RegTech

SaaS

B2B

Web & Mobile

Cross-Platform

Scaling User Verification: Redesigning for Global Adoption

Scaling User
Verification: Redesigning for Global Adoption

Sumsub is a leading B2B SaaS platform for user verification, helping businesses achieve scalable compliance and prevent fraud. Trusted by 4000+ clients, it verifies over 1M users daily across fintech, crypto, gaming, and payments.

Sumsub is a leading B2B SaaS platform for user verification, helping businesses achieve scalable compliance and prevent fraud. Trusted by 4000+ clients, it verifies over 1M users daily across fintech, crypto, gaming, and payments.

Sumsub, Head of Product Design

2021-2024

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Context

Context

A mission-critical widget that needed to work for both users and clients

Problem

The verification widget was critical to Sumsub’s business, but it wasn’t built to scale. The user flow was outdated and unclear, creating friction and errors, while the customisation system was disconnected and costly to maintain. Together, these issues slowed growth for both users and clients.

Goal

Redesign the widget end-to-end — making the user flow clear and fast, and the customisation system safe and scalable — to lay the foundation for growth.

Challenge

The priority was to make the widget scalable without hurting its already strong conversion and completion rates. We had to design it so customisation would be easy to support later, and still make sure every flow stayed compliant and usable worldwide.

My Role

As Head of Product Design, I steered the whole redesign:

  • Set the principles (simplicity, scalability, accessibility, trust).

  • Aligned product and brand designers so the widget was both usable and on-brand.

  • Directed the process end-to-end, from research to system design.

  • Worked with product and engineering to make sure what we designed was feasible.

As Head of Product Design, I steered the whole redesign:

  • Set the principles (simplicity, scalability, accessibility, trust).

  • Aligned product and brand designers so the widget was both usable and on-brand.

  • Directed the process end-to-end, from research to system design.

  • Worked with product and engineering to make sure what we designed was feasible.

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Part 1

Verification widget

01

Hypothesis

If we redesigned the widget with step-by-step clarity and a scalable design system, then users would complete verification more smoothly and the business could roll out improvements without friction.

02

Research

  • Data showed 80%+ of users were on mobile, but the widget wasn’t optimised for it.

  • Support tickets revealed that resubmissions were a major source of confusion.

  • The instructions and overall system feedback was confusing

  • Competitive review confirmed the opportunity to simplify the flow into clearer steps.

Approach

Approach

The insights shaped a clear direction: preserve what works, remove friction, and build a scalable system for growth.

Mobile-first

Design for the smallest screen, scale up

Performance

No heavy assets, optimised for weak connections

Optimised for weak connections and different devices

Accessible

Global, inclusive by default, localisable into any language

Accessible

Global, inclusive by default, localisable into any language

Emotional

Not just functional, but reassuring and trustworthy

Emotional

Reassuring and trustworthy

A streamlined, accessible, and reliable flow designed for clarity, speed, and trust.

A streamlined, accessible, and reliable flow designed for clarity, speed, and trust.

A streamlined, accessible, and reliable flow designed for clarity, speed, and trust.

See how it works

How it works

Solution

Solution

We distilled the experience into one clear action per screen, reducing errors and cognitive load. Instructions and icons were redesigned for clarity, especially around resubmissions. A lightweight, responsive system ensured reliability even on low-end devices. Accessibility and localisation were embedded from the start, resulting in a flow that feels simple, fast, and trustworthy.

Outcome

Approach

10% drop in verification attempts per applicant

10% drop in verification attempts per applicant

8% relative uplift in Proof of Residence step conversion (79% → 85%)

8% relative uplift in Proof of Residence step conversion (79% → 85%)

Faster average completion time, improving approval speed

Faster average completion time, improving approval speed

Document verification flow

  • The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
  • The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
  • The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
  • The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Solution

Solution

Content Design

Between choosing photographic imagery and illustration, we went for the character-based illustrations: universal, culturally neutral, and instantly adaptable worldwide. This avoided cultural bias, strengthened our global brand presence, and significantly reduced localisation costs. All visuals, icons, and instructions were systemised to prevent poor combinations and ensure consistent quality, giving clients safe flexibility without compromising clarity.

Outcome

Scalable system and easy customisation

Scalable system and easy customisation

Universal character and documents design eliminated localisation costs

Universal character and documents design eliminated localisation costs

Strengthened brand consistency and trust across markets

Strengthened brand consistency and trust across markets

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Part 2

Customisation dashboard

01

Hypothesis

If we gave clients structured, guardrailed customisation options, then they could make the widget their own without breaking it — reducing support load and technical debt.

02

Research

  • Analysed client CSS overrides to see what kinds of changes they were trying to make most often (e.g. colors, fonts, layout tweaks).

  • Reviewed support tickets to understand pain points when customisation broke after widget updates.

  • Interviewed CSMs and key clients to identify the must-have branding needs that would make the widget feel “seamlessly theirs.”

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page
The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Approach

Approach

Controlled flexibility

Give freedom, but guide choices so results always make sense.

Intuitive

All patterns follow the same rules, so every setup looks and feels consistent.

Visualise

Customisation should be quick and easy to do, without needing code.

Visualise

Customisation should be quick and easy to do, without needing code.

Seamless

Сover the most common branding needs, so the widget blends naturally into any client experience.

Seamless

Сover the most common branding needs, so the widget blends naturally into any client experience.

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Scalable, intuitive framework that balances brand flexibility with usability.

Scalable, intuitive framework that balances brand flexibility with usability.

Scalable, intuitive framework that balances brand flexibility with usability.

See how it works

The image featured at the bottom of the about us page

Solution

Solution

We studied how clients were hacking the old system and translated those workarounds into a curated, scalable framework. Instead of unlimited flexibility, we offered a focused set of parameters — themes, templates, global settings, and localisation. This gave clients the power to align the widget with their brand while protecting usability. The dashboard interface made setup intuitive, predictable, and quick.

Outcome

Faster client onboarding with higher first-time setup success

Faster client onboarding with higher first-time setup success

Reduced support load as clients could self-serve branding changes

Reduced support load as clients could self-serve branding changes

Increased feature adoption and new upsell opportunities

Increased feature adoption and new upsell opportunities

Result

Result

The redesign achieved its main goal: it created the foundation for scale.

By introducing a proper system and reusable patterns, we enabled the team to build new features faster and more consistently. Everyone — from designers to engineers — could now “speak the same language,” which made collaboration smoother and the product more future-proof.

For users

Faster, clearer, and more trustworthy verification flow, smooth experience and reduced stress

For clients

Onboarding more users and enabling growth, scalable customisation system quicker setup and consistent branding.

For the business

Global scalability and reduced localisation costs, higher conversion, and improved time per verification, new upsell opportunities and positioning as an enterprise-ready platform.

Reflection

Reflection

This project reinforced how important it is to approach products from multiple touchpoints and perspectives. By redesigning both the user flow and the customisation system together, we created an interconnected experience — avoiding the kind of fragmented fixes that lead to endless iterations later.

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