No more panic taps: rethinking the card cancelation experience at AstroPay
No more panic taps: rethinking the card cancelation experience at AstroPay
Building trust
Losing a card is one of the most stressful experiences a person can face, especially when it happens abroad. Whether it’s left behind at a café or flagged by a suspicious transaction, the emotions are the same: panic, urgency, and uncertainty. In those moments, users want to act quickly and feel confident that their money is secure.
AstroPay’s original cancellation flow did not provide that reassurance. The steps were lengthy, the wording was unclear, and confirmation lacked strength. Instead of reducing stress, the flow added to it.
This is precisely the kind of situation where trust in a product can be established or lost.
Losing a card is one of the most stressful experiences a person can face, especially when it happens abroad. Whether it’s left behind at a café or flagged by a suspicious transaction, the emotions are the same: panic, urgency, and uncertainty. In those moments, users want to act quickly and feel confident that their money is secure.
AstroPay’s original cancellation flow did not provide that reassurance. The steps were lengthy, the wording was unclear, and confirmation lacked strength. Instead of reducing stress, the flow added to it.
This is precisely the kind of situation where trust in a product can be established or lost.
Why cancellation matters so much
At first glance, card cancellation may seem like a minor feature. In reality, it represents a pivotal moment in the user journey. Losing a card or dealing with fraud isn’t only a practical issue, it’s an emotional one. Users are often acting quickly under stress to protect themselves.
Designing this flow meant addressing two simultaneous needs:
Minimizing friction: Users must be able to act immediately.
Providing reassurance: Users must feel confident the card is cancelled and their funds are secure.
Failure in either area risks eroding confidence in the entire product. This would be catastrophic.
At first glance, card cancellation may seem like a minor feature. In reality, it represents a pivotal moment in the user journey. Losing a card or dealing with fraud isn’t only a practical issue, it’s an emotional one. Users are often acting quickly under stress to protect themselves.
Designing this flow meant addressing two simultaneous needs:
Minimizing friction: Users must be able to act immediately.
Providing reassurance: Users must feel confident the card is cancelled and their funds are secure.
Failure in either area risks eroding confidence in the entire product. This would be catastrophic.
The importance of copywriting
How we communicate, what we are building, matters just as much as what we are building itself. Clear, precise copy is essential to guide users through stressful situations, like losing a card, while maintaining their confidence. At the same time, the tone must be friendly and reassuring, avoiding unnecessary panic. Striking this balance ensures users understand the issue, know what actions they can take, and feel supported throughout the process.
How we communicate, what we are building, matters just as much as what we are building itself. Clear, precise copy is essential to guide users through stressful situations, like losing a card, while maintaining their confidence. At the same time, the tone must be friendly and reassuring, avoiding unnecessary panic. Striking this balance ensures users understand the issue, know what actions they can take, and feel supported throughout the process.
Where we went wrong
Even with clear goals and careful wording, the original cancellation flow revealed gaps. Each canceled card had a story—lost, stolen, compromised, or simply no longer needed—and capturing these reasons could help improve the product.
Initially, a free-text field was introduced to collect this information. While logical in theory, it proved ineffective in practice. In stressful moments, users rarely wanted to type: many skipped the field, some provided brief or irrelevant responses, and others entered explanations too unstructured to analyze. The result was inconsistent data and added friction at a critical moment.
Examples of user responses included:
“Lost it”
“Fraud”
“Doesn’t work”
Random or unclear entries, such as “no” or “I don’t use it anymore”
Even with clear goals and careful wording, the original cancellation flow revealed gaps. Each canceled card had a story—lost, stolen, compromised, or simply no longer needed—and capturing these reasons could help improve the product.
Initially, a free-text field was introduced to collect this information. While logical in theory, it proved ineffective in practice. In stressful moments, users rarely wanted to type: many skipped the field, some provided brief or irrelevant responses, and others entered explanations too unstructured to analyze. The result was inconsistent data and added friction at a critical moment.
Examples of user responses included:
“Lost it”
“Fraud”
“Doesn’t work”
Random or unclear entries, such as “no” or “I don’t use it anymore”
How the flow was improved
To address these challenges, we first analyzed the most common reasons users canceled their cards and grouped them into clear categories. This allowed us to create a predefined list of options that users could select with a single tap, reducing friction and simplifying the experience during stressful moments.
At the same time, we retained a free-text option for rare or unique cases. Placed as the last item (“Other reason”), typing was required, and entries had to exceed two characters to filter out unhelpful responses.
This redesign struck a balance: it made the process calmer for users while providing the product team with structured, actionable data to inform future improvements.
To address these challenges, we first analyzed the most common reasons users canceled their cards and grouped them into clear categories. This allowed us to create a predefined list of options that users could select with a single tap, reducing friction and simplifying the experience during stressful moments.
At the same time, we retained a free-text option for rare or unique cases. Placed as the last item (“Other reason”), typing was required, and entries had to exceed two characters to filter out unhelpful responses.
This redesign struck a balance: it made the process calmer for users while providing the product team with structured, actionable data to inform future improvements.
Designing a better experience
This iteration reinforced a key lesson: never ask users to do heavy lifting in moments of urgency. By combining predefined options with a fallback text field, the team created a flow that was both user-friendly and informative.
The result was a clearer, calmer experience for users and more actionable data for AstroPay. It also highlighted the importance of thoughtful design, clear copy, and collaboration across teams in building trust in critical financial moments.
This iteration reinforced a key lesson: never ask users to do heavy lifting in moments of urgency. By combining predefined options with a fallback text field, the team created a flow that was both user-friendly and informative.
The result was a clearer, calmer experience for users and more actionable data for AstroPay. It also highlighted the importance of thoughtful design, clear copy, and collaboration across teams in building trust in critical financial moments.
Key takeaways
This project highlighted that designing for financial products goes beyond usability. It requires empathy, especially during moments of vulnerability. Users need reassurance and security, not extra steps or complicated processes.
By rethinking the cancellation flow, AstroPay reduced unnecessary support interactions while reinforcing user confidence. As a team, we learned to prioritize security first and learning second, ensuring both remain central when building trust.
This project highlighted that designing for financial products goes beyond usability. It requires empathy, especially during moments of vulnerability. Users need reassurance and security, not extra steps or complicated processes.
By rethinking the cancellation flow, AstroPay reduced unnecessary support interactions while reinforcing user confidence. As a team, we learned to prioritize security first and learning second, ensuring both remain central when building trust.
What’s next
Designing for trust is never finished. Each release is an iteration that helps us learn more about our users’ needs and emotions in critical moments. The next step is to keep refining the cancellation experience while applying the same principles: clarity, speed, and reassurance to other parts of the product.
This means aligning efforts across teams, from onboarding to support, and validating every improvement with real users. By combining structured collaboration with continuous testing, we can ensure that every touchpoint reinforces confidence and makes managing money simpler and safer.
Designing for trust is never finished. Each release is an iteration that helps us learn more about our users’ needs and emotions in critical moments. The next step is to keep refining the cancellation experience while applying the same principles: clarity, speed, and reassurance to other parts of the product.
This means aligning efforts across teams, from onboarding to support, and validating every improvement with real users. By combining structured collaboration with continuous testing, we can ensure that every touchpoint reinforces confidence and makes managing money simpler and safer.