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Building Financial Confidence into Pakistan's Largest Travel Platform
Building Financial Confidence into Pakistan's Largest Travel Platform
Building Financial Confidence into Pakistan's Largest Travel Platform
10 min est. read
Overview
Sastaticket's payment experience had a trust problem. Refunds took up to 14 days through Pakistani banking, leaving users who cancelled a flight unable to rebook for weeks. Prices fluctuated constantly and there was no way to protect a fare once you found it. The platform was losing users at both ends, after cancellations and before payment.
Over 18 months I designed five interconnected financial features that changed that. Each one solved a distinct problem while making the features before it more valuable. The result was a payment experience that went from a source of anxiety to a reason to come back.
Sastaticket's payment experience had a trust problem. Refunds took up to 14 days through Pakistani banking, leaving users who cancelled a flight unable to rebook for weeks. Prices fluctuated constantly and there was no way to protect a fare once you found it. The platform was losing users at both ends, after cancellations and before payment.
Over 18 months I designed five interconnected financial features that changed that. Each one solved a distinct problem while making the features before it more valuable. The result was a payment experience that went from a source of anxiety to a reason to come back.
My Role
Senior Product Designer
Teams Involved
Design
Product
Engineering
Timeline
2022-2024
Impact Snapshot
Impact Snapshot
14
Days to receive a refund, down from 14 days
days to receive a refund, down
from 14 days
Days to receive a refund, down from 14 days
0
months of interconnected feature delivery
months of interconnected
feature delivery
months of interconnected feature delivery
First
travel wallet in the region
travel wallet in the region
Solving the refund problem first
Solving the refund problem first
The wallet started as a focused solution to one problem. Instead of routing refunds through Pakistani banking and waiting 14 days, users received their refund into a Sasta Wallet instantly and could rebook the same day. No top-up, no transfers, just a wallet that caught refunds and made them immediately usable. That constraint was intentional, solve one thing well before building on top of it.
The wallet integrated into the existing payment step as an additional payment method. Users with insufficient wallet balance could use it partially and complete the remainder through another method.
The wallet started as a focused solution to one problem. Instead of routing refunds through Pakistani banking and waiting 14 days, users received their refund into a Sasta Wallet instantly and could rebook the same day. No top-up, no transfers, just a wallet that caught refunds and made them immediately usable. That constraint was intentional, solve one thing well before building on top of it.
The wallet integrated into the existing payment step as an additional payment method. Users with insufficient wallet balance could use it partially and complete the remainder through another method.
All wallet states mapped across the payment flow, guest, zero balance, sufficient balance, and insufficient balance.
All wallet states mapped across the payment flow, guest, zero balance, sufficient balance, and insufficient balance.
OTP verification added a necessary security layer without significantly disrupting the payment flow.
OTP verification added a necessary security layer without significantly disrupting the payment flow.
The wallet dashboard gave users real time visibility of every transaction including refund status.
The wallet dashboard gave users real time visibility of every transaction including refund status.
Turning cancellation anxiety into a product
Turning cancellation anxiety into a product
Sasta Refund gave users free cancellation on any flight for a small fee added at booking. It only worked because the wallet existed, refunds landed instantly rather than going back through the banking system. The two features were designed to reinforce each other.
As the feature matured, Sasta Refund was also surfaced through Sasta Flex, a bundled fare option at the fare selection step. Users who didn't take it there saw it again at checkout. Two touchpoints, different user mindsets, same product.
Sasta Refund gave users free cancellation on any flight for a small fee added at booking. It only worked because the wallet existed, refunds landed instantly rather than going back through the banking system. The two features were designed to reinforce each other.
As the feature matured, Sasta Refund was also surfaced through Sasta Flex, a bundled fare option at the fare selection step. Users who didn't take it there saw it again at checkout. Two touchpoints, different user mindsets, same product.
Selecting Sasta Refund collapses the card and immediately surfaces the next addon, maintaining conversion momentum.
Selecting Sasta Refund collapses the card and immediately surfaces the next addon, maintaining conversion momentum.
Sasta Flex surfaced Sasta Refund at the fare comparison step, reaching users before they reached checkout.
Sasta Flex surfaced Sasta Refund at the fare comparison step, reaching users before they reached checkout.
Removing the barrier of paying in full
Removing the barrier of paying in full
Not every user could cover a flight on a single card. Partial Payments let users split a booking across any combination of payment methods in any amounts, as long as they totalled the booking price. After each payment the remaining amount updated in real time and the next method selection was immediately available.
Not every user could cover a flight on a single card. Partial Payments let users split a booking across any combination of payment methods in any amounts, as long as they totalled the booking price. After each payment the remaining amount updated in real time and the next method selection was immediately available.
Validation states handled minimum amounts, maximum limits, and real time balance updates after each payment.
Validation states handled minimum amounts, maximum limits, and real time balance updates after each payment.
Giving users time to decide without losing the price
Giving users time to decide without losing the price
Users were dropping off at the traveler details step not because they didn't want to book, but because they weren't ready to commit and didn't trust the price would hold. Price Freeze let users pay a small non-refundable fee to lock a price for up to 72 hours. If the price dropped they paid less. If it rose they paid the locked price.
I identified the traveler details page as the highest drop-off point and added a targeted prompt at the bottom of the form. Users who had already invested time filling in their details were more likely to respond to a low-friction commitment option than users earlier in the funnel.
Users were dropping off at the traveler details step not because they didn't want to book, but because they weren't ready to commit and didn't trust the price would hold. Price Freeze let users pay a small non-refundable fee to lock a price for up to 72 hours. If the price dropped they paid less. If it rose they paid the locked price.
I identified the traveler details page as the highest drop-off point and added a targeted prompt at the bottom of the form. Users who had already invested time filling in their details were more likely to respond to a low-friction commitment option than users earlier in the funnel.
The explanation screen addressed the core anxiety before asking for commitment.
The explanation screen addressed the core anxiety before asking for commitment.
Every post-freeze state was designed. No scenario left the user without a clear next step.
Every post-freeze state was designed. No scenario left the user without a clear next step.
Placed at a high drop-off point in the booking flow, targeting users who were invested but hesitant.
Placed at a high drop-off point in the booking flow, targeting users who were invested but hesitant.
What didn't ship
What didn't ship
One proposal that didn't make it through was moving the addon upsell to after the traveler details step. My hypothesis was that users who had already invested time entering their information would be more committed and more likely to add optional features. Engineering constraints in the booking flow architecture made it infeasible at the time. The thinking remains sound.
One proposal that didn't make it through was moving the addon upsell to after the traveler details step. My hypothesis was that users who had already invested time entering their information would be more committed and more likely to add optional features. Engineering constraints in the booking flow architecture made it infeasible at the time. The thinking remains sound.
Financial addons currently appear before traveler details. The hypothesis was that moving them to after this step would reach more committed users.
Financial addons currently appear before traveler details. The hypothesis was that moving them to after this step would reach more committed users.
Impact
Refund processing time for Sasta Wallet users dropped from 14 days to seconds. Sastaticket became the first travel platform in the region to offer a built-in wallet. Each feature built on the one before it. The wallet made Sasta Refund possible. Sasta Refund created the trust that made other features viable. Price Freeze addressed the hesitation that was causing drop-off at the final step before booking.
Refund processing time for Sasta Wallet users dropped from 14 days to seconds. Sastaticket became the first travel platform in the region to offer a built-in wallet. Each feature built on the one before it. The wallet made Sasta Refund possible. Sasta Refund created the trust that made other features viable. Price Freeze addressed the hesitation that was causing drop-off at the final step before booking.
14
Days to receive a refund, down from 14 days
days to receive a refund, down from 14 days
Days to receive a refund, down from 14 days
0
months of interconnected feature delivery
months of interconnected feature delivery
First
travel wallet in the region
travel wallet in the region
Cross-functional design review with product and design at Sastaticket.
Cross-functional design review with product and design at Sastaticket.
Learnings
Learnings
The most interesting thing about this work wasn't any individual feature. It was watching how each decision created or closed options for the next thing. The wallet made Sasta Refund possible. Sasta Refund made Partial Payments more valuable. Price Freeze addressed the hesitation that every other feature couldn't reach. Designing across 18 months taught me to think in systems, not screens.
The most interesting thing about this work wasn't any individual feature. It was watching how each decision created or closed options for the next thing. The wallet made Sasta Refund possible. Sasta Refund made Partial Payments more valuable. Price Freeze addressed the hesitation that every other feature couldn't reach. Designing across 18 months taught me to think in systems, not screens.
Read about when i untangled the multi traveler addon problem
Read about when i untangled the multi traveler addon problem
View Case Study