Work / B89, 2019 to 2021
Peru's first credit card you could get entirely through an app: credit check and approval in about 10 minutes, then the card delivered to your door. Designed for people who didn't trust online banking yet.
Every designer probably has one project they keep closest to the chest. The one where they had real ownership, shaped important decisions, and watched it grow from the beginning. For me, this was that project.
credit card in Peru you could get entirely through an app
to check your credit history and approve the card, in the app
No other financial service in Peru could review your credit history and approve a credit card from an app at the time. Then we delivered the card to your home.
Four moments, about 2 minutes
1 of 4
Low digital trust, fear of fraud, limited financial literacy and first-time digital banking behavior. We treated trust as the primary design problem, not a compliance one. Onboarding, copy, motion and visual design all worked together to make digital finance feel emotionally safe.
Trust is often emotional before it becomes rational.
2 of 4
With the founders and product, we defined B89 as younger, friendlier and less corporate than traditional banks. The goal wasn't another finance app. It was making digital banking feel accessible, aspirational, simple and emotionally engaging.
3 of 4
At the time, no other financial service in Peru could review your credit history and approve a credit card from an app. B89 did it in about 10 minutes: digital registration, in-app qualification, approval, and then we sent the card to your home.
Every step was designed to reduce intimidation for people adopting these products for the first time, and validated fast with guerrilla research and behavioral observation.
People do not adopt new financial habits because technology exists. They adopt them when the experience feels useful enough to fit into their lives.
4 of 4
Instead of generic cashback, users could apply earned points to specific purchases and effectively erase them from their statement. That sense of control made rewards feel immediate and meaningful, and set B89 apart from traditional banks.
Afterwards
During B89's development, Onfido invited me to discuss digital onboarding, financial inclusion and the role of customer experience in building trust in digital banking.
In a low-trust environment, emotional safety drove adoption more than feature completeness.
Positioning B89 as a lifestyle product, not a banking platform, made it feel modern and aspirational without losing credibility.
Inside an early-stage startup, clarity, speed and adaptability mattered more than heavy methodology.
Everything behind the story, for the people who want all of it. Open what you need.
Before the pandemic accelerated digital adoption across Latin America, Peru still faced significant barriers around financial inclusion and trust in digital banking. A large portion of the economy operated informally, many users distrusted online payments entirely, and digital financial products still felt intimidating or inaccessible to a large percentage of the population.
B89 was created during that transition. As part of the early core team and the company's first designer, I shaped the product experience, onboarding strategy, visual direction and overall UX vision for a new fintech platform focused on making digital financial services feel more approachable, modern and trustworthy for younger Peruvian audiences.
Phase 1
Define the product feel. With founders and product: younger, friendlier, more lifestyle-oriented and less corporate than traditional banks.
Phase 2
Onboarding and core flows. Mobile onboarding, eligibility and core app flows aimed at making first-time digital banking feel emotionally safe.
Phase 3
Rapid iteration. Guerrilla research, behavioral observation and fast prototyping inside a fast-moving startup.
Phase 4
Differentiated features. Expense tracking, B-Points rewards, bill splitting and simplified spending visibility, still uncommon locally at the time.
Journey: digital registration, in-app qualification, eligibility and onboarding, card delivered to home, first-use experience, rewards (B-Points) and engagement.
| Bet | Hypothesis | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Fully digital onboarding | Users will adopt a fully digital credit card onboarding if it feels safe, modern and approachable. | Peru's first credit card you could get entirely through an app, approved in about 10 minutes. |
| B-Points rewards | Making rewards immediately useful, rather than abstract, increases engagement and perceived value. | Points applied to specific purchases, erased from the statement. Rewards felt immediate and meaningful. |
Some visuals and implementation details have been simplified or anonymized to respect confidentiality.