Simplifying loans through design.
Team
Product Designer (Me)
2 Product Managers
Product Head
Chief Technology Officer
2 Frontend Developers
2 SDEs
1 QA Tester
My Role
Product Designer ––– Product Architecture, Interaction Design, User Flow, Visual Design,
Prototyping
Duration
4 months (Dec 2022 - Mar 2023)
Overview
When the project landed on my desk, the CTO was crystal clear about the expectations:
1️⃣ Explain EMI plans without financial jargon
2️⃣ Show repayment timelines in an intuitive way
3️⃣ Make trust a visible design feature — with clarity and assurance built right in.
FatakPay’s B2B model was already proving successful — partnering with companies that had large workforces and offering small-ticket loans to their employees. But from the very start, there had been a bigger vision: to lend higher amounts with easy EMIs.
The EMI product had always been part of the roadmap, patiently waiting in the wings while the company scaled safely and kept risks low. Once we saw how quickly people adopted the app —and how many borrowers were engaging with it — we knew it was time to leap.
A personal challenge
This was my first experience designing in a professional corporate setting. I came from a mechanical engineering background, had zero experience in the finance world, and had never taken an EMI in my life. I was stepping into a completely unfamiliar arena — but that’s exactly what made it exciting.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to start from a blank slate. A design agency (before I joined) had created a rough draft of the EMI product. It wasn’t final, but it gave me a foundation to build on.
My Approach to Manoeuvring into the Unknown
When I stepped into this project, I knew one thing — I had to learn fast. My only strategy was simple — ask, ask, and ask. I spoke to everyone I could: the chartered accountant, credit analyst, head of collections, product head, VP of marketing, developers, friends, relatives, and even my parents — just to understand EMIs from all angles. I read blogs, browsed competitor sites, and handed out quick questionnaires to colleagues.
The first surprise came from my own office — 68% had existing loans, and most preferred financing companies over banks for their higher approval chances. That got me curious about patterns on a larger scale, so I pitched a formal user research plan.
The stakeholders weren’t convinced — tight deadlines, no budget, and an urgent product release meant I had to drop the idea. My workaround came from the CBO, who offered to share a revised questionnaire with our partner corporations. From the 117 responses, I learnt:
Common loan purposes: emergencies, medical expenses, weddings, and education.
Key decision drivers: quick approval, minimal paperwork, and trust in the provider.
Borrowing behaviour: repeat borrowing to close old debts was a frequent occurrence.
From this, I built a provisional user persona:
“A 28-45-year-old salaried or semi-skilled worker with limited savings, often supporting a family. Prefers fast, no-hassle loans over cheaper but slower bank options. Is comfortable with basic smartphone usage but may have limited financial literacy.”
The Workaround
Instead of applying for loans just for research, I leaned on colleagues who already had active loans. They shared their app screens freely, allowing me to document real-world post-loan journeys.
For onboarding flows, I teamed up with my PM — while I navigated the app, he recorded the process on his phone (filming my phone in action). This low-tech trick bypassed in-app restrictions and gave me clear visual references.
For platforms I didn’t want to fully onboard with, YouTube fintech review channels were a goldmine. There were many fintech app reviewing channels showcasing side-by-side feature comparisons, interest rates, and walkthroughs.
This blend of direct captures and curated external content gave me a full competitive map. From there, I identified “must-have”, ”good-to-have” and “differentiator” features — and noted how non-eligible users were handled. These findings set the stage for my first focus area: Onboarding.
Decoding the Competition
Fitting the New into the Known: Designing EMI Onboarding within FatakPay’s Existing Flow
FatakEMI wasn’t here to replace FatakCredit; both had to coexist. But, lending larger amounts came with higher risk, so even existing FatakCredit users needed extra checks — 3 months’ bank statements and mandatory auto-debit setup.
I mapped two possible onboarding paths:
New customers choosing any product from the start.
Existing FatakCredit customer opting for EMI
The first path created ambiguity: At what stage should a new user pick a product? So stakeholders opted for the second path for the pilot. This meant all new customers had to onboard for FatakCredit first, then unlock EMI. While simpler to implement, it risked user drop-offs and kept FatakPay tied to its B2B model.
For existing users, the process was faster — previously stored KYC and eligibility data was shown for verification, after which they could review their EMI offer (up to Rs. 2,00,000), compare interest rates, tenures, select an amount, upload any additional documents, and give auto-debit consent. Once confirmed, the loan was disbursed, allowing the new product to blend seamlessly into the existing journey.
Challenge: partial repayments
During pilot testing, we discovered an issue. Some users were paying partial EMIs, but the system only marked instalments as cleared if fully paid. Holding partial amounts internally was risky due to RBI regulations — only wallets can store money, and licensing one wasn’t viable.
Workaround and design update
To solve this, I introduced a new signifier: Yellow, representing partial repayment.
▫️ The “Total Due Amount” field became clickable, revealing the detailed breakup: partial carry-forward + current EMI.
▫️ Scheduler blocks also reflected partial amounts with the new yellow icon.
▫️ This approach not only solved the compliance issue but also gave users visibility into penalty fees for delayed or missed payments.
Witnessing the impact
Once released, the update was a success. Total disbursement crossed Rs. 30 Lakhs in just 2 weeks, with sharp growth in app installations and onboarding from partner corporates. Energised by this momentum, stakeholders expanded the vision from a corporate-only product to a B2C offering.
Designing the EMI Dashboard
Fig.5.2. Individual icons replaced by progress bar for scalability
Fig.5.3. Scheduler highlighting essential details for better understanding
Inspiration and solution for EMI status
The breakthrough came unexpectedly. While making a payment on a food delivery app, my failed transaction was signalled with a bold red icon and text. This reminded me of how universal traffic-light colours are in shaping human behaviour. I applied the same principle:
▫️ Green check circle for successful EMI repayment
▫️ Red cross circle for defaults (missed EMI)
▫️ For 12-month loans, a progress bar replaced individual icons for scalability
The scheduler was designed as sequential blocks, each showing: Due Date, Principal, Interest, Instalment Amount, and Status Signifier. This made monthly obligations transparent at a glance.
FatakPay limited EMI tenures to 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The stakeholders wanted to reuse our signature card design, so I adapted it for this product. The card now displayed only essential fields:
Total Due Amount
Due Date
Loan Outstanding Amount
Rate of Interest (ROI)
Tenure
Clarity here was critical to building trust and avoiding ambiguity. Unlike competitors with 10-year loan visualisations, we focused on shorter terms that demanded simple, intuitive displays.
This was the most exciting and challenging part of the project: designing a dashboard that could display EMI details and status to our users. Replicating competitor dashboards would have been faster, but our audience was different. Unlike most EMI apps built for white-collar users, we were catering to blue-collar workers — many of them uneducated, some unruly, and all needing maximum clarity to avoid confusion.
When the board decided to go all out with FatakCredit and FatakEMI, it became clear that the app needed a structural rethink. If both products were to coexist, the old model — forcing users through a product-specific onboarding before showing options — was no longer practical. Key questions emerged: What happens if a user fails eligibility for one product? Should they be offered the other? And if they decline, what value remains in the app?
To resolve this, we mapped common onboarding requirements. Collecting Aadhaar, PAN, and salary details upfront felt ethically wrong. So we trimmed the flow to just the essentials: name, phone number, income type, and selfie. After this minimal onboarding, users would land on a “Unified Home”, a central hub showcasing all products side by side, plus upcoming services like credit score checks, insurance, and investments. Even rejected applicants could still engage with meaningful features.
Unifying Two Products Under One Roof
From here, product-specific flows kicked in. If a user chose FatakEMI, only EMI-related documents were requested. This reduced friction and gave users more control over their journey.
The new design went live in March 2023 as version 4.8, marking FatakPay’s first step into a true B2C model. The response was immediate — downloads spiked to 4.3K in a single day, overwhelming the operations team with applications. Some borrowers, from different Indian states, even exploited gaps, withdrawing funds and uninstalling the app. Losses in the first week forced quick action.
We introduced mandatory location-sharing during onboarding, allowing the system to track PIN codes and restrict disbursement to approved regions. This phased rollout strategy stabilised risk while scaling operations region by region.
Despite the rocky start, the EMI product under this unified B2C model went on to cross Rs. 1 crore in disbursements, proving the remodel’s long-term impact.
Fig. 6.2. Products & services showcased in “Unified Home” screen with adaptive bottom navigation
Fig.6.2. New flow, new structure and new changes
Working on FatakPay was more than just a design role. It was my first real immersion into a high-pressure startup environment where design decisions had a direct impact on growth, compliance, and trust. From redesigning onboarding for underserved users to shaping an entirely new product ecosystem, every challenge pushed me to think beyond visuals and focus on business impact.
What was achieved
✅ Transformed the onboarding journey into something accessible for a largely blue-collar audience.
✅ Created scalable design systems that adapted to regulatory shifts and product pivots.
✅ Helped unify two loan products under a single experience, leading to rapid adoption and over Rs. 1 crore in disbursements.
✅ Designed features that gave users more control and transparency, building trust in a sensitive financial domain.
Impact, Learnings, and the Road Ahead
Design in fintech isn’t just about usability — it’s about responsibility. Every interaction must balance user ease, compliance, and company risk.
User research isn’t always straightforward. Even when formal studies were blocked, finding workarounds (like personas from support calls and market analogues) became crucial.
Collaboration with cross-functional teams is as important as design craft. Many breakthroughs came through working closely with PMs, developers, and even collection agents.
What I learnt
Where can I improve further?