04 — Decentralized Visa Card & IBAN
Setting up a Visa card and IBAN, entirely inside a self-custodial wallet.
Overview
Gnosis Pay is the world's first decentralized Visa debit card. The goal was simple to state and hard to deliver: complete the full onboarding; KYC, AML, card issuance, IBAN provisioning without ever leaving the wallet.
I led the design of the end-to-end flow, translating layered regulatory, banking partner, and Web3-mechanics constraints into a single experience that felt like opening a regular neobank account.
Eligibility check
Failing fast, gently.
Geographic eligibility is the very first screen. Users learn whether they can complete the flow before they invest any effort. Wrong country, no friction lost.
Layered agreements
Four contracts, written like one.
A single product touches four legal entities; Gnosis Pay, Monavate, Monerium, and the cashback program. Each one has its own terms. I bundled them into one agreement card so the dense legal stack feels like a single decision, not a maze.
AML questionnaire
Short paths, not long forms.
Source of funds, employment status, profession, intended use all answers a regulator needs. I split them into single-decision screens with explicit progress dots so the journey always feels finite. A review step at the end lets users edit before submitting.
Identity verification
The phone is the document scanner.
ID document capture, liveness check, and proof of address guided by clear corner brackets and a single instruction per screen. No tiny print, no checklist anxiety. The user always knows the next steps.
Account setup
Abstract Web3 complexity.
Behind the loader, a Safe is being deployed, transactions are signing, IBAN is being provisioned. The user sees "Starting verification process…" and not protocol vocabulary. Plain English replaces deploy Safe jargon. The complexity is mine to hold, not theirs.
Status & review
Honest waiting.
KYC review can take hours or days. The status banner is explicit about where the application stands: Submitted, in review, approved with colors that don't fake urgency. Users know exactly what to expect without checking back every five minutes.
Card delivery
The first moment it feels real.
After the compliance work, the virtual card arrives with a small, deliberate flourish. Tilt-in animation, light shimmer, a single CTA: Activate Bank Deposits. The payoff after the work and the entry point to the rest of the product.
Key Design Decisions
Fail fast, gently
Eligibility check is screen one. If a user can't complete the flow, they learn it before investing effort. Not three steps deep.
One question per screen
The AML questionnaire uses progressive disclosure with a visible progress indicator. Every screen has one decision, never a long form.
Abstract Web3 complexity
Where Safe deployment and on-chain provisioning happen, the user reads "Starting verification process…" Not "Deploying Safe contract". Plain English replaces blockchain vocabulary.
Honest waiting
KYC review takes hours or days. The status banner is explicit ("Submitted", "In review", "Approved") with calm colors that don't fake urgency.
Outcomes & Learnings
01
Shipped end-to-end onboarding inside the Gnosis wallet. Card setup, IBAN provisioning, and KYC all live in a single self-custodial product.
02
Reduced perceived complexity of a heavily regulated flow. Banking partner compliance (Monerium, Monavate, Visa, Gnosis Pay) is invisible to the user.
03
Key learning: in high-stakes fintech, the design problem isn't UI. It's deciding what the user shouldn't have to know and writing the copy that hides it without lying.
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