Money by Afterpay

Designing a Fintech App That Gained 100K+ Signups and Helped Shape Cash App’s Global Strategy

Money by Afterpay was a digital banking experience built to expand Afterpay beyond BNPL, giving users a seamless way to spend, save, and manage their money. As Afterpay explored broader financial services, this product was a critical step in its fintech evolution.

Although Money by Afterpay was eventually shut down as the company shifted focus to Cash App Global, the work we did on banking UX, transaction flows, and financial management tools played a key role in shaping Cash App’s international strategy. Some features, like Retrospective Pay, were later integrated into Cash App and remain available today.

As Principal Product Designer, I was responsible for:

• Shaping the UX for Money by Afterpay, ensuring a smooth and intuitive banking experience.
• Developing a scalable design system, reducing inconsistencies and accelerating development by 30%.
• Designing Retrospective Pay and other key features, which were later adopted into Cash App.
• Laying the foundation for Cash App Global, influencing UX strategy post-shutdown.

📌 Key Outcomes:

• 🚀 100K+ signups in the first month, demonstrating strong demand.
• 📈 Top 10 in the Australian finance app charts within a few months of launch.
• 🔄 Retrospective Pay & other features were later implemented in Cash App.

Role: Principal Product Designer

Project: iOS & Android App Design

Year: 2021

Understanding the Challenge

Afterpay had built one of the most widely used BNPL platforms, but its users were asking for more—a way to manage their money, save, and spend seamlessly.

The challenge was to:

✔ Design a digital banking experience that felt as intuitive and delightful as Afterpay’s BNPL offering.
✔ Ensure seamless money management with features for spending insights, saving, and transactions.
✔ Create a scalable design system that could evolve as Afterpay expanded into new financial services.

This required deep user research, an intuitive UX strategy, and a strong foundation for fintech growth.

Designing the Core Money Experience

Money by Afterpay was designed to provide:

💳 Frictionless Banking & Spending

• Integrated instant payments & smart transaction categorization, making spending insights effortless.
• Created a clean, intuitive home screen that prioritized real-time balances and key financial actions.

💰 Savings & Financial Management

• Designed Savings Jars, helping users organize and set aside money easily.
• Simplified goal-setting and automatic savings, encouraging better money habits.

🚀 Results:

✅ 100K+ users signed up within the first month, showing strong early traction.
✅ Ranked in the top 10 finance apps in Australia within a few months of launch.
✅ A seamless UX for banking & spending, reducing friction in financial management.

Designing Retrospective Pay & Features That Live On

One of the key features I designed for Money by Afterpay was Retrospective Pay, which:

• Allowed users to apply Afterpay’s pay-over-time model to past transactions, giving them more flexibility.
• Provided clear payment breakdowns and installment options, making it easy to understand and use.
• Integrated seamlessly into the banking experience, ensuring frictionless adoption.

🚀 Impact:

✅ After Money by Afterpay shut down, Retrospective Pay was later integrated into Cash App.
✅ The design work I led remains in use today, shaping how users manage past transactions within Cash App.

Developing a Scalable Design System

To ensure speed, consistency, and long-term growth, I led the creation of a scalable design system that:

• Standardized components, colors, and UI patterns, ensuring visual and functional consistency.
• Reduced development time by 30%, streamlining handoffs between design and engineering.
• Enabled rapid iteration, allowing for quick feature updates and product enhancements.

🚀 Impact:

✅ Faster, more consistent product updates, accelerating feature development.
✅ A unified visual language, ensuring a seamless experience across Afterpay’s ecosystem.

From Money by Afterpay to Cash App Global

Although Money by Afterpay gained strong traction, the company made the strategic decision to shut it down and shift focus to Cash App Global. However, the work we did on:

• Banking UX
• Transaction flows
• Scalable design systems
• Retrospective Pay and other key features

… all played a critical role in shaping Cash App’s global fintech strategy.

🎯 Key Contributions to Cash App Global:

• The design system we built was leveraged to accelerate international product development.
• Our research on user banking behaviors helped inform Cash App’s money management features.
• Retrospective Pay, originally designed for Money by Afterpay, was later implemented in Cash App.

🚀 Impact:

✅ The work done on Money by Afterpay didn’t disappear—it helped drive Cash App’s long-term vision.
✅ Key UX learnings & design frameworks were carried forward into Cash App’s international roadmap.

To ensure speed, consistency, and long-term growth, I led the creation of a scalable design system that:

🚀 Impact:

✅ Faster, more consistent product updates, accelerating feature development.
✅ A unified visual language, ensuring a seamless experience across Afterpay’s ecosystem.

What This Project Achieved

📊 Business Impact:

✔ 100K+ signups in the first month, demonstrating strong demand.
✔ Top 10 finance app ranking in Australia, proving strong market adoption.
✔ 30% faster development cycles, thanks to a scalable design system.
✔ Retrospective Pay & other features were later integrated into Cash App, proving the long-term value of the design work.

🎯 Customer Experience Improvements:

✔ Intuitive, effortless banking & spending, reducing friction in financial management.
✔ Smart savings tools, helping users take control of their money.
✔ A seamless design system, ensuring consistency and ease of use across the app.

Reflections & Learnings

Leading Money by Afterpay’s UX reinforced the importance of:

✨ Building for scale – Even though the product was shut down, the work influenced future fintech experiences.
✨ Adapting to business strategy shifts – UX work remains valuable even when priorities change.
✨ Designing features that last – Retrospective Pay and other designs live on in Cash App, proving their long-term impact.

Even though Money by Afterpay was eventually shut down, the UX and design strategy we created became a stepping stone for Cash App’s international expansion—showing how great design thinking remains impactful beyond a single product.