Reveal — meeta

V1

CONTEXT

Reveal is a financial management app that helps users track spending, manage subscriptions, and gain personalized AI-driven insights to optimize their financial habits. Its goal is to simplify personal finance, empowering users to make informed decisions and improve their financial well-being.

PROBLEM

Financial banking apps users feel overwhelmed by the unclear nature of transaction statements and want to regain control of their finances in a practical way, without relying on external tools.

SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT AND BLOCKING

TRANSACTION CLARITY USING REGGIE (REVEAL’s AI BOT)

V2

1. RESEARCH

Image: Research Objectives

2. SYNTHESIS

AFFINITY MAP

SOLUTION

Managing finances can be challenging with unpredictable spending habits and hidden subscriptions. By integrating AI-driven insights and a subscription tracker, this solution helps users track spending patterns and manage recurring payments, providing personalized recommendations to improve financial control

Our goal was to understand how people face credit card bills, other transactional information and what emotional and practical challenges they face, and how their expectations around financial clarity could inform a better experience.

After conducting interviews, we synthesized over 100+ individual insights using an affinity mapping exercise. These were color-coded and categorized by behavioral patterns, unmet needs, and emotional drivers. The themes that emerged revealed deeply ingrained financial behaviors, repeated frustrations, and clear opportunity spaces.

KEY INSIGHTS

Users wanted clearer insights—like fraud detection or overspending reasons—ideally on a dedicated page, with some suggesting a forecast based on past spending.

V2

Users wanted a smoother cancellation experience and felt frustrated by unclear post-blocking steps—early communication of these limitations could boost trust and satisfaction.

Instead, we placed the AI assistant below the transaction details with a brief prompt to clearly signal that users can get help from Reveal’s AI bot.

Leading beyond design strengthened my adaptability – Co-leading the project and handling responsibilities outside of product design taught me how to manage timelines, coordinate tasks, and make decisions confidently.
Empathy is essential in financial design – I developed a deeper awareness of how emotionally complex money management can be, which helped me create more thoughtful and supportive user experiences.
Clarity and context build trust – I learned that users respond better when features are clearly explained and placed where they naturally expect them.
Good communication drives progress – Regular updates, clear documentation, and open discussions helped maintain momentum and ensure everyone stayed on the same page.

The real problem is not the spending, it's the blur.

Users aren’t overwhelmed by the numbers — they’re overwhelmed by the lack of clarity.

They’re scrolling through endless transactions, decoding mystery charges, and mentally piecing together their spending habits like a true crime board.

| "I don't recognize half the merchants."
| "I wish it told me what changed this month."
| "I want a summary that talks to me, not just numbers."

It’s not that the data isn’t there — it’s that it’s buried, scattered, and context-free.

People want to feel informed and in control, not confused or reactive. But the way that spending information is shown today is not helping users to achieve that desire.

So, what’s really broken?

It’s the presentation of financial data — not personal, not proactive, not human.

Users feel overwhelmed by the unclear nature of transaction statements and want to regain control of their finances in a practical way, without relying on external tools

3. UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET

Understanding the Landscape: Who’s Helping Users Feel in Control—and Who’s Adding to the Blur?

WHAT DO THEY MISS

We analysed Apple Wallet, American Express, Chase, Rocket Money, Capitol One and Monarch Money. Across all these tools, key gaps remain:

OPPORTUNITY

Grounded in both user insights and competitive gaps, Reveal can lead a product that provides context and clarity for each transaction, offers dynamic data visualizations to enhance users' understanding of their spending, and helps them identify and manage subscriptions and recurring charges.

| The market gives users data. Reveal will give them clarity and control

| While existing tools help users see what they spent, Reveal will help them understand what changed, and why it matters.

4. MVP IDEATION

Grounded in user pain points and competitive gaps, our feature ideation focused on enhancing clarity, control, and emotional ease in how people understand their spendings.

BRAIN STORMING KEY FEATURES BASED ON THE ‘HOW MIGHT WE?’ QUESTIONS

How might we help users access the most pertinent information about their monthly bill in a reliable and trustworthy way?

How might we help users better understand their credit card bills and afford them the ability to control and personalize the experience?

🏷️

Custom Categorization

5. MVP REDIRECTION

🧾

Simplified Bill Views

🧩

Widgets Dashboards

📊

At a glance information

🔔

Contextual Notifications

🔄

Spend Visualization

🕵️

Transaction Transparency

“Is our MVP solving user pain — or just designing around it?”

“What else is being done in the market that we haven't thought about?”

So we paused.

And decided to validate our direction before building further.

HOW DID WE DO THIS?

Re-synthesized Interviews (with AI)

We extracted themes that had faded into the background:

Emotional friction was louder than we realized — bills made people feel overwhelmed, anxious, or even ashamed
Subscriptions were still catching people off guard
Charge recognition was an exhausting, manual task

People weren’t checking apps for insight — just for damage control.

Desirability Testing

❤️ What users loved?

We tested lightweight ideas from our roadmap with users — and got powerful feedback:

Users were confused by the term “block” and the need to cancel subscriptions separately, leading to hesitation—though the CTA remained easy to find and use.

The floating action button (FAB) had mixed recognition: 60% of users understood its purpose, while 40% did not.

One-swipe monthly summaries that explain changes
Subscription alertsbefore they’re charged
Gentle reminders — not dashboards
Small moments of reassurance: “You’re still within your usual range”

🤔 What could change?

THE PRODUCT IDENTITY THAT EMERGED

7. USABILITY TESTING

V2

Users struggled to navigate the chatbot due to unclear chart interactions, overwhelming info, and small visuals that made key insights—like spending increases and category details—hard to understand.

Manual setup
Charts they had to interpret
Notifications that felt like scolding
Tagging unless it was passive or effortless

Explore dining insights and spending categories using the AI chatbot.
Access the subscriptions section and complete the payment blocking process for a Netflix transaction.
Use the AI chatbot to understand the details of a specific transaction and mark it as a subscription.

EXPLORING DINING INSIGHTS AND SPENDING

V1

8. FINAL PROTOTYPE

WHAT I LEARNED?

**Users don’t want to analyze their money — they want to understand it at a glance, feel in control, and get on with their day.**

We decided to use AMEX banking app as our starting point for Reveal ?????

Reveal isn’t just an insight engine.

It’s a human layer for credit card experiences — one that fits within the AMEX app and makes the complex feel calm.

We now build with 5 clear lenses:

Reveal is no longer just solving usability problems. Is helping people feel informed, supported, and in control of their money — without ever overwhelming them.

6. WIREFRAME AND PROTOTYPE