Consumers want to pay you—but only if you make it easy. They don’t want to pay that badly.
If your payment portal feels like an obstacle course, people will abandon it faster than a gym membership in February. The good news? You don’t need an expensive usability study to diagnose the problem.
Run The 30-Second Test.
Here’s how: Open your portal on a mobile device (we see 80%+ of consumers accessing our portal on their mobile devices). Now, give yourself just 30 seconds to complete these tasks:
Enter login credentials – Are credentials required? Will consumers know them? Do users need an account number, zip code, or some obscure PIN they don’t remember? The fewer fields, the better.
See total balance & payment options – If consumers have to hunt for their balance or aren’t given multiple payment options (including both method and amount/frequency of payments), they’ll bounce.
Find the payment button – If it’s buried in menus or requires scrolling, that’s a red flag. It needs to be “above the fold” where the consumer can see it prominently without scrolling.
✅ Make a payment with minimal steps – Count the screens and count the clicks. The fewer of each, the better.
If you struggled with any of these steps, it’s time for an upgrade. Here are three places to start:
1️⃣ Simplify login requirements. Use phone numbers or email addresses instead of long account numbers. Even better, offer magic links or QR codes that let consumers jump straight to their account or even make make the exact payment/settlement offered in your communication.
2️⃣ Reduce form fields. Every unnecessary field you remove increases payment completion rates. Do you need to force the consumer to update their contact information before checking out? Probably not.
3️⃣ Add a “Quick Pay” option. Some consumers don’t want to create an account—let them enter minimal details and pay instantly.
Want more payments? Make it seamless. If your portal fails the 30-Second Test, fixing it is one of the highest-impact changes you can make. Even if your current software can’t get you all the way there, find improvements where you can and results will follow.
PS: If you’re already passing the 30-second test with flying colors, turn your attention to strategies inspired by e-commerce. Cart recovery strategies, gamifying the experience with progress bars and one-click checkouts are common in the world of e-commerce. Why not make them common in ours?
