UX Internship for
Meta Pay
Project Summary
During my 12-week internship at Facebook, I designed and conducted a qualitative research study to assess user sentiments about Meta Pay (previously, Facebook Pay) a payment platform that is used across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Problem
The Pay team aimed to integrate payment methods and transaction history across Meta apps by transforming the previous Payment Settings experience into a consolidated Facebook Pay Hub (aka the Hub). Usage data indicated fewer visits after the Hub's "Facebook Pay" rebrand and ~50% of visitors only viewed transaction history before leaving.
Research Goals
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Determine what factors users look for in a payment app that signal security and build trust.
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Understand what users want to achieve with cross-app payment integration to generate a meaningful value proposition.
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Identify any pain points users encounter with with the current Meta Pay Hub.
My Role as UX Researcher
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Collaborated with stakeholders to align on the scope of the project
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Organized a literature review and card sorting task with 15 participants to understand users' mental models of payment platforms
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Conducted in-depth interviews with 10 Meta Pay users to gather firsthand user sentiments
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Performed affinity mapping to quickly analyze qualitative data and synthesize insights
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Presented my data driven recommendations and assess the impact of my findings
My Impact
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The team invested in building users' confidence in Meta Pay by emphasizing security measures throughout the payment process
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Addressed the Hub's low discoverability by providing a more intuitive path
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I am unable to discuss the finer details of my research.
Identifying Research Questions
Literature Review
My first goal was to understand the current Meta Pay experience and discover any gaps in our existing knowledge. Using Meta's internal database, I reviewed all of the previous research studies on the early development of Meta Pay and user's behaviors with Payment Settings, dating back 3 years. After conducting a review of past research in addition to usage data, I discovered:
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Users already have trusted payment platforms and the convenience of a consolidated payment center should outweigh the risks
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Payment methods and shipping info don't change often enough to warrant frequent returns
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Restructuring the information architecture to accommodate cross-app integration may lead to confusion when navigating, which further erodes user trust
Stakeholder Interviews
Next, I sought to understand my team's perspective by holding 1:1 stakeholder interviews with the engineer, product designers, product manager, content strategist, and data scientist. I reflected on those meetings with ruthless prioritization and narrowed the scope of my study down to the most crucial research questions:
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What signals contribute to users' trust in a payment platform?
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How are users interacting with the Meta Pay Hub today and what are their unmet needs?
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What are the areas of friction users encounter when visiting the Meta Pay Hub?
Card Sorting
As a final step to lay the foundation for the study, I conducted an open card sorting test to understand what users expect from the information architecture of a consolidated Meta payment platform. To save on recruitment time and cost, I recruited 15 internal Facebook employees and avoided biases by ensuring they were not involved in the development of any payment products
Using Optimal Workshop, I presented participants a random order of the same set items that would exist in the new Hub. Each participant was tasked with organizing the cards in any arrangement that made the most sense to them. They could name their own groups or use a card as a group label:
Balances
Credit & Debit cards
Donations
Email Address
Facebook Stars
Help
Linked payment accounts
Orders
Payment methods
Phone Number
Preferred Currency
Security
Shipping Address
Terms & Privacy
Transaction History
This arrangement most closely represents with participants' overall choices:
Payment Methods*
Credit & Debit cards
Linked payment accounts
Facebook Stars
Preferred Currency
Transaction History*
Orders
Donations
Balances
Contact Information
Shipping Address
Email Address
Phone Number
Settings
Security
Terms & Privacy
Help
*Card used as section label
Participant choices closely aligned with our expectations for the Hub's arrangement. However, the concept of Facebook Stars as a type of Balance was lost to participants, as many did not have experience using Stars.
Recruitment
Based on my research questions, I established sampling criteria, which I shared with the data scientist, who pulled a set of users for recruitment. Given the relatively broad nature of study, the recruitment criteria were simple:
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18+ years old
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US-based
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English-speaking
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Android & IOS
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Visited the Meta Payment Hub within the past 7 days
I created a Qualtrics screener survey to ensure that, of the people in that data set, I would be working with individuals who best align with the study criteria and had some familiarity with Meta Pay.
In response to some no-shows and last-minute schedule changes at the beginning of data collection week, I doubled down on email communications and follow ups to ensure everyone was prepared to attend their sessions. I believe this positively influenced turnout towards the end of the week.
Developing the Interview Guide
Working backwards from my research objectives, I crafted questions that would support an intentional understanding of users' behaviors and make for meaningful insights. I also involved my partners in this process by sharing my guide with the team to ensure alignment on the scope and provide the opportunity to contribute questions.
I accounted for a wide range of participant responses by including probing questions throughout the guide. As a new researcher, I feel this paid off greatly in helping me feel prepared to make the most out of my time with participants.
Conducting Sessions
I started my week of interviews by conducting a pilot with another researcher to ensure that my session flow felt natural and there were no issues with the recording software. Then, I used Lookback to conduct 75-minute interviews with 10 users.
During sessions, my interviewing skills improved with each participant. While I began with pre-written follow-ups, I realized probing questions came more naturally as I identified the anecdotes and observations worth exploring more deeply.
Identifying themes
Given the large amount of qualitative data I collected, I chose affinity mapping on a Mural board to generate my insights. As a visual thinker and a beginner in UX, this was a fast and reliable way to identify themes from session transcripts. I read through each transcript, making notes for each observation. Each note contained a concise, but comprehensive statement including:
Participant Number + Behavior + Context (e.g., how, why, outcome)
Transcript:
I usually pay people with Venmo. I've been using it for years and all my friends are already using it. I've never seen anyone send money on Facebook. Besides, I'm not sure what's going to happen to my credit card data Facebook has another data breach or they decide to sell my information.
Note:
I make payments to friends using Venmo because I'm more familiar with it and I don't trust Facebook with my payment information.
[Link to Quote]
P4
I organized each note into emerging themes. After defining each clustered theme, I synthesized insights that mapped to my established research objectives. Besides trouble navigating to the Hub, the majority of users' friction came from lack of clarity:
Users have trouble navigating to the Hub across apps, especially on Facebook
Add Orders & Payments to the Shortcuts menu instead of burying it in Settings
The Hub is not straightforward about how it keeps users' data safe from third-parties
Surface Meta's privacy measures (e.g., data encryption, fraud monitoring) while users are submitting their card info or making payments to build trust in the platform
Users have concerns about protecting their accounts from unauthorized payments
Remind users to set up their security PIN during the payment process to inform them of the option and encourage account safety
Users primarily check transaction history and lack clarity on the Hub's other functions
Educate users on the Hub's additional functionality (e.g., Donations, Facebook Stars) with a short, skippable tour of the platform
Making an Impact
Knowing that the research I conducted would have little impact if not presented effectively, I focused on creating a compelling narrative for my final presentation. Rather than talking about The Meta Pay Hub and its features, I discussed users and their experiences. I highlighted their perspectives by including video clips from sessions and quotes throughout the slide deck. I also took time to assess how my insights might affect their decisions making. I was delighted to hear that my research filled many gaps they had in the knowledge of the product and laid the foundation for future initiatives.
Building trust with users
Given that privacy and security emerged as major themes, my results encouraged the team to invest in improving users' confidence in Meta Pay by emphasizing security measures throughout the payment process.
Increase confidence in purchases by surfacing Purchase Protection
Highlight security measures when making a first transaction
Provide reminders to set up a security PIN
Increasing Visibility
Old Flow: Participants often checked Shortcuts first, then Settings & Privacy, but did not expect to have to enter Settings a second time to find their payment information.
New flow: Increased visibility by decreasing the number of layers needed to access the Hub. Because of the simplified UI and decreased text in the new iteration, the title became "Orders and payments". This offers a more straightforward summary of the content in the absence of an explanatory subheading.
Reflecting on My Experience
I was able to put into practice everything that I had learned in my master’s program and more. This internship helped me identify my strengths as a researcher and growth opportunities that I will continue to work on. This experience also revealed the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Continuous stakeholder involvement throughout the process was key to keeping everyone abreast of my progress, in addition to getting them invested in the results. I hope that in future research positions, I will receive the same opportunity to generate valuable, user-driven insights for my team.