infrastructure requires balancing clarity, compliance, and scalability. Users need confidence when interacting with products that manage money. One key insight from this project:

Trust grows when complexity is well structured.

By improving clarity across onboarding, transactions, and product communication, we helped transform HostFi into a more accessible and scalable financial platform. Design played a central role in enabling both product adoption and business growth.

PO
Since 2018
home
ProjectHost Finance
DescriptionHostFi is a digital finance platform providing crypto trading, virtual cards, cross-border settlements, and Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure for both retail and enterprise users.
RoleHead Designer
ScopeProduct strategy, UX design, design systems, brand identity, team leadership
Visit Website
HeaderHostFi is a digital finance platform providing crypto trading, virtual cards, cross-border settlements, and Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure for both retail and enterprise users.
Impact

  • 2× increase in user retention through onboarding redesign

  • 45% growth in monthly active users

  • 200,000+ virtual cards issued

  • $100M+ transaction volume enabled through virtual cards

  • $8M+ processed in cross-border settlements

  • $30M+ OTC transaction volume through Host+ Pay

The Problem

HostFi offered powerful financial infrastructure but lacked a cohesive user experience.

Key challenges included:

  • fragmented product interfaces across financial tools

  • complex onboarding processes requiring too many steps

  • inconsistent visual language across app and marketing

  • low perceived trust despite strong technical capabilities

  • difficulty scaling design across multiple product lines

As a financial product handling sensitive transactions, trust and clarity were essential.

Without a strong design foundation, users struggled to understand product value quickly.

Design Challenge

How might we create a unified financial experience that:

  • simplifies onboarding for complex financial tools

  • increases user confidence in crypto and cross-border transactions

  • supports multiple product types within one ecosystem

  • scales across retail and enterprise use cases

  • aligns product experience with brand credibility

  • enables faster iteration across teams

Leadership Scope

At HostFi, design extended beyond UI improvements.

I led design direction across product, marketing, and brand systems while mentoring a small team consisting of a graphic designer and junior product designer.

Responsibilities included:

  • defining design principles across the ecosystem

  • mentoring designers and improving design quality

  • aligning product decisions with business strategy

  • improving collaboration between product, engineering, and leadership

  • building scalable design foundations across multiple surfaces

This role required balancing hands-on execution with strategic oversight.

Redesigning Onboarding for Growth

Onboarding complexity was a major barrier to adoption.

The original flow required more than 10 steps, introducing unnecessary friction before users experienced product value.

We redesigned onboarding to:

  • reduce steps from 10+ screens to 4 core flows

  • improve KYC clarity through structured inputs

  • provide better progress feedback

  • simplify decision points during setup

The redesign contributed to:

  • 2× increase in user retention

  • 45% growth in monthly active users

Simplifying entry points allowed more users to successfully activate accounts.

Scaling the Virtual Card Experience

Virtual cards became one of HostFi’s highest-impact product areas.

We redesigned the experience to improve:

  • card creation clarity

  • transaction visibility

  • card management workflows

  • user confidence during payments

The improved experience supported:

  • 200,000+ cards issued

  • $100M+ transaction volume

Clearer interaction patterns helped users better understand how digital cards function in real-world transactions.

Improving Cross-Border Transactions

Cross-border settlements required careful UX improvements due to complexity and sensitivity around financial transfers.

We redesigned flows to:

  • reduce transaction errors

  • improve transparency during transfers

  • provide clearer confirmation states

  • simplify settlement tracking

Design improvements contributed to:

  • 15–20% increase in transaction success rates

  • $8M+ in processed settlements

Reducing friction in high-stakes transactions significantly improved reliability perception.

Host+ Pay — Enterprise Payment Experience

Host+ Pay focused on B2B payment infrastructure for enterprise users.

We redesigned the product narrative and checkout experience to:

  • better communicate value proposition

  • reduce complexity in enterprise flows

  • improve clarity around transaction states

  • support decision-making for business users

Results included:

  • 10–15% increase in activation

  • $30M+ OTC transaction volume supported

Improved clarity helped enterprise users better understand how the system supports large-scale transactions.

Organisational Impact

Design improvements extended beyond interface delivery.

Key contributions included:

  • mentoring junior designers to improve output quality

  • introducing clearer design workflows

  • improving collaboration across teams

  • aligning product decisions with business goals

Leadership credited design direction as instrumental in improving team alignment and product clarity.

Improved brand clarity also enabled new partnership opportunities, including collaboration campaigns with Gowagr.

Reflection

Designing for financial infrastructure requires balancing clarity, compliance, and scalability. Users need confidence when interacting with products that manage money. One key insight from this project:

Trust grows when complexity is well structured.

By improving clarity across onboarding, transactions, and product communication, we helped transform HostFi into a more accessible and scalable financial platform. Design played a central role in enabling both product adoption and business growth.

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