Improving payout transparency

Building user trust with a clear reward status system in the ev.energy app

Payout Evenergy

Project overview

ev.energy is a mobile app that helps EV drivers earn rewards by charging during off-peak hours. As support tickets around payouts spiked and utility partners raised concerns, we identified a trust gap caused by a lack of payout visibility. This project focused on designing a clear, scalable payout status system to improve transparency and reduce confusion.

Role

I led the end-to-end UX/UI design process, including:

  • Mapping backend payout states into clear, human-readable statuses.
  • Writing intuitive labels and helper text with customer support and content leads.
  • Designing reusable UI components with dynamic CTAs, icons, and dates.
  • Working closely with engineering, product, and comms tooling teams for implementation.
  • Validating designs through support agent feedback and user testing.

Tools

Figma, FigmaJam, Maze, Jira, Android Studio.

Timeline

2022

Team

Product Designer, Customer Support, Commercial team, Engineering.

Platform

Android, iOS

Problem statement

The customer support team identified a 35% increase in payout-related tickets, even though no system errors or regressions had occurred. To investigate further, a cross-functional effort was launched: over 40 anonymized support tickets were reviewed, the backend admin panel logic was audited with engineering, and the live app UI was assessed from a user perspective.

A clear pattern emerged: users couldn't see the status of their rewards, weren't sure if payouts had been sent, and often didn't know if any action was required on their part.

Meanwhile, the commercial team relayed concerns from utility partners, who were beginning to question the reliability of our incentive system due to ongoing user confusion. Together, these findings pointed to a key opportunity: a small UI improvement could deliver significant gains in user trust and partner confidence.

Goal

Design a payout status system that:

  • Clearly communicates payout progress and builds user confidence.
  • Reduces support ticket volume.
  • Adapts to multiple payout systems and program types (e.g. monthly, real-time).

User insight

Working with the customer support and data teams, we segmented the users most impacted by payout confusion. We focused on three key groups:

  • High-engagement users enrolled in smart charging programs.
  • US-based users using common payout methods like PayPal and Venmo.
  • Newly enrolled users unfamiliar with our rewards system.

These were some of our most valuable users, and the ones most affected by the lack of transparency.

Design challenges

Simplifying complexity

The backend contained 7+ payout states with subtle differences. I worked with engineering to simplify this logic into clear, user-facing messages like "Your payout was sent" or "We tried to send your payout" with relevant actions (e.g. confirm your PayPal).

Natural High Safaris
Natural High Safaris

Supporting multiple program types

Some programs paid monthly, others paid instantly. I ensured the system could support both fixed and rolling payout logic, while keeping the design consistent and agnostic to local program naming.

Creating a flexible component

Using our design system, I created a scalable component that supported payout status, dates, optional action buttons, and contextual helper text. This design worked across mobile apps, the web portal, and internal admin views.

Natural High Safaris

Validation

To ensure clarity and tone, I tested five copy variants with support agents and ran quick Maze tests with users to confirm comprehension. Over 90% of users correctly understood the new labels. Final messaging was reviewed with legal and comms to ensure compliance.

Outcome

Within 4 weeks of launch, we saw:

  • 34% reduction in payout-related support tickets.
  • 14% increase in successful payouts among eligible users.
  • 18% increase in CSAT for reward-related interactions.
  • 2-minute decrease in average support ticket resolution time.

One support agent put it simply:

"It’s a huge relief to be able to say, ‘You can check that in the app now.’ Before, we had to explain every edge case manually."

Business impact:

  • Improved retention in our highest-value utility programs.
  • Reduced operational friction during peak payout cycles.
  • Positioned the product for international expansion through early localisation and scalable status logic.