While UPI has become the predominant payment modality for most users, evidence indicates that users (especially constrained users) do not always engage with grievance mechanisms (GRMs) when required. Through field testing of the grievance functionalities of predominant UPI applications, we found that their effectiveness for the constrained user who we describe as having low literacy and low digital proficiency is limited. Users have poor comprehension of the in-app GRMs of UPI apps, leading to anxiety around use of the app and fear that they may lose money. Against this backdrop, this project sought to improve the useability and accessibility of GRMs in UPI applications for constrained users, thereby improving their quality of engagement with UPI and digital finance in general.
Working in collaboration with independent UX research and interaction design experts, we sought to identify and resolve the key pain points of accessibility and useability that hamper constrained users’ experience of UPI. A key component of this exercise was the creation of a UPI GRM framework which offers a structure to rethink existing grievance redressal mechanisms for UPI and its service providers. The framework, with four consumer values and corresponding product principles, proposes consistency in the structure of in-app GRMs across UPI applications. Accordingly, we redesigned in-app GRMs in UPI, keeping in mind the need for relevant user engagement.
These design suggestions were synthesised into a design toolkit, intended for product managers and UX researchers to enhance user satisfaction for aggrieved users, streamline issue resolution processes, and elevate the overall user experience of UPI applications. The project has gained relevance among product managers and UI/UX designers intending to design for constrained user groups, and among policy stakeholders who see value in building consistency in the structure of GRMs across the UPI ecosystem.
