PayWell CD Agents
Digitizing a cash supply chain for 4.5M retailers
Digitizing a cash supply chain for 4.5M retailers
Digitizing a cash supply chain for 4.5M retailers
An agent app that replaced weekly cash settlement with software.
An agent app that replaced weekly cash settlement with software.
Role
Role
Sole product designer, end to end, including field research.
Sole product designer, end to end, including field research.
Fintech
Fintech
Lead Designer
Lead Designer
46%
46%
Cut from monthly operating cost
Cut from monthly operating cost
160 to 37
160 to 37
Weekly invoice errors, down from 160
Weekly invoice errors, down from 160
$960K
$960K
Collected and disbursed every month
85K
85K
Retailers reached across the country
Retailers reached across the country
46%
Cut from monthly operating cost
$960K
Collected and disbursed every month
160 to 37
Weekly invoice errors, down from 160
85K
Retailers reached across the country
Overview
Overview
PayWell CD is ShopUp's collection and disbursement app. Field agents collect cash from retailers and pay out to suppliers on the company's behalf, across Bangladesh.
Owned the product end to end, from research to shipped app, as the sole designer working with engineers, business, and product. Ran the research myself, phone & field interviews with the agents & retailers who move the cash, & the suppliers who receive it.
PayWell CD is ShopUp's collection and disbursement app. Field agents collect cash from retailers and pay out to suppliers on the company's behalf, across Bangladesh.
Owned the product end to end, from research to shipped app, as the sole designer working with engineers, business, and product. Ran the research myself, phone & field interviews with the agents & retailers who move the cash, & the suppliers who receive it.
PayWell CD is ShopUp's collection and disbursement app. Field agents collect cash from retailers and pay out to suppliers on the company's behalf, across Bangladesh.
Owned the product end to end, from research to shipped app, as the sole designer working with engineers, business, and product. Ran the research myself, phone & field interviews with the agents & retailers who move the cash, & the suppliers who receive it.
How the business works
How the business works
Collateral
Collateral
An agent is a registered business that deposits collateral in the form of money with PayWell to unlock a list of retailers to collect from within the collateral amount.
An agent is a registered business that deposits collateral in the form of money with PayWell to unlock a list of retailers to collect from within the collateral amount.
Sub-agents
Sub-agents
The list is large, so the agent hires sub agents, as their own employees, & allocates retailers and suppliers to them. Each morning they head out & clear the list.
The list is large, so the agent hires sub agents, as their own employees, & allocates retailers and suppliers to them. Each morning they head out & clear the list.
Commission
Commission
Agents earn a negotiated commission on each collection and disbursement. Swapping salaried staff for commission based agents is what drove the 46% cost cut.
Agents earn a negotiated commission on each collection and disbursement. Swapping salaried staff for commission based agents is what drove the 46% cost cut.
Collateral
An agent is a registered business that deposits collateral in the form of money with PayWell to unlock a list of retailers to collect from within the collateral amount.
Sub-agents
The list is large, so the agent hires sub agents, as their own employees, & allocates retailers and suppliers to them. Each morning they head out & clear the list.
Commission
Agents earn a negotiated commission on each collection and disbursement. Swapping salaried staff for commission based agents is what drove the 46% cost cut.
The problem in cash supply chain
The problem in cash supply chain
The problem in cash supply chain
1
Placing Orders
Retailers order products via an app or directly through an supplier agent.
2
Order Dispatch
Suppliers receive orders, sort them, and dispatch from their designated warehouses.
3
Delivery
Products are loaded into a van and delivered to retailers without payment.
4
Selling Products
Retailers sell the products to customers, incurring the cost of the products.
5
Weekly Payment
Retailers pay suppliers in cash for sold inventory, typically after one week.
6
Cash Collection
Suppliers collect the cash and return it to their warehouse for deposit.
1
Placing Orders
Retailers order products via an app or directly through an supplier agent.
2
Order Dispatch
Suppliers receive orders, sort them, and dispatch from their designated warehouses.
3
Delivery
Products are loaded into a van and delivered to retailers without payment.
4
Selling Products
Retailers sell the products to customers, incurring the cost of the products.
5
Weekly Payment
Retailers pay suppliers in cash for sold inventory, typically after one week.
6
Cash Collection
Suppliers collect the cash and return it to their warehouse for deposit.
Steps 5 & 6 are expensive, error prone & risky,
which the PayWell CD app replaces.
Steps 5 & 6 are expensive, error prone & risky, which the PayWell CD app replaces.
Expensive
Expensive
Companies paid for manual collection and disbursement, salaried staff moving cash door to door.
Companies paid for manual collection and disbursement, salaried staff moving cash door to door.
Error prone
Error prone
No shared invoice meant 160 disputed invoices a week. Partial payments had nowhere to live.
No shared invoice meant 160 disputed invoices a week. Partial payments had nowhere to live.
Risky
Risky
Agents carried large cash all day, exposed to theft, with tax and settlement records pieced together by hand.
Agents carried large cash all day, exposed to theft, with tax and settlement records pieced together by hand.
Expensive
Companies paid for manual collection and disbursement, salaried staff moving cash door to door.
Error prone
No shared invoice meant 160 disputed invoices a week. Partial payments had nowhere to live.
Risky
Agents carried large cash all day, exposed to theft, with tax and settlement records pieced together by hand.
What I was actually solving
What I was actually solving
On paper this was a payments dashboard. In the field it was something else.
The agents carry large cash through busy markets, guard against theft, and lose high commission tasks that arrive by phone call. The job was not to organize data on a screen. It was to design for that environment: risk, distraction, missed calls.
That shift shaped the whole product, the flows below and the hardest calls inside them.
On paper this was a payments dashboard. In the field it was something else.
The agents carry large cash through busy markets, guard against theft, and lose high commission tasks that arrive by phone call. The job was not to organize data on a screen. It was to design for that environment: risk, distraction, missed calls.
That shift shaped the whole product, the flows below and the hardest calls inside them.
On paper this was a payments dashboard. In the field it was something else.
The agents carry large cash through busy markets, guard against theft, and lose high commission tasks that arrive by phone call. The job was not to organize data on a screen. It was to design for that environment: risk, distraction, missed calls.
That shift shaped the whole product, the flows below and the hardest calls inside them.
Flows the agent relies on
Flows the agent relies on
Add balance
Agent deposits money to bank/MFS to add balance.
Agent deposits money to bank/MFS to add balance.
Allocate agent
Agents assigns other sub-agents to collect & disburse.
Agents assigns other sub-agents to collect & disburse.
Collect
Assigned agents goes to retailers for collection
Assigned agents goes to retailers for collection
Disburse
Assigned agents goes to suppliers for disbursement
Assigned agents goes to suppliers for disbursement
Add balance
Agent deposits money to bank/MFS to add balance.
Collect
Assigned agents goes to retailers for collection
Allocate agent
Agents assigns other sub-agents to collect & disburse.
Disburse
Assigned agents goes to suppliers for disbursement
Flows make up the app. Each carried a constraint that shaped it.
Flows make up the app. Each carried a constraint that shaped it.
Flows make up the app. Each carried a constraint that shaped it.
Onboarding and KYC
Live selfie, National ID (NID), and address, compliant with Bangladesh Bank.
Constraint: Bank grade verification a non technical agent can finish on a street corner, with clear retry when a scan fails.
Live selfie, National ID (NID), and address, compliant with Bangladesh Bank.
Constraint: Bank grade verification a non technical agent can finish on a street corner, with clear retry when a scan fails.
Adding balance
Top up by bank, card, or MFS, upload receipt, await confirmation.
Constraint: Three funding rails, and a pending state so cash in transit is never ambiguous.
Top up by bank, card, or MFS, upload receipt, await confirmation.
Constraint: Three funding rails, and a pending state so cash in transit is never ambiguous.
Allocating to sub-agents
A primary agent assigns collection and disbursement tasks to sub agents.
Constraint: Sub-agents get the same task screens without admin controls, so one agent can run a field team and reconcile centrally.
A primary agent assigns collection and disbursement tasks to sub agents.
Constraint: Sub-agents get the same task screens without admin controls, so one agent can run a field team and reconcile centrally.
Collection
The core task, repeated many times a day. Visit the retailer, verify the amount, take payment, confirm with a code, issue an invoice. Retailers often pay in parts as stock sells, so the app tracks partial payments over two or three days. Nothing tracked them before.
Constraint: In app verification plus partial payment tracking replaced untracked cash. That is what cut invoice errors.
The core task, repeated many times a day. Visit the retailer, verify the amount, take payment, confirm with a code, issue an invoice. Retailers often pay in parts as stock sells, so the app tracks partial payments over two or three days. Nothing tracked them before.
Constraint: In app verification plus partial payment tracking replaced untracked cash. That is what cut invoice errors.
Earnings
The reason agents do this work. Commission by week, month, year, or custom range, with payout history and bonuses.
Constraint: The amount hides behind the same privacy toggle as the balance, since earnings are just as sensitive on the street.
The reason agents do this work. Commission by week, month, year, or custom range, with payout history and bonuses.
Constraint: The amount hides behind the same privacy toggle as the balance, since earnings are just as sensitive on the street.
Key decisions to mitigate user issues
Key decisions to mitigate user issues
Key decisions to mitigate user issues
Decision 01
The dashboard redesign
The dashboard is the screen agents open every session, so it took most of the work. Interviews with 140 agents surfaced five problems with the old one.
The dashboard is the screen agents open every session, so it took most of the work. Interviews with 140 agents surfaced five problems with the old one.
Issues agents faced
What I changed
88% missed instant collections, the highest paying task, because they arrived as phone calls to the lead agent.
88% missed instant collections, the highest paying task, because they arrived as phone calls to the lead agent.
The notification and important alert sits on the dashboard now with phone calls & SMS.
The notification and important alert sits on the dashboard now with phone calls & SMS.
85% wanted more than a balance and totals.
85% wanted more than a balance and totals.
Today's pending and today's transactions on the same surface.
Today's pending and today's transactions on the same surface.
70% could not tell whether the balance was hidden, the eye icon was silent.
70% could not tell whether the balance was hidden, the eye icon was silent.
A toggle that answers with a vibration and a sound for feedback.
A toggle that answers with a vibration and a sound for feedback.
66% mis tapped, gripping the phone hard against theft.
66% mis tapped, gripping the phone hard against theft.
Spaced oval buttons sized to the thumb, 20px padding on live actions.
Spaced oval buttons sized to the thumb, 20px padding on live actions.
55% missed critical alerts even with push notifications.
55% missed critical alerts even with push notifications.
Alerts color coded by urgency, red for a blocked task, dark for a holiday.
Alerts color coded by urgency, red for a blocked task, dark for a holiday.
Issues agents faced
88% missed instant collections, the highest paying task, because they arrived as phone calls to the lead agent.
85% wanted more than a balance and totals.
70% could not tell whether the balance was hidden, the eye icon was silent.
66% mis tapped, gripping the phone hard against theft.
55% missed critical alerts even with push notifications.
What I changed
The notification and important alert sits on the dashboard now with phone calls & SMS.
Today's pending and today's transactions on the same surface.
A toggle that answers with a vibration and a sound for feedback.
Spaced oval buttons sized to the thumb, 20px padding on live actions.
55% missed critical alerts even with push notifications.
Decision 02
The call I had to make
Push notifications were the obvious fix and they failed. Agents work heads down in a market and rarely open a tray mid collection. So the alerts moved onto the dashboard itself, which made it denser. I took the density so paid work is never missed.
Push notifications were the obvious fix and they failed. Agents work heads down in a market and rarely open a tray mid collection. So the alerts moved onto the dashboard itself, which made it denser. I took the density so paid work is never missed.
The grip problem needed space, not hierarchy. Padding the live actions to 20px pushed other things further down the screen. Worth it, since one wrong tap can void a live transaction.
The grip problem needed space, not hierarchy. Padding the live actions to 20px pushed other things further down the screen. Worth it, since one wrong tap can void a live transaction.
Result: Accidental taps down 8%. Notification issues down 95%.
Result: Accidental taps down 8%. Notification issues down 95%.
Measured from support tickets and group interview calls, run in groups so agents spoke up when peers did.
Measured from support tickets and group interview calls, run in groups so agents spoke up when peers did.
Impact
Impact
Every cost named at the start came down. Monthly averages from ShopUp Metabase, converted to USD.
Every cost named at the start came down. Monthly averages from ShopUp Metabase, converted to USD.
What changed
46%
46%
Lower operating cost
Lower operating cost
79%
79%
Fewer invoice errors, 160 to 37 a week
Fewer invoice errors, 160 to 37 a week
Money monthly moved
$750K
$750K
Collections & instant collections
Collections & instant collections
$335K
$335K
Disbursements to 3,200 suppliers
Disbursements to 3,200 suppliers
$72,500
$72,500
Commission earned by agents
Commission earned by agents
Reach
85K
85K
Retailers served monthly
Retailers served monthly
2,500
2,500
Agents and sub-agents
Agents and sub-agents
8,000
8,000
Transactions a day
Transactions a day
What changed
46%
Lower operating cost
79%
Fewer invoice errors, 160 to 37 a week
Money monthly moved
$750K
Collections & instant collections
$335K
Disbursements to 3,200 suppliers
$72,500
Commission earned by agents
Reach
85K
Retailers served monthly
2,500
Agents and sub-agents
8,000
Transactions a day
Reflection
Reflection
What I learned
What I learned
Design for the field, not the desk.
Design for the field, not the desk.
Theft, distraction, and a hard grip never showed up in Figma. I found them standing next to the agent.
Theft, distraction, and a hard grip never showed up in Figma. I found them standing next to the agent.
Ship slow when money is live.
Ship slow when money is live.
Two months of small releases, not one drop, so no change ever cost an agent a day of cash.
Two months of small releases, not one drop, so no change ever cost an agent a day of cash.
What I would change
What I would change
Add a map
Add a map
Crowded markets have no signage. Agents need location precise enough to reach one stall.
Crowded markets have no signage. Agents need location precise enough to reach one stall.
Build for theft
Build for theft
An SOS shortcut, and a way to trace a stolen phone.
An SOS shortcut, and a way to trace a stolen phone.
Show retailers their side
Show retailers their side
They pay many agents, and often only the owner knows what is owed. Hard to build, but the right direction.
They pay many agents, and often only the owner knows what is owed. Hard to build, but the right direction.
The product is stable now. Beyond bug fixes, it does what the field needs.
Reflection
What I learned
Design for the field, not the desk.
Theft, distraction, and a hard grip never showed up in Figma. I found them standing next to the agent.
Ship slow when money is live.
Two months of small releases, not one drop, so no change ever cost an agent a day of cash.
What I would change
Add a map
Crowded markets have no signage. Agents need location precise enough to reach one stall.
Build for theft
An SOS shortcut, and a way to trace a stolen phone.
Show retailers their side
They pay many agents, and often only the owner knows what is owed. Hard to build, but the right direction.
The product is stable now. Beyond bug fixes, it does what the field needs.