WEB APP
Issuer Onboarding Platform - Card Design Tool
COMPANY
CardIssue Pro
ROLE
Lead UX/UI Designer
INDUSTRY
Fintech
Project description
Issuer Onboarding & Card Design Platform is an end-to-end B2B fintech solution designed to help banks and fintech partners launch card programs quickly while meeting strict regulatory and network compliance requirements. The platform streamlines issuer onboarding, KYC and compliance verification, banking setup, and card design into a single guided workflow, with real-time validation and built-in compliance checks. By embedding risk controls and operational guardrails directly into the user experience, the solution significantly reduced time-to-market, minimized compliance rework, and improved onboarding completion at enterprise scale.
Timeline
Background
From explorations to final designs in 10 weeks while working with multiple projects at the same time.
Card program issuance is traditionally a complex, compliance-heavy process involving multiple systems, manual KYC checks, and repeated coordination between issuers, operations, and risk teams. These fragmented workflows often result in long onboarding cycles, limited visibility into progress, and late-stage compliance failures that delay launches. This project was initiated to modernize issuer onboarding by unifying registration, compliance verification, and card design into a single, guided platform that balances speed, regulatory control, and enterprise-scale governance.
Process
The UX process followed an end-to-end, risk-aware approach, starting with stakeholder interviews across Product, Operations, Risk, and Compliance to understand regulatory constraints and operational pain points. User journeys and service blueprints were created to map issuer onboarding, compliance checks, and card issuance workflows, followed by iterative prototyping with built-in validation and guardrails. Designs were continuously tested with internal users and refined in close collaboration with engineering to ensure usability, accessibility, compliance, and audit readiness at enterprise scale.
Research & Planning
Design & Prototyping
Development & Implementation
Testing & Optimization
Conducted stakeholder interviews with Product, Operations, Risk, and Compliance teams to understand regulatory constraints, onboarding pain points, and success metrics. Analyzed existing issuer onboarding workflows and identified key friction areas causing delays, rework, and compliance escalations.
Defined clear user journeys, compliance checkpoints, and experience principles to balance speed, risk control, and enterprise-scale governance.
Designed guided, step-based onboarding flows with clear progress visibility, time estimates, and save-and-resume capabilities to reduce uncertainty and drop-offs.
Created high-fidelity prototypes for compliance-driven workflows and the card design studio, embedding real-time validation, accessibility checks, and network guardrails. Iterated designs through rapid feedback loops with engineering, operations, and compliance to ensure usability, scalability, and regulatory readiness.
Collaborated closely with engineering to translate approved designs into scalable, secure components aligned with enterprise design systems and development standards.Supported implementation of compliance logic, validation states, and role-based access within the onboarding and card design workflows.
Ensured seamless integration with backend services, KYC providers, and card network requirements while maintaining performance, security, and auditability.
Conducted usability testing with internal users and program managers to validate clarity, completion rates, and error prevention across onboarding and card design flows. Partnered with compliance and operations teams to test edge cases, document failures, and network rule violations before production release.
Used qualitative feedback and onboarding metrics to refine interactions, reduce friction, and continuously improve accuracy, speed, and compliance outcomes.
Solutions
The solution unified issuer onboarding, compliance verification, and card design into a single guided platform with built-in validation and regulatory guardrails, enabling faster launches while reducing errors, rework, and operational risk at enterprise scale.
Guided Issuer Onboarding Workflow
Embedded KYC & Compliance Verification
Compliance-Driven Card Design Studio
Multi-Format Card Preview & Validation
Post-Onboarding Visibility & Governance Dashboard
A structured, step-by-step onboarding flow was designed to replace fragmented and manual processes. Clear progress indicators, time estimates, and save-and-resume capabilities reduced uncertainty and drop-offs. This ensured predictable onboarding while maintaining control and consistency across issuers.
KYC, AML, and regulatory checks were integrated directly into the onboarding journey instead of being handled post-submission. Real-time validation, document status indicators, and inline guidance helped users correct issues early. This significantly reduced compliance rework and operational escalations.
A self-serve card design tool was created with built-in network and regulatory guardrails. Real-time compliance scoring, logo placement validation, and accessibility checks ensured designs were production-ready. Users gained creative flexibility without violating Visa or Mastercard rules.
The platform enabled a single card design to be previewed across physical, virtual, and mobile wallet formats. This helped issuers identify layout and branding issues early. It reduced downstream manufacturing and digital issuance errors.
A centralized dashboard provided real-time visibility into onboarding status, compliance checkpoints, and next steps. Clear audit trails and activity logs supported governance and operational oversight. This improved transparency for both business and risk stakeholders.
Prototype:
Results
The platform significantly improved onboarding efficiency and control by reducing issuer onboarding time from weeks to minutes and accelerating overall time-to-market to a few days. Built-in compliance validation lowered errors and rework, improved completion rates, and reduced dependency on manual operational reviews. As a result, issuers experienced faster launches, while internal teams gained better visibility, consistency, and audit readiness across the onboarding process.
Faster Issuer Onboarding & Time-to-Market
Reduced Compliance Rework & Risk Exposure
Production-Ready Card Designs with Fewer Errors
Improved Operational Efficiency & Team Productivity
Enhanced Governance, Transparency & Audit Readiness
The structured, step-based onboarding experience replaced fragmented and manual processes, giving users clear visibility into progress and requirements. Predictable steps and save-and-resume reduced abandonment and back-and-forth with operations teams.
Impact:
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⏱ Onboarding time reduced to ~28 minutes
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🚀 Time-to-market reduced from weeks to ~5 days
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📈 Onboarding completion rate increased to 83%
By integrating KYC, AML, and regulatory checks directly into the onboarding flow, issues were identified and resolved early. Real-time validation prevented late-stage compliance failures and minimized escalations.
Impact:
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📉 Significant reduction in compliance-related rework
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🛡 Fewer manual compliance escalations
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⏳ Faster approval cycles for issuer verification
Real-time compliance scoring and network validation ensured card designs met Visa and Mastercard requirements before submission. Accessibility and branding checks reduced redesign cycles and production delays.
Impact:
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🎨 Card design time reduced to ~8.5 minutes
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❌ Fewer network rejections and redesign iterations
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✅ Higher first-pass approval rate for card designs
Early validation across physical, virtual, and wallet formats reduced downstream manufacturing and digital issuance issues. Operations teams spent less time on manual checks and rework.
Impact:
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🔧 Reduced operational touchpoints
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⏳ Faster production and issuance cycles
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📉 Lower support dependency from issuers
The centralized dashboard provided real-time visibility into onboarding status, compliance checkpoints, and historical activity. Clear audit trails supported internal controls and regulatory expectations.
Impact:
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📊 Improved transparency across business, ops, and risk teams
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🧾 Stronger audit readiness and traceability
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🔍 Better decision-making through real-time status tracking