WEX · Notifications feature for B2B and finance workflows
Notifications that fit how finance teams work
The project
Notifications feature for WEX Business Payments
My role
Product Designer,
Corporate Payments Team
Timeline
7 Weeks (2025)
Scroll to impact
The opportunity
How might we make notifications
clear for users and simple for teams to evolve?
Audits were slow
Controllers need a single record for review and compliance
Alerts lived in different places
Urgent items were frequently missed
Research and discovery
Left: Dovetail (customer insights tool), Right: Mobbin (design patterns library). Blurred for confidentiality.
Supported by our research team, I analyzed customer insights of notifications patterns. I also took a look at how fintech competitors successfully handle notifications
I mapped out key patterns, and shared 3 design tracks to product and stakeholders
Track A
Inbox-only (full page)
Good for: History, search, bulk actions
Not great for: Quick peeks
Chosen to build
Track B
Bell + Modal Popover
Good for: Quick peeks
Not great for: Detailed review, history
Add later, if needed
Track C
Badges/Toast
Good for: Highly-visible nudges
Not great for: Record-keeping
Use sparingly
Track A
Inbox-only (full page)
Good for: History, search, bulk actions
Not great for: Quick peeks
Product decision
Doesn't meet immediate needs right now
Too little space for full finance details. Adds duplicate entry points
Prioritizing effectively
We're shipping the inbox-only first, but the popover design is ready as a future option
AI for WEX
Classified alert types
To help categorize notifications like “Security,” “Spending Alerts,” “Admin,” etc.
Evaluated alert copy tone and clarity
Evaluate if notification text felt vague, alarming, or confusing, especially for critical alerts that affect business actions
Explored industry best practices across fintech
Surface how top B2B fintechs handled in-app alerts, giving a faster starting point for competitor analysis
Note: WEX is exploring AI-driven workflows through partners like Gemini. AI accelerated research and ideation, so I could focus on refining design strategy and experience
Technical constraint
The known technical constraint
The backend didn’t support deep-linking to a specific transaction yet
Design system
Interaction highlights
Start with what matters most. Automatically opens the latest alert instantly
Act where you are. Take action right from the alert to keep workflows fast and focused
Copy Transaction ID. Copy instantly to search, share, or track later, eliminating manual lookup
See more in context. Jump to the Transactions page to see every detail in context
The outcome
Established a scalable notifications system
A flexible system that adapts to growing needs, helping finance teams stay informed and responsive across alert types
Aligned design with engineering & business goals
Balanced dev constraints with UX quality to ship on time and drive adoption
Streamlined alert handling for finance teams
Enabled quicker resolution and fewer bottlenecks by simplifying how alerts are tracked, viewed, and addressed
Improved clarity across alert types
Reduced cognitive load by prioritizing what matters, making it easier for users to understand and act on alerts
Validated with 92% task success rate
Next steps
What I'd do moving forward
Explore edge cases
I'd explore more “messy” real-world states to make the final system even more resilient
As more alert types are added, I’d evolve the design language to keep the interface clear even under higher volumes
Credits and special thanks
A huge thank you to my team who supported me and helped shape this project:
Lead Payments Product Manager
Senior Product Manager
Product Design Director
Senior Product Designer
Product Designer
Senior UX Reseacher
UX Reseacher
Paola Aguayo
Rebecca Clark
Chris Dilios
Adam Cassidy
Nick Zimmerman
Lucas Montandon
Jeet Purohit
