TL;DR
Wise (formerly TransferWise) lets people send money abroad at the lowest possible true cost. I joined the Comparison team at Wise with a mission to make comparing transfer providers easier. Through continuous discovery, workshops and ideation we were able to ship meaningful features fast, whilst building a vision for the future.
My contribution
Product strategy
Product design
User research
Continuous discovery
Product vision
Workshops
Ways of working
The team
1 × Product Manager
1 × Product Designer
3 × Engineers
2 × Data Analyst
Impact
Coming soon
Process
Level up quickly and develop empathy
As a new contractor at Wise with no prior experience in international transfers, I started by planning generative user research to understand how people currently send money abroad and identify opportunities.
I ran unmoderated studies on usertesting.com and followed up with in-person interviews. The studies revealed early clues I explored further in person, where participants compared Wise with competitors, giving us key insights into their priorities and decision-making criteria.
Looking for themes in our learnings
After the interviews, I led a team session to synthesize insights and identify key opportunities. Four themes emerged:
Trust - Many preferred their bank despite worse rates, due to familiarity.
Security - Participants needed clear signs the provider was legitimate.
Speed - Transfers were often time-sensitive, like emergencies or bills.
Fees - People searched for “lowest” or “no fees” to find the best deal.
Leading a "How Might We" (HMW) workshop to ideate solutions
The team eagerly contributed ideas to address user pain points, many for the first time shaping the product’s direction. We then ranked their ideas using an impact/effort matrix.
HMW improve user perception that Wise is trustworthy? Show Wise’s 4.3 Trustpilot rating in the comparison table alongside the other providers.
HMW improve user perception that Wise is secure? Add social proof by displaying the number of transfers made through Wise.
HMW help users feel confident knowing their transfer will arrive on time? Include transfer durations for each provider to highlight Wise’s speed advantage.
HMW highlight the hidden fees that other providers charge? Expose hidden fees by breaking down each provider’s transfer amounts.
The solution
Delivering a validated MVP
The research had indicated that speed and trust were key factors for users. Even if Wise was slower, transparency eased anxiety. To avoid blocking engineers while I explored larger features in other opportunity areas, I quickly designed a lightweight speed and trust comparison MVP they could start building.
Once confident in the design direction, I ran usability tests on usertesting.com for quick validation, followed by in-person sessions with 6 participants (3 mobile, 3 desktop) to explore any challenging areas in depth.
The banker and the future
I always design a “banker”—a simple, low-effort solution we can ship quickly if priorities shift. It ensures progress isn't blocked and gives me freedom to explore bolder ideas.
In this project, the bankers were adding speed and Trustpilot scores to the comparison table. Higher-risk explorations included a new mobile layout and clearer “hidden fees” messaging. Not everything shipped, but as a contractor, it was valuable to scope a range of options.
Outcome
This piece of work was about building a user-centred cadence for the team, and shipping iterative improvements. Setting some foundations for the team to take further once I rolled off the project.