Open banking payments

Streamlining Landbay’s payment system for better efficiency and user experience

This project aimed to improve Landbay’s payment system to make it easier to use on all devices and lower operational costs. It also redesigned the payment flow to ensure a smooth and mobile-friendly experience.

I redesigned Landbay’s payment flow by migrating from Acquired’s legacy system to their new Hosted Checkout and introducing a new payment option: “Pay by Bank” in partnership with NatWest. This provided users with a more seamless, intuitive, and secure checkout experience.

“Pay by Bank” enables users to make secure payments directly from their bank accounts, eliminating the need for credit or debit cards.

The project was designed to streamline the payment process for brokers and applicants, reduce manual reconciliation for the finance team, and lower transaction costs - all while enhancing the overall user experience.

Overview

Landbay saved around £110k per year by introducing

Pay by Bank

15% faster fee processing by the Finance team, reducing manual workload

Simplified payment journey for brokers and applicants

Problem statements

Landbay’s existing payment system (Acquired’s Hosted Payment Page) was being phased out, requiring a timely migration to avoid service disruption.
Card payments came with high processing fees, driving up operational expenses.
The Finance team spent considerable time manually reconciling payments, reducing back-office efficiency.
The payment process lacked seamlessness for brokers and applicants, negatively affecting the overall user experience.
Users were unable to pay directly from their bank accounts, missing the cost-saving and convenience benefits of "Pay by Bank."

Goals

Introduce a new payment option called Pay by Bank with NatWest to offer a lower-cost payment option for Landbay.
Optimise the payment flow for mobile, enabling users to easily use Pay by Bank on any device.
Redesign the payment flow to be intuitive and easier for brokers and applicants to use.
Reduce payment processing costs while maintaining automated reconciliation efficiency.

Third party cost savings

In 2024, Landbay incurred £55k in card payment processing fees. This cost is projected to rise to £112k in 2025. With full adoption of Pay by Bank, the estimated cost would drop to approximately £2.5k, representing a potential cost saving of over £100k per year.

Research

My starting point for this project was to conduct a survey across Landbay’s broker network to assess the appeal of Pay by Bank as a new payment method. In particular, the survey elicited insights on:

Brokers' current payment behaviours and preferences.
Awareness and perceptions of Pay by Bank.
Concerns regarding security, speed, and ease of use.
Willingness to adopt a faster, more streamlined payment journey.

Key takeaways

23% of respondents are familiar with the Pay by Bank option and have used it, while others -particularly brokers aged 45 and above - are aware of it but have not yet tried it.
41% prefer to pay by credit or debit card, and 7% opt for bank transfers.
Nearly all brokers consider having multiple payment options to be very important.
No major security concerns were reported regarding the use of Pay by Bank.

Challenging points:

Landbay’s platform was initially not mobile-friendly, so I needed to redesign the payment flow for mobile, carefully prioritising information and actions to ensure a seamless user experience.

1. Mobile optimisation:

2. User adoption:

Many of Landbay's brokers, primarily aged 45 and above, were unfamiliar with Pay by Bank option and preferred traditional payment methods.

Solutions for identified challenges

1. Mobile optimisation:

I started by mapping the as-is payment flow, then created the to-be payment flow, integrating the Pay by Bank payment method to improve speed, clarity, and efficiency.

As-is payment flow with cards and bank transfer

To-be payment flow with Pay by Bank (PBB) and card options, allowing users to choose their preferred method

After finalising the to-be payment flow, I created low-fidelity mobile designs to test the new structure and prioritisation early, focusing on usability.

I shared these wireframes with stakeholders and brokers to gather quick feedback, ensuring the design aligned with user expectations and business goals. This iterative process helped refine the flow and interactions efficiently before moving forward.

Low-fidelity design & early feedback

Following the low-fidelity iterations, I conducted usability testing with brokers. Six remote usability testing sessions were conducted using the Figma prototype to gather detailed user feedback. Incorporating their feedback and additional stakeholder input, I refined the designs to improve clarity and ease of use.

I then progressed to creating high-fidelity mobile designs that delivered a clear, intuitive, and consistent payment experience aligned with Landbay’s design system.

Usability testing & high-fidelity design

Pay by Bank high-fidelity design

The screens below show the user journey for a single case, from selecting the fee type (valuation, admin, product fee, etc.) to making a payment and proceeding to the Pay by Bank option, where users can search for or select their preferred bank.

By default, the broker sees the 12 most frequently used banks displayed, with the option to search for others if their bank isn’t listed.

Single case - payment flow

These screens capture what users see when a transaction is successful or fails.

Successful transaction

Failed transaction

The screens below are designed to allow brokers and applicants to select multiple cases (if they have more than once case with Landbay) and make a single payment for the selected cases.

Clicking on “Add cases” displays all the cases the user has with Landbay and provides the option to select all or specific cases they wish to pay for.

Multiple cases - card payment flow

The screens below are designed to allow brokers and applicants to make a payment using their card if something goes wrong with the Pay by Bank option. Our goal was to encourage users to use Pay by Bank, so while the card payment option is available, it is placed subtly at the bottom of the bank selection screen.

Upon completion of the preferred payment method, users see a confirmation page indicating whether the transaction was successful or failed.

Solutions for identified challenges

2. User adoption:

Part of my role involved educating users about the benefits and security of Pay by Bank, helping to build their confidence and encourage adoption of this new, faster payment option.

To support this transition, we sent marketing emails to users before launch to introduce Pay by Bank, and prepared Pendo guides on the Broker Portal to guide brokers through the new payment process.

Positive user adoption & cost savings

One month after launching the new payment flow, our data showed that 58% of users chose to use Pay by Bank, leading to immediate cost savings for the company. However, our goal is to reach over 90% adoption to maximise efficiency and cost savings for the business.

Next steps:

Continue tracking Pay by Bank payment usage and gather ongoing user feedback to identify opportunities for further improvement.
Explore enabling additional payment methods, such as Google Pay and Apple Pay, while balancing cost and user preference.
Iterate on the mobile payment flow based on real-world usage and accessibility feedback to ensure an inclusive experience.
Roll out additional educational materials and in-app guidance to increase awareness and adoption of new payment options among users, especially those less familiar with digital payments.