Partnership Credit Card Applications for Major UK Retailers
Designing credit applications for Amazon, AO & Argos
NewDay (Fintech) | Product Design Lead - Fintech (B2B Partnership Products) | Feb 2018 - Jul 2021
Impact stats
Award-winning Amazon Mastercard application
Millions of applications processed annually
Balanced conversion optimisation with FCA
Designed award-winning credit card applications for major UK retail partnerships including Amazon, AO, and Argos. Optimized high-stakes conversion flows while maintaining strict regulatory compliance (FCA, PCI-DSS), balancing partner brand requirements with credit infrastructure constraints.
Challenge
Led end-to-end product design for digital credit card applications in partnership with major retail brands. Collaborated with Legal, Compliance, Credit teams, and retail partners to balance conversion optimization with regulatory requirements.
My role
• End-to-end product design for partnership credit applications
• Stakeholder management across Legal, Compliance, Credit, and retail partners
• Design pattern creation for scalable partnership products
• User research, usability testing, A/B testing, rapid prototyping
• Post-launch optimisation and iteration
Key responsibilities
Process
1. Understanding Constraints
• Mapped regulatory requirements (FCA, PCI-DSS)
• Identified partner brand guidelines across Amazon, AO, Argos
• Documented credit infrastructure limitations
2. Research & Testing
• User research to understand application abandonment
• Usability testing on multi-step flows
• A/B testing on form fields and progression
• Rapid prototyping for stakeholder alignment
3. Cross-functional Collaboration
• Weekly alignment with Legal and Compliance teams
• Partner brand reviews with Amazon, AO, Argos stakeholders
• Credit team coordination on eligibility and decisioning flows
Solution
Multi-step Progress Indicators
• Clear 4-step journey (About You → Where You Live → Finance Details → Apply)
• Reduced cognitive load while maintaining compliance disclosures
• Set expectations for application length
Conversion-Optimized Forms
• Streamlined field entry with smart defaults
• Address lookup integration
• Real-time validation and helpful error states
• "Secure" indicators throughout for trust
Regulatory Balance
• Integrated mandatory FCA disclosures without overwhelming users
• Pre-eligibility checks with soft credit searches
• Clear, accessible financial information
• APR calculator and comparison tools
Partnership Design Patterns
• Reusable components across Amazon, AO, Argos brands
• Flexible system accommodating partner brand guidelines
• Scalable for future retail partnerships
• Award-winning Amazon Mastercard application journey
• Processed millions of applications annually across partnerships
• Created reusable patterns for future partner integrations
Business Results
• Regulatory constraints can drive better UX when embraced early
• Stakeholder alignment across Legal, Compliance, and partners is critical
• Conversion optimization must balance with trust-building
• Design systems enable rapid partnership scaling