Arun_portfolio

Creating a better way to split your expenses

Comapny

Role

Shelf (YC S22)

Product & design (Founding Team)

My role

I led the design of the Shelfpay app, a fintech product where trust and security were critical. From research and product scope definition to prototyping and visual guidelines, I focused on creating a seamless and secure user experience. I collaborated with developers and managed quality assurance to deliver a high-quality final product.

About Shelf

Shelf, a YC-backed startup, allows users to create shared wallets with their group to streamline payments. With Shelf, there’s no need to track expenses, split bills, or chase after reimbursements—everything is handled seamlessly through the app.

See website

Why splitting is a problem?

The major issue with splitting apps is that users have to go through several cumbersome steps for shared payments:

Make a payment through another app.

Remember to manually record the transaction on Splitwise.
Often forget to log the expense.
Even when logged, users frequently don’t receive their money back, especially from people they see infrequently.
Many users feel uncomfortable asking for repayment.

These challenges make shared payments unnecessarily complicated and inefficient.

The major issue with splitting apps is that users have to go through several cumbersome steps for shared payments:

Make a payment through another app.

Remember to manually record the transaction on Splitwise.
Often forget to log the expense.
Even when logged, users frequently don’t receive their money back, especially from people they see infrequently.
Many users feel uncomfortable asking for repayment.

These challenges make shared payments unnecessarily complicated and inefficient.

WHAT WE HAVE BUILT TILL NOW

Our MVP

We developed an MVP that successfully attracted over 20,000+ users, leveraging UPI to allow users to pool funds and make payments via any QR code.

However, due to regulatory guidelines, the solution was not scalable, and using UPI as a payment method limited our ability to generate revenue. We aimed to explore a similar solution utilizing a card-based product.

Here is a video about our MVP to understand the concept

Video made by a freelancer

WHAT WE KNOW

Research

Insights from current MVP

We used to engage with users every Saturday, collaborating with various restaurants to set up stalls and promote special offers. We would interact with interested individuals, helping them understand the offers and assisting in their onboarding process on our app. After onboarding, we would observe how they utilized the app to enhance their experience.
Over 90% of our retained groups consisted of flatmates, primarily due to their daily recurring payments for essentials like groceries.

We also talked with 60+ flatmates groups trying to understand their payment behaviours

Researching on companies that had launched card products

The key takeaway was that it’s beneficial to niche down into specific categories, as we have observed card products tailored for teens, travelers, college students, and more.

WHAT CAN WE BUILD

Opportunity

Based on our research, we identified an opportunity to develop a card-based product for flatmates, as they engage in a significant number of high-ticket shared transactions each month.

Even if we target 5,000 flats (which is quite challenging to achieve for a card product) with an average common expense of ₹25,000 per month, this would generate a transaction volume of ₹150 crore, which sounds quite interesting!

Our initial strategy aimed to generate revenue through interchange fees, while the card also provided an opportunity to offer enhanced rewards and incentives to users.

We partnered with M2P and Livquik ( RBI Licensed PPI Issuer) to create a platform that enables flatmates to pool their funds and make payments using a RuPay card.

How can we design a card-based payment solution for flatmates that simplifies shared transactions and allows them to pool funds while tracking their expenses?

WHAT WE BUILT

Solution

Create group: Effortlessly create groups, just like you would on WhatsApp, making it simple to bring people together for shared expenses.

Create group: Effortlessly create groups, just like you would on WhatsApp, making it simple to bring people together for shared expenses.

Pool money: Contribute money into a common wallet for easy group transactions.

Pool money: Contribute money into a common wallet for easy group transactions.

Pay via your card: Use your personal card for payments, and the total will automatically be split among all group members.

Pay via your card: Use your personal card for payments, and the total will automatically be split among all group members.

Personal payments vs group payments

Not all transactions are group payments; users frequently have personal expenses. Once a payment method is saved as a card, they may not want to change it. We should allow users to switch between their personal and group wallets without altering card details. They can connect their card to either wallet, and payments will be deducted from the selected wallet.

Edit transaction share

The ability to adjust each person’s share after the transaction is complete, with automatic recalculations that update the real money in the group—pretty incredible, right?

Edit transaction share

The ability to adjust each person’s share after the transaction is complete, with automatic recalculations that update the real money in the group—pretty incredible, right?

Trust

Trust is fundamental to any fintech platform. We build this by leveraging various techniques, including displaying trusted partner logos across key pages to ensure transparency and credibility.

Trust

Trust is fundamental to any fintech platform. We build this by leveraging various techniques, including displaying trusted partner logos across key pages to ensure transparency and credibility.

KYC flow:

Complete a simple KYC (Know Your Customer) process to comply with regulatory guidelines and obtain your card.

KYC flow:

Complete a simple KYC (Know Your Customer) process to comply with regulatory guidelines and obtain your card.

Card settings:

Customize your card settings with flexible features like transaction limits and the ability to pause payments.

Card settings:

Customize your card settings with flexible features like transaction limits and the ability to pause payments.

Exit flows

When a group member exits, our system safeguards the fairness of contributions, keeping all shares protected and intact.

Exit flows

When a group member exits, our system safeguards the fairness of contributions, keeping all shares protected and intact.

Reward systems

For our initial product, we developed an MVP, which we later refined by focusing exclusively on integrating all the offers available with the RUPAY card.

Reward systems

For our initial product, we developed an MVP, which we later refined by focusing exclusively on integrating all the offers available with the RUPAY card.

In the "brand offers" list, the card color is determined by the brand's logo. To achieve this, I used a technique called Color Quantization, which extracts the primary color from the logo and applies it to the card.

TALKING TO USERS

Testing

On the streets of HSR, we dedicated our evenings to connecting with random flatmates, engaging them in discussions about our app. By exploring different copies and flows, we aimed to evaluate how well they understood the app's concept, gathering insights to enhance our messaging and design.

WHERE ARE WE NOW

Waitlist program

We are currently gradually rolling out our product to high-intent flatmates who have filled out the waitlist form.
With the limited kits provided by the bank, we have distributed the product to approximately 150 users. This rollout has also involved addressing various compliance issues that arose due to shared payments.

This is just an overview of the product we’ve built. It involved much more than the basic features, including implementing detailed flows, managing notifications, verifying card designs with banks, and integrating tools like WebEngage. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to learn more about the entire process.

My learnings

Licensing is a key factor in establishing a fintech startup.
Gaining the trust of early users can be challenging, especially in financial services, without strong social proof.
Educating users about your product is essential. You'd be surprised how often people assume a product with a RUPAY card is automatically a credit card when mentioned casually.
Communicate clearly and eliminate any ambiguity, especially in situations involving money or actions that cannot be undone.
KYC drop-off rates can be unpredictable. To better estimate potential drop-off, it's helpful to consult with 1-2 companies and gather data on their experiences with KYC drop-off rates.
Engage with real users directly. We used to conduct an exercise every evening, where we’d create a prototype and approach random flatmates to test it. Observing their interactions helped us understand what they grasped or struggled with in real-time.
Ensure your initial team is highly competent, as weaknesses in even one department can lead to significant problems and slow down progress.
Embrace the journey

Licensing is a key factor in establishing a fintech startup.
Gaining the trust of early users can be challenging, especially in financial services, without strong social proof.
Educating users about your product is essential. You'd be surprised how often people assume a product with a RUPAY card is automatically a credit card when mentioned casually.
Communicate clearly and eliminate any ambiguity, especially in situations involving money or actions that cannot be undone.
KYC drop-off rates can be unpredictable. To better estimate potential drop-off, it's helpful to consult with 1-2 companies and gather data on their experiences with KYC drop-off rates.
Engage with real users directly. We used to conduct an exercise every evening, where we’d create a prototype and approach random flatmates to test it. Observing their interactions helped us understand what they grasped or struggled with in real-time.
Ensure your initial team is highly competent, as weaknesses in even one department can lead to significant problems and slow down progress.
Embrace the journey

Back to home

Let’s connect

Find me on Linkedin or e-mail at arun23raj03@gmail.com will get back to you as soon as possible.

Let’s connect

Find me on Linkedin or e-mail at arun23raj03@gmail.com will get back to you as soon as possible.

Let’s connect

Find me on Linkedin or e-mail at arun23raj03@gmail.com will get back to you as soon as possible.

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