VENMO
From domestic only, to trusted international payments
Venmo is built for domestic transfers, but today’s users move globally. This case study reimagines Venmo as a fast, travel-ready platform for transparent and trusted P2P international payments.
Mobile design
End-to-end experience
YEAR
Nov 2024 - Mar 2025
ROLE
Product Designer
Outcomes
→
93% average completion rate
Streamlined interactions made payments easier to complete across core flows.
→
100% comprehension lift
Redesigned the send flow to surface conversions, fees, and exchanges rates early by addressing a key user trust barrier from interviews.
→
All users approved the redesigned flow
All users preferred the new international experience over the old flow as trust and confidence improved.
“If Venmo worked like this abroad, I’d stop using everything else. This just makes sense.”
Usability tester,
Product Designer
Context
Why can’t I use Venmo abroad?
As Gen Z and Millennials increasingly live, work, and travel abroad, casual international payments remain fragmented and unreliable.
→
Limited to domestic use / lack of international access
→
Alternatives introduce hidden fees and unpredictable exchange rates
→
Hidden fees and high exchange rates erode trust
Why hasn’t this been done before?
International payments are complex by design because they’re bound by regulation, compliance, and legacy banking systems.
For Venmo, these constraints are amplified by expectations of fast, casual payments. Any international solution must preserve speed, familiarity, and trust without introducing heavy friction or cognitive overload.
Strategic vision: Global P2P payments
Venmo dominates domestic P2P because it’s fast, social, and lightweight.This isn’t about banking. It’s about supporting everyday moments that are currently underserved.The opportunity? Expand Venmo globally for casual P2P use, while maintaining a familiar, trusted, and transparent experience at every touchpoint.
What do users want? What dothey value?
The trust gap
A top priority was to uncover users reservations around international payments. Through interviews and surveys, users voiced fears around hidden fees and high exchange rates.Affinity maps made it clear: Without upfront transparency, trust breaks down.
What users demand
Users want a simple, reliable way to send money abroad and they’ll switch platforms to get it. Global access with transparent costs was non-negotiable. If Venmo doesn’t deliver, competitors will.
“Venmo just works in the most simple way possible. If it worked globally and I could trust the rates, I would use Venmo forever.”
Usability tester
“Exchange rates and fees are confusing. I just want to know exactly what I’m paying upfront.”
Usability tester
How might we bring trust & transparency to casual, international payments, while keeping Venmo simple, yet familiar?
Constraints & assumptions
Experience
- Must feel native to Venmo, not a separate remittance or banking app.
- Core interaction patterns must be preserved (speed, simplicity, social trust).
- Transparency should increase trust without overwhelming users, requiring progressive disclosure.
Regulatory & systems
- Exchange rates and fees must be disclosed clearly to meet compliance.
- International transfers introduce higher fraud and trust risk than domestic P2P.
User assumptions
- Users value transparency when sending money internationally.
- Confidence increases when users can understand costs before committing.
Reimagining Venmo for a global audience
1st MVP: Building trust through transparency
The first challenge was trust. Users were hesitant to engage with international payments without clear visibility into costs and exchange rates.I built an interactive prototype and validated it through 8 usability tests. The insight was clear: Users wouldn’t engage globally without trust. This turned trust into the foundation of the international flow.
Improved clarity and trust with exact totals shown in recipient’s local currency.
100% of participants
felt confident in sending and paying.
Boosted trust and confidence with upfront fee transparency.
All participants
valued upfront fee transparency.
Enabled informed decisions with early exchange rate visibility.
100% of participants
expected early visibility on exchange rates.
2nd MVP: Designing for clarity at every step
The next challenge was sequencing. When should exchange rates appear? Where should fees emerge? At what points do they meaningfully inform a decision?The exchange rate establishes baseline context first, while fees (calculated as a percentage of the send amount) are revealed only once that amount exists.
Exchange rates appear first.
Establishing baseline context without introducing unnecessary cognitive load.
Fees revealed only after an amount is entered.
Ensures users understood the total cost at the moment of commitment.
Core experience: 93% average completion rate
The key tasks results were in:
Task
Completed
- International payment
100%
- Checking exchange rates & fees
100%
- Checking included fees
93%
- Sending final payment
100%
- Viewing payment details
82%
- Requesting money
93%
- International request
93%
What if Venmo just worked abroad?
Global reach built on trust and transparency
Venmo is bridging the casual transfer gap with a social, transparent experience for global users, so that they can send and receive money internationally with trust, clarity, and confidence in every transaction.
SOLUTION 1
Currency clarity
→
Dual-currency display
100% comprehension lift, eliminating confusion around global, currency conversions.
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Mid-market exchange rate display
All users valued early exposure to the exchange rate as it increased trust, clarity, and flow efficiency.
SOLUTION 2
Fee transparency
→
New fee structure
All participants valued the transparent fees being shown early, giving confidence to complete the payment.
→
Integrated exchange rates & competitor rates
88% preferred the integrated rates modal as it reduced screen switching and multiple screen taps.
SOLUTION 3
Simplicity
→
Segmented control
7 of 8 participants found the segmented control easier to use than dual CTA buttons (Pay & Request) as it reinforced intentionality and minimized accidental transfers.
Impact at a glance
Transparency drives trust
The redesign drove a 30% increase in task completion, with a 93% average task success rate. Participants consistently approved the new international flow, validating the decision to show trust-critical information upfront.
From trust gap to global growth
The go-to for global P2P payments
This work extends beyond interface design into product strategy. For Venmo, global expansion depends on trust at scale. By making international payments transparent without sacrificing simplicity, Venmo can earn loyalty while extending beyond domestic P2P use. When international payments feel as easy as paying a friend next door, Venmo becomes the go-to platform for casual P2P payments worldwide.
“This feels like Venmo, but smarter. I would actually use this when traveling with my friends.”
Usability tester,
Engineer
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AXIS
Building clarity & confidence through guided discovery
→
88% adoption rate
→
42% boost in engagement
→
All users discovered new resources
Mobile design
End-to-end experience
View case study