Reimagining Digital Payments:
A Research-Driven Redesign of BHIM
Timeline
3 months (Sept-Nov 2024)
Scope
Ideation for key payment flows
Industry
Fintech
01 | THE CHALLENGE
BHIM was a pivotal step in India’s digital payment revolution — simple, secure, and widely trusted. But as user expectations grew and private apps like Google Pay and PhonePe evolved rapidly, BHIM began to feel outdated.
Its design no longer met modern usability standards, prompting the need for a thoughtful, user-centered redesign.
​After completing the user testing, we needed to address the identified issues and refine key payment journeys.
To tackle this, a team of six designers, myself included, were divided into pairs, each embarking on two-week design sprints. Each sprint concentrated on a specific payment journey, approaching it as a UX design revamp to enhance usability, streamline the experience and ensure visual consistency.
02 | DESIGN PROCESS
Discover
Define
Design
Test
Deliver
I came on board during the design phase, working closely with the team to define the user experience
03 | MY ROLE
Focused on three key payment flows
1
Scan a QR Code
AFTER
BEFORE
Focused on the method, not the user’s goal
Users thought 1x affected the amount, causing confusion and hesitation
Confusing and raised security concerns, leading to low trust and usage
Users were unsure why it appeared in the Scan flow
Replaced “Scan a QR code to pay” with “Send Money to Any UPI App” to better reflect user intent
Enlarged the QR code area and removed the zoom feature for a cleaner, more intuitive experience
Added Recent Scans to surface the last two QR payments — making repeat payments faster and more intuitive
2
Pay to Contact
AFTER
BEFORE
Search bar prompt: “Search by name, number, or UPI ID” to guide users and improve discoverability
New Feature : Split Expense, added for Gen Z users to simplify group payments
New Tabs: Recent & Contacts, added to simplify navigation and help users find payees faster
Introduced a 'Favorite Contacts' feature, allowing users to star frequently paid contacts for quick access
Users found the screen visually unappealing, making navigation difficult.
Displays all contacts, including non-UPI-payable numbers like utilities (e.g., Airtel), resulting in clutter and confusion about who can actually receive payments.
3
Payment Listing Methods
AFTER
BEFORE
Check Balance Disabled Missing explanation for why the option was unavailable
Multiple refresh icons created visual clutter
Add Account Option - lacks context for the type of account (e.g., bank account, credit card), making it unclear for users
​PIN Not Set - No entry point to fix it leaving users stuck
Unclear icon
Replaced multiple icons with a single refresh button in the header for clarity and simplicity
Issue Resolution Entry Point - added a clear entry point for users to resolve any issues
Contextual Add Account - placed within the relevant section (e.g., Bank, Credit Card) to match user intent and improve clarity
Many pixels later, shaping experiences one screen at a time
Designed to support 20 regional Indian languages,
ensuring accessibility for users across the country.
04 | IMPACT
The redesigned BHIM app was launched in March 2025, introducing a cleaner, more intuitive experience for millions of users across India.
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Following the launch, reviews highlighted noticeable improvements in ease of use, navigation, and accessibility.
Mass Adoption
BHIM supports a high volume of monthly transactions and with the redesign it could engage younger users to build brand loyalty thereby boosting transaction volume.
Financial Inclusion
It would bring digital banking to tier 1,2,3, and 4 cities with a simple and accessible interface supporting 8+ regional languages.
Easy Money Insights
Features like Spend Analytics and Family Mode promote financial awareness and budgeting behavior at an individual and household level — not just transactions.
Trusted and Loved by Thousands
05 | REFLECTIONS
Personal Takeaways
Working on a product that reaches over a million diverse users across India has been incredibly rewarding. Balancing regulatory mandates and guidelines with user experience posed a unique challenge, particularly when it came to prioritizing information hierarchy and ensuring clarity in the design. The two-week sprints also let us focus on one flow at a time, enabling quick, targeted iterations.
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Having the opportunity to interact directly with end users during testing gave me valuable insights into our target audience. This firsthand understanding allowed me to approach the redesign with a different perspective and validating their pain points in our redesign.
What I'd do Differently
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Prioritize Accessibility from the Start
Given the app’s large and diverse user base, I would place a stronger focus on accessibility considerations—such as optimizing for screen readers, text scalability, and color contrast.
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Explore More Personalization Features
It would be interesting to explore ways to introduce personalized experiences, such as customizable dashboards or tailored quick-access options, to make the app feel more intuitive and user-friendly for different user segments.