Global Payments and Digital Treasury Infrastructure for Businesses
Orvian is a B2B cross-border payments and FX trading platform built for African businesses. It streamlines cross-border transactions through stablecoin-powered settlement, multi-currency business accounts, and corporate FX matching, making international payments faster, more affordable, and more transparent.
Role
Lead Product Designer
Type
Payments · Web app · B2B / B2C
Company
Orvian
Team
1 PM, 2 Engineers, 1 QA, 2 Designers
Status
Live · 2026
I led product design across Orvian’s core payment and FX trading experiences, from discovery research and interaction design to a cohesive visual design system tailored to cross-border financial workflows.
✦ Problem
The problem
African businesses struggle with cross-border payments due to fragmented currency markets, high FX costs, and slow settlement processes, making it difficult to exchange currencies, manage multi-currency funds, and move money efficiently across borders.
Business Goals
Simplify cross-border payments
Unify payments, currency exchange, and settlement in one platform to reduce operational complexity for African businesses.
Reduce FX costs and settlement delays
Enable stablecoin-powered settlement and direct FX matching to make cross-border transactions faster and more cost-effective.
Increase financial transparency
Give businesses clear visibility into exchange rates, transaction fees, account balances, and payment status to support confident financial decisions.
My process
Discovery & Research · 2 weeks
User Research
Competitive Analysis
Journey Mapping
Product Strategy · 2 weeks
MVP Definition
Product Architecture
Information Architecture
User Flows
UX/UI Design · 4 weeks
Website Redesign
Treasury Network Web App
FX Platform Web App
Design System
Validation & Handoff · 2 weeks
Usability Testing
Prototype Validation
Edge Cases
Developer Handoff
Launch & Iteration · 2 weeks
Product Analytics
User Feedback
UX Improvements
✦ Phase 01
User Research
Our goal was to understand how African businesses navigate cross-border payments and FX trading, identify inefficiencies in existing currency exchange and settlement processes, and uncover opportunities for Orvian to simplify international transactions.
I learned that African businesses need a platform that simplifies complex FX workflows while providing real-time visibility into exchange rates, transaction costs, multi-currency balances, and settlement status, enabling faster decisions and greater confidence in cross-border transactions.
80%
of stakeholders needed better visibility across the trading lifecycle.
50%
of workflows involved manual coordination between teams.
70%
of users found FX concepts difficult to track in real time.
90%
of stakeholders prioritized speed and accuracy.
Competitive Research
Building on the user research, I analyzed leading FX trading and treasury platforms, including Kantox and 360T, to understand common trading patterns, information hierarchy, and institutional workflows.
Overwhelming interfaces
Dense layouts and excessive data made it difficult to quickly identify critical trading information.
Complex workflows
Common tasks such as placing trades, tracking orders, and managing settlements required too many steps.
Steep learning curve
Many platforms assumed prior FX knowledge, making them difficult for new institutional users.
Poor transaction visibility
Order status, settlement progress, and liquidity information were fragmented across screens.
✦ Discovery
Userflow
To make sure I designed the right solution from all the insights I gathered from the end users, I started with mapping out the user flow.
Requests
Pair
Amount needed
Validity
Status
My Listings
View / Edit listings
Share listing
Delete
Order Book
Liquidity on book
24h average
7-day high / low
Maker tier
Settlement time
Home
Trade volume
Active trades
Live network
Recent activity
Post Offer
Offer details
Settlement & Restrictions
Offer preview
Quick Match
Enter payment details
View offers
Review & Commit
Evaluating usability through real user feedback
Before: users had to switch between currency views to compare balances, key actions were easy to miss, and transaction status and exchange-rate information lacked visibility.
After: Orvian brings multi-currency balances, prominent payment actions, clear transaction statuses, saved recipients, and quick access to exchange rates into one scalable workspace.
BeforeAfter‹ ›P2P FX dashboard
Previously, the initial design didn’t fully solve the core problem of making trade volume easy to read at a glance. So I redesigned the card to lead with a clear “Trade Volume (30 Days)” label above a larger, full-width chart. It doesn’t just make the trend visible at a glance, it can also surface the exact value and date on hover, so users can pull real numbers to act on.
BeforeAfter‹ ›✦ Result
Following the redesign, I validated the new experience through another round of usability testing, which produced noticeably better results.
17%
Reduction in navigation errors. Errors dropped from 27% to 10% after introducing a dedicated action bar and clearer visual hierarchy.
48%
Faster decision-making. Parallel listings and live market data let users evaluate more offers in less time.
92%
Task success rate. First-attempt task success rose from 68% to 92% with the redesigned experience.
✦ Visual design
Designing clear & intuitive financial experience
Frictionless Onboarding & Verification
Instead of overwhelming users with lengthy onboarding, the experience begins with a quick email and OTP verification, followed by a guided four-step KYC/KYB process that transforms mandatory identity verification into a clear, manageable progression.
Business Impact: The simplified onboarding journey increases conversion and completion rates, reduces abandonment, and improves operational efficiency and compliance management.
✦ Dashboard
High-Utility Dashboard
Cross border payments
The dashboard provides users with an intuitive financial command center, reducing cognitive load through clear balance visibility, instant access to key actions, and personalized shortcuts that make everyday money management faster and easier.
P2P FX Marketplace
The market dashboard gives users immediate visibility into trading opportunities and critical updates, enabling faster decisions through prioritized alerts, one-click actions, and real-time market insights.
Three Ways to Access Liquidity with Orvian
Path A: The Order Book
Discover and compare liquidity offers through Orvian’s transparent marketplace. Use intuitive filters, real-time pricing, and clear offer details to find suitable counterparties and execute transactions with confidence.
Business Impact: Orvian streamlines liquidity discovery, improves trade conversion, and builds trust through transparent pricing and verified counterparty information.
Path B: Quick Match
Find the right liquidity offer without manually searching the marketplace. Orvian’s intelligent matching experience connects you with available offers, simplifying execution and helping you complete transactions faster.
Business Impact: Quick Match reduces the time required to find suitable offers and improves liquidity utilization.
Path C: Request for Liquidity (RFL)
Request competitive liquidity offers directly from qualified counterparties. Orvian’s private request flow gives you greater flexibility for high-value transactions.
Business Impact: RFL unlocks access to deeper liquidity, supports larger transactions, and creates more opportunities for buyers and sellers.
The 3-Step “Send Money” Flow
Select Recipient
Choose a saved contact or add a new recipient, with clear account details to help prevent errors.
Enter Amount
Enter the amount to send or receive. Orvian displays exchange rates, conversions, transfer fees, and estimated delivery times upfront.
Review & Confirm
Review your transfer summary, including recipient details, exchange rate, fees, and total amount.
✦ What was achieved
Orvian is currently under development, with a focus on simplifying cross-border payments, streamlining corporate FX matching, and enabling faster, more transparent settlement for African businesses.
✦ Learnings
The Biggest Lesson Was That Financial Complexity Requires Simplicity and Transparency.
Challenges & How I navigated them
Simplifying Complex Financial Workflows
Designing a platform with multiple financial tools while staying clean was a key challenge. I prioritised essential actions, organised features into clear sections, and used intuitive navigation.
Building Trust in Global Transactions
Users needed confidence moving money across currencies. I made exchange rates, fees, recipient details, and payment summaries clear throughout each transaction.
Streamlining Liquidity Discovery
Manually comparing offers slows decisions. I designed the Order Book, Quick Match, and Request for Liquidity features to simplify discovery and improve matching.