Shopify Credit: A card designed with merchants in mind
BACKGROUND
Nearly half of merchants seek funding for operations. Shopify Capital, a lump-sum financing option with a 10-month repayment term, was ideal for large projects like store expansions but not for routine, recurring expenses.
Tailored offers based on store performance
Shopify can offer credit to merchants with lower credit scores or limited financial history using real-time store data. A machine learning algorithm determines eligibility and offer size, which updates weekly based on store revenue.
Eligible merchants are directed to the offer page to apply. Personalized data shows how much the merchant could have earned in cashback based on the previous year's shipping spend.
Streamlined onboarding with KYC autocomplete
We autofill any information already on file about the merchant and their store for KYC, allowing them to quickly confirm or update details to apply faster.
The expedited KYC flow, which is now standardized across all Shopify financial products.
Consolidated spend management
Once approved, the merchant receives a virtual card to start spending right away. The card details, transactions, payments and cashback rewards are all accessible from a single account dashboard.
Adding multiple cardholders with spend controls
Merchants can add additional employees as cardholders, with each getting a virtual and physical card. They can track spending and set spend controls for each card.
Onboarding additional cardholders
Once added, a secondary cardholder will receive an invitation by email to join. If they accept, they’ll be taken to the onboarding flow to create their own card.
SUMMARY
My role
I collaborated with two UX designers to research and design the proof-of-concept for this new financial product. After launch, we conducted further research with early adopters to refine the product and optimize the rewards structure for product-market fit.
Pain points during discovery
Product objectives
Outcome
As of September 2024 (1 year after full launch), merchants have collectively spent $379M using Shopify Credit, earning Shopify $9.8M in interchange revenue. The product continues to be a primary pillar of Shopify’s financial services platform, providing merchants with constant, revolving access to funds for their business.