A leading financial institution in Latin America with over 130 years of history, has earned its place as an undisputed leader in the market. Grounded in its core values and mission, the institution recognized the need for greater financial inclusion to address barriers experienced by certain customers.
The client created a digital payment solution that allowed its customers to transfer money with just the recipient's cell phone number, eliminating the need for tokens or other verification methods. This was a significant change, simplifying transactions and making payments easier.
Within two years of its inception, the payments solution had already attracted 2 million users. It became more than just a convenient payment solution; it transformed into a valuable tool for microentrepreneurs. The payment tool enabled business owners to accept payments without a traditional point-of-sale (POS) system, especially those with mobile or small businesses. Not only did it enable them to increase their sales, but it also helped them save on commissions and improve their cash management.
Our client did not stop there; they had a broader vision of financial inclusion. The financial institution then introduced a virtual e-money card and aimed to reach more people. The payments app had ambitions to become the preferred application for its citizens, providing solutions to their everyday needs. Users could pay for various goods and services, discover the best deals, access financial services and become loyal and engaged users.
Thoughtworks collaboration helped the app grow from 8 million to over 19 million users, making it a significant player in the country’s digital economy, rivaling major platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Experiencing tenfold growth, and with approximately 45% of the country's population utilizing the app, it has facilitated greater adoption of digital payments, emerging as a preferred option for mobile recharges.
Partnering for strategic expansion
As the payments app achieved exponential growth in the volume of users using its product, it became clear that it had huge potential and needed to launch more features to drive its monetization.
To embark on this journey, they sought Thoughtworks' expertise. Our collaboration began with a focus on benchmarking existing Super Apps and learning from other countries' experiences.
We conducted a comprehensive assessment of the core components of the modern digital business: platform strategy, frictionless operating model, engineering culture and delivery mindset and experience, product design and capability, and intelligence-driven decision-making.
Unlocking technological potential
We leveraged our technological expertise, and drew upon the client’s global experience and knowledge of market trends to recommend and implement a technology strategy consisting of:
Building a robust but flexible platform strategy, capable of supporting a plug and play approach to new product and service development.
Establishing a frictionless operating model and creating an engineering culture and delivery mindset to optimize agile practices and enable continuous value delivery.
Driving competencies in product experience, design and capability.
We worked together to implement a technology platform, leveraging DevSecOps practices and infrastructure automation. This included devising a new operating model aimed at optimizing agile practices, minimizing friction, and establishing governance and management frameworks supported by DORA metrics.
We also introduced a new way of designing our system using Evolutionary Architecture. This allowed us to create standard ways of building components through Microservices and Event-Driven Architecture. We combined these with modern engineering practices to ensure the system is both high-quality and secure, ultimately leading to a better experience for our users.
Expanding product offerings and innovating solutions:
The client embarked on an expansion strategy by introducing a variety of financial products and services. Additionally, they enhanced after-sales processes by implementing a CRM solution, consolidating customer information and improving user experience.
The parent company intensified its commitment to value generation and new innovative products. As a strategic partner of both companies , Thoughtworks collaborated in designing and constructing the MVPs for these innovative offerings.
Key milestone moments
The introduction of a promotional feature offering exclusive benefits, discounts, and deals to users. This initiative reinforced customer loyalty and helped position the platform as a customer-centric brand.
The platform seamlessly integrated with two major digital payment providers in the country. This integration expanded its reach and simplified the user experience. The product received an outstanding NPS score ranging from 70 to 80.
A game-changing customer relationship management (CRM) tool was launched later. This innovation provided after-sales teams with access to customers' complete transaction history, enhancing service quality and elevating the overall customer experience.
The app transitioned from hybrid code to native iOS and Android code, resulting in improved speed and accessibility. The entire product and service were migrated, and a new feature was launched on the updated platform.
Thoughtworks helped the client to define its path towards its technological vision. At the beginning of the journey, we identified several obstacles and managed to overcome them by:
Enabling frictionless innovation through a robust and scalable architecture.
Continuously, iteratively, and automatically launching products.
Building an incremental platform that allows them to continuously deliver products and functionalities without compromising quality and security.
Seamless and standardized integration with external providers and other platforms outside the bank.
Delivering quality service with close attention to its customers
This upgrade also accelerated the development of new products. Over a defined period, we collaborated on the launch of several innovative offerings, including;
Platform Marketplace: A simple, fast, and secure platform for purchasing products with an experience that delights customers.
Exchange Rate: Integrated the app into dollar accounts and exchanged local currency to dollars and vice versa. Customers can open a dollar account with an easy and fast flow.
Remittance: Integration with the most commonly used remittance services in the country. This solution is designed to be fast and online, and it complies with the relevant policies and regulations.
Tap2phone: Extended product that allows merchants to turn their cell phone into a contactless point of sale (POS) to charge with credit, debit and prepaid cards of Visa and Mastercard brands (domestic and foreign).
Checkout: Expanded the app's reach into ecommerce and digital/physical debit cards. We solved the problem of failed ecommerce or POS purchases due to a lack of card activation for online purchases.
We streamlined the use of new products and upheld our commitment to providing a comprehensive solution, which delighted our customers.
Today, the app stands as a success story in digital payments, steadily advancing to become a Super App. It supports micro-entrepreneurs, promotes financial inclusion, and consistently meets customer needs. With Thoughtworks as a partner, the client sees ongoing growth, and revenue generation, and aims for profitability. The future holds promise as the client’s journey of innovation and expansion persists, prioritizing the satisfaction of its expanding user base.
