Foreign Exchange Kiosk
Let’s exchange your excess change!
PROBLEM STATEMENT
International travelers return with few foreign bills and change that are not enough to exchange at a financial institution. As a result, travelers are left with a hodgepodge of foreign currencies that serve little or no purpose back home.
HYPOTHESIS
By providing international travelers with a foreign exchange kiosk in local grocery stores or gas stations, the currencies brought back home could be exchanged. We will know this to be true when travelers feel less hesitant to bring their foreign currencies and exchange their currencies using the kiosk.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Foreign currency exchange for personal and business clients.
Exchanges less than $500 has a $9.95 transaction fee
Accepts bills, credit and debit cards
Cash paid out in the currency of choice or prepaid card
Available in major airports, malls, U.S. banks, online, home delivery and retail stores.
Generally open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
Self-service kiosk that will accept and exchange unsorted coins and banknotes for cash.
No transaction fee
Accepts over 150+ currencies and old European currencies
Cash paid out in either pounds, euros or dollars.
Available only in the UK
Open 24/7
RESEARCH
Based on user interviews, 18 out of 20 travelers returned with foreign currencies. The 8 travelers all kept their excess change at home with no intentions of using them in the future. Most participants kept the currencies because it was simply not enough money to make a trip out to a foreign exchange or a bank, while others kept them as souvenirs. Many interviewers said "it's not worth my time to exchange a few bucks." Those who returned without any foreign currencies disclosed that they try to spend all their money at the airport with snacks and last minute souvenirs then supplement the remaining amount on their credit cards. Even if they didn't want to buy anything at the airport, they would feel obligated to make a purchase so they don't return with any foreign bills/coins. International travelers strategically plan out how much cash to withdraw. It's difficult to guess how much one will spend at a foreign country. Interviewees try to use their credit cards as much as possible, but withdrawing and spending cash are inevitable. They expressed their frustrations as they unintentionally collect a hodgepodge of coins, which no longer serve a value back at home. Through my interviews, I've discovered two main types of travelers- the recreational travelers and the business travelers.
PERSONAS
2X2 MATRIX
USER FLOW
I brainstormed ideas on different ways of converting the currencies and extra features. I then focused on the area that had high impact and feature that is easy to use. I used the 2x2 matrix to then build out a user flow.
INITIAL SKETCHES
I initially had the idea of directly transferring the exchanged amount to the user's bank account integrating a service called Venmo. For the converting process, I imagined that a user comes up the kiosk, inserts all the foreign bills in the bill acceptor and dumps all the coins into the machine. The machine calculates all the bills and coins and then converts them into USD. The user will have the option to choose the converted amount to be transferred into their Venmo account and for those non-Venmo account holders, they can redeem it for an electronic gift card code. I wanted to avoid receiving the converted amount into cash because let's be real, who needs more pennies in their lives?
Also, I created a user account so he/she can track their transactions, check rates and locate on a map all the places the user has exchanged currencies in. This creates a personal touch that helps the users feel connected.
USER TESTING/PIVOT
The kiosk was originally designed for converting foreign cash/coin to an eCash or eGift cards. However, many users were unfamiliar with Venmo and how to redeem eGift cards using an online code. As a result, the option to convert to USD cash was added. Once the cash option was added, it was the most popular choice due to the fact that it was the quickest redeeming option. Most users wanted to drop money, get cash and get going.
Users also felt reluctant to create an account because "it was another password to remember". Most users preferred a quick transaction so they could move on with their lives. Using lean UX strategy, personal account feature was removed in order to focus on the swift and efficient exchange. Since the account feature was removed, I added the exchange rates feature to the beginning so users are able to view and calculate the rates before they start the transaction.
FINAL HI-FI PROTOTYPE
CONCLUSION
This was my first time experiencing the UX process from interviewing to creating a product felt empowering. Through many user testing and iterations, I've received many positive reviews stating that they would love to use a machine like this in the future. The one thing I overlooked was adding a review section before the confirmation page. Especially since users are unable to change their option once they press the cash option.
Since many international travelers go to the airport or sometimes exchange currencies at a local bank beforehand, I thought the airport or a bank would be the best possible solution to implement this kiosk. However, based on my interviews, most users said they are "exhausted and eager to go home" after their flights and most users manage their finances online so I had to eliminate these locations. As a result, I had to choose a location where users go on a weekly basis or somewhere that is conveniently accessible, which was a supermarket or a convenience store. Although many users are starting to use online grocery delivery services, still the majority feel comfortable hand picking their own groceries. I can envision the kiosk next to the Coinstar machine, where one machine can turn their U.S. coins into cash and one for their foreign coins.