Coinmama

Redesigning Identity Verification to Drive Registration & Revenue

A mobile-first redesign of Coinmama's identity verification experience, focusing on document capture and cross-device continuity, cut abandonment at the highest friction point, driving a 14% increase in completed registrations and a 5% increase in first-time buyers within 30 days.

Role

0 > 1 design ownership, UX UI, UX writing, design system creation

Team

Product manager, CTO, engineer, data anaylist

Core Problem

Anonymity vs. KYC

As a regulated financial service, Coinmama requires full identity verification at registration. This includes submitting sensitive personal data such as:

Full name, address, and date of birth
Government-issued ID (passport or driver's license)

Cryptocurrency users are often drawn because of its anonymity. Asking them to hand over sensitive personal data before transacting created a trust barrier that

As a regulated financial service, Coinmama requires full identity verification at registration. This includes submitting sensitive personal data such as:

Full name, address, and date of birth
Government-issued ID (passport or driver's license)

Cryptocurrency users are often drawn because of its anonymity. Asking them to hand over sensitive personal data before transacting created a trust barrier that

Key Change

Meeting Users Where They Already Are

To address the issue of friction at the document upload step, we redesigned the onboarding and KYC experience focusing on two core shifts:

Mobile-first document capture — a faster, clearer upload experience built around how people naturally handle documents: on their phone
Desktop-to-mobile handoff — a way for users who started on desktop to continue verification on their phone without emailing files or digging through folders

This reduced cognitive load at a high-friction moment and aligned the experience with how users naturally handle document capture — on mobile.

To address the issue of friction at the document upload step, we redesigned the onboarding and KYC experience focusing here.

The solution focused on two core shifts:

Mobile-first document capture — a faster, clearer upload experience built around how people naturally handle documents: on their phone
Desktop-to-mobile handoff — a way for users who started on desktop to continue verification on their phone without emailing files or digging through folders

This reduced cognitive load at a high-friction moment and aligned the experience with how users naturally handle document capture — on mobile.

Product Strategy

Clear Problem, Deliberate Decisions

I was the first design hire at Coinmama and owned this project end-to-end: research, flows, UI design, UX writing, design system components, and release QA.

I started by signing up for competing platforms — Coinbase, Blockchain, CEX.io — across desktop and mobile to understand how others handled verification sequencing, document upload, and trust messaging. From there, I mapped the full user flow on the wall with product and engineering before moving into digital wireframes. This surfaced system constraints early and helped shape key decisions: when to ask for personal data versus document upload, how to structure the steps progressively, and whether a mobile handoff was technically feasible.

We wanted the redesign to reduce hesitation at every point of uncertainty. That meant being upfront about time and steps required, adding clear messaging around security and privacy, and building the document capture experience around mobile-first users.

Additionally, this project also became the first real production use of an emerging design system. The existing UI lacked consistency across typography, buttons, and input patterns. Rather than redesign everything, I standardized existing patterns into reusable components, keeping the focus on shipping a consistent, functional experience.

Outcome & impact

Steady Rollout, Strong Results

We released in stages to reduce risk and build confidence in results before full rollout:

30/70 rollout: +5% completion rate, +2% first-time buyers
50/50 rollout: +6% completion rate, +5% first-time buyers (including emerging markets)
Full release: +14% registration completion, +5% first-time buyers overall

The staged approach also helped surface bugs and edge cases early, and confirmed the improvements held across non-Western markets before committing to full release.

We validated the solution through staged releases:

30/70 rollout: +5% completion rate, +2% first-time buyers
50/50 rollout: +6% completion rate, +5% first-time buyers (including emerging markets)
Full release: +14% registration completion, +5% first-time buyers overall

The biggest impact came from reducing friction in identity verification, specifically improving mobile document upload and enabling a seamless desktop-to-mobile continuation flow.