Pennies- Designing a Kid Centered Transaction Flow for Everyday Money Movement

Project Overview

Client: Pennies, a financial app (education for kids)
Industry: Fintech, Ecommerce
Timeline: 3 years (2016-2019)
My Role: Staff UX Designer


Overview

Pennies is a consumer-facing financial product designed to help individuals manage small-dollar transactions, track spending, and move money with confidence.

The product supports everyday financial decisions—sending money, reviewing balances, and confirming transactions—where clarity, speed, and trust are critical. The experience was designed for non-enterprise users who expect intuitive, low-friction interactions when dealing with their personal finances.

Problem

Many consumer finance tools overwhelm users with:

• Dense financial language

• Feature-heavy dashboards

• Ambiguous transaction states

• Poor visibility into confirmation and history

For everyday users, these issues create anxiety around money movement and reduce trust in the product.

Design Goal

Design a consumer-first transaction experience that allows users to:

• Initiate financial actions quickly

• Clearly understand what will happen before money moves

• Confirm transactions with confidence

• Review activity without friction

The goal was not to make users “feel financial,” but to make money movement feel safe and predictable.

Screens Developed

1. Entry Point: Dashboard → Send / Spend
2. Transaction Setup (Amount + Recipient)
3. Review & Confirmation (Critical Trust Screen)
4. Authentication & Security Check
5. Transaction Success State
6. Transaction History (Post-Purchase Experience)