Helping customers' cancel direct debits

Empowering users to escape $1.2k pa worth of unused subscriptions, e.g. gym

Role

Product Designer

Industry

Financial Services

Duration

2 months

a cell phone on a bench
a cell phone on a bench
a cell phone on a bench

Unused subscriptions = $1.2k pa. They are hard to cancel

They are notoriously hard to cancel and exploit inertia, complexity and inelegant/dark patterns. Research revealed:

  • 76% Australians have experienced difficulty cancelling an online subscription

  • 40% of Australian have said they have had regular payments they had forgotten about


Today, to cancel they can contact the service providers, e.g. gyms and streaming services. However, if they refuse the ACCC and Legal Centres have paper forms (below) to request a cancellation.

Source: ING Research 2023


Unused subscriptions = $1.2k pa. They are hard to cancel

They are notoriously hard to cancel and exploit inertia, complexity and inelegant/dark patterns. Research revealed:

  • 76% Australians have experienced difficulty cancelling an online subscription

  • 40% of Australian have said they have had regular payments they had forgotten about


Today, to cancel they can contact the service providers, e.g. gyms and streaming services. However, if they refuse the ACCC and Legal Centres have paper forms (below) to request a cancellation.

Source: ING Research 2023


a cell phone on a bench
a cell phone on a bench
a cell phone on a bench
a cell phone on a ledge
a cell phone on a ledge
a cell phone on a ledge

We cancel for you

Initially, we offered a service to help cancel the subscription (direct debit). This also helped meet our regulatory requirements.


However, cancellation ≠ guaranteed

We cannot guarantee the supplier will cancel the direct debit. Our service is a simple request.

So we also provide a 3yr block on money leaving the account.

To summarise:

  • Two services

  • One feature

  • High cognitive load

  • Great design challenge


Testing revealed 3/6 users were confused

During Usability Testing, I learnt that 3/6 users found the dual offering confusing. A further 2/6 assumed the request guaranteed results.

As a result, I changed 'block' to 'pause', iterate the alerts and used more sub-heading to improve clarity and reduce visual load.

These relatively simple changes allowed me to improve comprehension at minimal cost. My Product Owner loved these changes as it still allowed us to use our low cost templates. The templates were really deliciously challenging as they constrained UI changes.

Pre-testing and Post-Testing
Pre-testing and Post-Testing
Pre-testing and Post-Testing

Respectable outcome: 28% completion

This benchmarks against other direct debit cancellation features where completion rates are 25-30% when manual steps are required, as users often abandon due to complexity.

Single-click cancellations have 40-50% completion rates

Reflecting on the project, my hypotheses for the conversion rate was three-fold:

  • Discoverability

  • Value proposition

  • Comprehension

The project was a great learning opportunity on balancing regulatory requirements and user demand.

Respectable outcome: 28% completion

This benchmarks against other direct debit cancellation features where completion rates are 25-30% when manual steps are required, as users often abandon due to complexity.

Single-click cancellations have 40-50% completion rates

Reflecting on the project, my hypotheses for the conversion rate was three-fold:

  • Discoverability

  • Value proposition

  • Comprehension

The project was a great learning opportunity on balancing regulatory requirements and user demand.

Other projects

a cellphone leaning against a wall
a cellphone leaning against a wall
a cellphone leaning against a wall

Changing ATM and daily spend limits. Instantly

[Under construction]

Andrew Looi

Projects

About me

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the Country.


I recognise their continued connection to the land and waters of this beautiful place, and acknowledge that they never ceded sovereignty. I pay my respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Andrew Looi

Projects

About me

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the Country.


I recognise their continued connection to the land and waters of this beautiful place, and acknowledge that they never ceded sovereignty. I pay my respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Andrew Looi

Projects

About me

I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the Country.


I recognise their continued connection to the land and waters of this beautiful place, and acknowledge that they never ceded sovereignty. I pay my respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.