Google Pay - Pay It Forward
Integrating climate solutions into existing and ubiquitous digital eco-systems
Concept | UX Design | Prototyping
Project synopsis
How can we make climate solutions mainstream and effortless?
Pay It Forward is a self-initiated UX project that explores the idea of integrating climate-positive initiatives (e.g. reforestation) with Google Pay's reward system, thereby helping users create large-scale positive impact through daily actions.
Problem
More people want to embrace and implement sustainable choices in their daily lives but think it will disrupt their current way of living.
Analysis
Research showed people thought:
-
Making climate-friendly choices is "too much effort"
-
Any actions they take might not have a significant, measurable impact
-
Donating money to organisations feels like a scam
Solution
Whilst retaining existing mental models, I modified the current Google Pay rewards ecosystem to help users plant trees or donate to organisations through scratch cards and track their impact in real-time.
Challenges
People find it easier to take action when provided with incentives. Finding the right incentives that are exciting, equitable, profitable, and good for the climate was an interesting challenge.
01 — RESEARCH
Problem area
With climate change becoming a growing threat by the second, bridging the knowledge-action gap is imperative.
​
Users resist adopting sustainability practices due to:
• Lack of seamless integration into existing lifestyles
• The perceived inconvenience of changing established habits.
​
Simply put, positive change is assumed to be tough, inaccessible, and without incentive.
"
To understand this resistance better, I did some secondary research and conducted interviews with 5 participants (between ages 22 and 56) which led to these insights:
User research
Unaware
People don't know where to start or how to contribute meaningfully.
Credibility
People don't believe that organisations will put their money to good use.
Skepticism
People are skeptical about the impact of their actions on a larger level.
Will one person's actions make any difference at all?
I don't think so.
- Interviewee
Comfort-zone
People will prefer to adopt easy solutions well within their comfort zone.
Far-reaching
People find climate change to be incomprehensible.
Research insights
When choosing between easy and good, easy generally wins.
Since we are used to striving for comfort in our lives, making conscious choices that lead to (temporary) discomfort can be a challenge.
Feel-good nudges and social approval can enable users to make better choices.
The main factors guiding positive actions are: ​
-
Incentives
-
Emotional satisfaction
-
Social approval
Goal
How might we integrate measurable climate-positive actions into an existing user journey?
-
Ecosia - A search engine that plants 1 tree for every 50 searches)
-
Alipay Ant Forest - A gamified fintech app that plants trees when people make lower-carbon choices)
-
Climategames - A fitness app that plants trees for every tracked workout
-
Google Pay - Diwali Stamps - A gamified Diwali scheme by Google Pay that offers users cashback and rewards on transactions)
02 — ANALYIS
Why UPI?
In the last few years, payments via Unified Payment Interface (UPI) apps have seen a stratospheric increase, completely revolutionising the Indian financial landscape. This provides a great starting point for introducing sustainability into an existing eco-system.
Why Google Pay?
It has a 36.6% market share and over 67 million monthly active users in India alone (and I've been using it for many years now)
Inclusive
Everyone can feel included in the solution, regardless of economic and social divisions.
Effortless nudge
Users are familiar with Google Pay's reward system and can instantly create a positive, measurable impact.
Rewards on Google Pay
Most desirable, less frequent
A. Cashback
Fairly desirable, very frequent
B. Vouchers
Least desirable, fairly frequent
C. No rewards/unused vouchers
Why rewards work?
Randomising rewards
Since every transaction does not guarantee a reward, users are driven to engage more, hoping to increase their odds.
Inclusive
The combined visual, auditory, and tactile experience of interacting with a scratch card triggers a bigger dopamine rush than when one actually wins.
Easy to track
Users can easily track previously received rewards.
A sustainable twist:
Can rewards include instant cashback donations to reforestation initiatives?
Can a user track these donations?
03 — DESIGN
3.1. Revised user flow
I modified Google Pay's existing flow by introducing two additional features under rewards (in blue and orange) -
A. Donating cashback
Users can donate their cashback reward to an organisation, creating a dopamine rush without spending extra money.
B. Collecting points
An ongoing mini challenge of collecting "tree points" to uplevel and receive further rewards which will unlock more scratch cards.
3.2. Design solutions
01. Simplified navigation
The bottom navigation bar creates a clear distinction between payment and rewards.​
This simplifies the experience and gets users curious about their rewards.
02. Action-oriented
In line with the existing flow, users can scratch cards and take immediate positive action with no additional effort or cost.
​​
Through different rewards, users can:
-
Collect tree points at different levels and plant trees (gamification)
-
Donate a cashback reward to partner NGOs and get detailed real-time information on each tree planted (measurable impact)
Number of
trees planted
Map of planted and
geo-tagged trees
Tree points
collected
Level up badges
Total cash rewards
03. Visible impact
The Rewards page shows an interactive map of geo-tagged trees planted during previous transactions by a given user.
​
Features like collecting tree points and badges make users feel empowered and encourages them to further engage with the app.
All screens
3.3. User Testing
Rounds of testing: 2 | Participants: 5 | Age: 25-41 years
Ease of use - 5/5
All users found the app to be extremely easy to use, accessing rewards through the bottom navigation was preferred.
Credibility - 4/5
4 users believe that detailed information about the NGOs and trees planted would provide the credibility they need.
Impact - 4/5
4 users agreed that seeing a real-time interactive map with geo-tagged trees after every transaction would encourage them to make more payments through the app.
