User experience
Evaluating B2B Payment Journeys for a FinTech Provider
A research agency working in the FinTech space engaged us to help understand why SME business owners were not adopting new payment methods. This story is shared with the client's permission, without identifying details.
3
days of fieldwork
SME
business owner participants
B2B
payment journeys tested
A FinTech provider (name withheld by agreement)
The challenge
Understanding why business owners were not adopting new payment methods
In the fast-moving FinTech space, understanding the practical needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is critical for effective service design. A research agency working with a FinTech provider engaged us to capture the unfiltered views of SME business owners on open banking and to test the intuiveness of various B2B payment journeys.
The goal was to identify the friction points that prevent business owners from adopting new payment methods. Standard consumer testing frameworks were not enough here: what works for an individual buyer does not necessarily translate to the needs of a time-poor business owner managing cash flow, authorisations, and team access.
Project context
Client name and agency name withheld by agreement. Details reflect the nature of the project without identifying the parties.
- Industry FinTech, financial services
- Solution User experience, B2B journey evaluation
- Audience SME business owners
- Duration 3 days
- Methods Live payment journey evaluation, targeted feedback, needs identification
The approach
Testing complex journeys in a realistic online sandbox
We established a three-day online community with a range of business owners, using our platform as a realistic environment for testing payment journeys rather than asking participants to reflect on experiences in the abstract.
Live evaluation
Participants were asked to walk through several payment journeys, providing detailed feedback on the interface, the clarity of the content, and the overall helpfulness of the flow. Reactions were captured as they happened, not recalled after the fact.
Targeted feedback
Our platform allowed us to isolate specific elements of the digital experience that felt confusing or unnecessary for a time-poor business owner, focusing scrutiny on the exact moments where friction was most likely to cause abandonment.
Needs identification
By observing these interactions, we helped identify exactly what business owners need to make a payment method feel reliable and effective for day-to-day use, distinguishing between consumer-shaped expectations and genuine SME requirements.
The result
A clear path for FinTech implementation
The community provided the granular evidence needed to optimise the payment interface. This project highlighted the external customer gap: what works for a consumer does not always translate to the needs of a business owner, and the client now had the evidence to bridge that gap.
Friction points identified
The research surfaced the specific moments in the payment journey where business owners hesitated, confused, or abandoned the flow, giving the team precise areas to address rather than broad hypotheses.
SME needs distinguished from consumer needs
The project confirmed that business owners bring different expectations and constraints to payment management. Design decisions that work for consumers often create friction for the people running a business, and the research made those differences concrete.
Interface optimisation evidence delivered
The client left with actionable evidence on which elements of the interface needed to change, in what order, and why, grounded in the actual experience of the people who would need to use it daily.
The outcome
"This project highlighted the external customer gap by showing that what works for a consumer does not always translate to the needs of a business owner, allowing the client to bridge that gap with a more effective, business-ready solution."
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