Designing some of Brazil’s first data-sharing consent flows, for a concept users had never seen before.
Open Summit Awards 2022 recognitions, including 2nd place for Case of the Year
Journeys: bringing data in and sharing data out
Of Brazilians didn’t know what Open Finance was, per a Mercado Pago survey
Mercado Pago clients sharing data via Open Finance by early 2023
I joined the Open Finance team at Mercado Pago, Mercado Livre’s fintech, to design the consent and data-sharing journeys, among the first in Brazil under the new Central Bank rules: how people bring their data from other banks into the app, and how they share Mercado Pago data with other institutions.
I designed the data-in and data-out journeys together with the design team, alongside product, engineering and legal.
Open Finance asks people to share sensitive financial data between institutions. The concept was new in Brazil and globally: a Mercado Pago survey found that 44% of Brazilians didn’t know what Open Finance was. On top of that, the Central Bank defined strict rules for every step. The flow had to be compliant, transparent and simple enough that people wouldn’t abandon it halfway.
Mapped what the Central Bank made mandatory and what was open to design.
Explored variations of the authorization steps and tested them in in-person usability sessions with the research team.
Our UX writer turned legal consent copy into plain language, without losing compliance.
Reviewed every step back and forth with design colleagues and leadership, technical specialists, legal/compliance and engineering.
Before any action, users see what data is shared, with which institution and for how long. After launch, metrics showed people abandoning the flow halfway through, so we added a stepper: users always know which step they are on and how much is left to finish.
Choosing where to bring data from is the first step of the flow. At launch it was a single long list of institutions. After analysing which banks users connected most and checking feasibility with engineering, we iterated: the most-used banks became shortcuts at the top, with search and the full list right below.
Shared data lives in an easy-to-find menu. Each consent shows its status at a glance (active, expiring, expired or ended), so users can track, renew or revoke it at any time.
The journeys launched with Brazil’s first wave of Open Finance and were recognized in 4 categories at the Open Summit Awards 2022, including 2nd place for Case of the Year. By early 2023, around 1 million Mercado Pago clients had shared their data through Open Finance (company figures reported in the press).
This was my first project at a company the size of Mercado Livre, with a brand-new technology and a context strictly shaped by regulation. It deepened my knowledge across the whole UX process and information architecture.
With regulation as the guide to what had to be shown, the work was translating a new financial context into something our users could understand.
Special thanks to Rodrigo, Cadu, Mara, Cinthia, Mel, Tamyres, João and the whole Open Finance squad.