Usability Study on the User Interface Design of Mobile Payment Applications

Abstract

Human consumption behavior has entered the digital age, and the payment methods have also emerged with different new styles. However, whether the new digital payment user experience meets the user’s expectations is a question worthy of discussion. Three commonly used digital payment applications, i.e., Line Pay, PayPal, and WeChat Pay, were selected for this study. The experimental device was an iPhone X cell phone, and the convenience sampling method was adopted in this study. A total of 34 participants aged 18-28 were invited to take part in the experiment. The experiment recorded the time spent on each task and the results of completing the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire after the task was performed. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the variance, while observational methods were used to observe the operating conditions of the participants. The results of the study were as follows: (1) The balance should be displayed at the first page, and the best way to display it is by "$" plus the amount of money supplemented by text. (2) QR Code payment is suitable for small amounts and quick payment. For large amounts, users should set up the correct payment recipient and follow the steps for more peace of mind. (3) The initial operation of the payment and receipt function should be integrated into a single function button or page, using the same operation mode, but using a different background page color, so that users can easily identify the current operation procedure as payment or receipt. (4) The setting function can be set on the top left of the home page, with the gear icon or avatar as the relevant design. (5) The design of the transaction history function can be combined with the balance display to provide sufficient information for users to operate, and it is not recommended to set the balance inquiry function in more than three pages or steps of the operation procedure. (6) Digital payment platform can integrate with other industry's services to generate more functions. (7) The functions are displayed in blocks, which will increase the operation time for users with no user experience. The results of the study can be used as a reference for digital payment platform and software design industry and designers and researchers