American Express · 2024 · Enterprise SaaS

What took four emails
now takes one click.

Corporate clients at a global financial services firm needed their own transaction data. Getting it required emailing multiple teams and waiting days. This is what happened when we fixed that.

Days Hours
Read the story
Year 2024
Role Product Designer
Platform Enterprise SaaS
Markets 20 +

This project sat within the Global Commercial Services division — the B2B arm of a global financial services organisation managing corporate cards and expense solutions for enterprise clients worldwide. The users were finance administrators at large corporate companies. Their job involved managing their firm's transaction data files: requesting reprints, reruns and audit trails on behalf of their organisation. Before this platform existed, each one of those requests was an email.

Who are the users

PAs and finance administrators at enterprise client companies managing corporate card programs across multiple markets.

What were they doing

Requesting data reprints, reruns and audit trails for their firm's transaction files routine tasks that fed into reports, presentations and financial reviews.

What was missing

Direct access. Every request required emailing a chain of four people and waiting days for a response with no visibility into where it was or when it would arrive.

Four problems. Four design decisions. Here is how it went.

01 The first problem

The Email Chain

"I sent the request on Monday. By Thursday I still don't know where it is or who has it." — PA / Finance Administrator at a corporate client firm
Before

Multiple teams | Days of handoffs | No guarantee of arrival

Every data request a reprint, a rerun, a statement was travelled through a chain of teams before it could be actioned. PA emailed the client manager. Client manager forwarded internally. An assigned data team processed it manually. The response came back through the same chain. Each handoff was a chance for the request to be lost, misread or delayed.

After

Log in | Select file | Choose action | Done in minutes

The platform gave PAs direct access to their firm's data files through the existing business platform they already used. No new login. No separate system to learn. No email sent. Tasks that previously required days of back and forth could be completed independently, in minutes, at any time.

Dependent · Invisible · Waiting for someone else to act
In control · Immediate · No intermediary needed
02 The second problem

The Silence

"Is it with the data team? Did it get stuck somewhere? I've followed up twice and heard nothing." — PA at a corporate client firm
Before

Zero visibility | No status | No ETA | Just silence

Once the email was sent, the PA had no way to know where the request was. Had it been received? Was it being processed? Had it been lost in a forwarding chain? The only option was to wait, then follow up, then wait again. Every follow-up email was an admission that the process had failed.

After

Status visible at a glance | No need to ask

The self-service dashboard showed the status of every data file at a glance. Processing or Available, updated in real time. The PA could see exactly where things stood without contacting anyone. The follow-up email became unnecessary because the answer was always on screen.

Anxious · In the dark · Dependent on someone replying
Informed · Calm · Self-sufficient
03 The third problem

The Bottleneck

"I sent it on Friday. The client manager was travelling. By Monday the urgency had passed." — PA/Finance Administrator at a corporate client firm
Before

One person unavailable | The whole request stops

The email chain depended entirely on other people's availability. If the client manager was travelling, in meetings, on leave or simply stretched across too many clients, the request sat unanswered. The PA had no alternative path. No way to escalate. No way to reach the data directly. They waited until someone in the chain was free.

After

No intermediary | Available any time, any day.

Self-service access removed the dependency entirely. The PA did not need a client manager to be available, responsive or in the right inbox. The platform was available whenever they needed it. The urgency of a Friday afternoon request did not evaporate over the weekend — it was fulfilled in minutes.

Powerless · At the mercy of someone else's schedule · Waiting
Independent · Unblocked · Done on their own terms
04 The fourth problem

The Waiting

"We can't match/tally the expenses. The data isn't there. We're waiting on one email chain." — PA/Finance Administrator at a corporate client firm
Before

Few missing expenses stall the process.

A request for a data rerun or reprint was not an isolated task, it fed into reports, financial reviews, audits. When the data did not arrive on time, the process stalled. A chain of people between the admins and the data.

After

Data on demand | The expense tally happens on time

With direct access to their firm's data files at any time, PAs could retrieve what they needed in hours — without waiting for a reply, without a follow-up, without a delayed presentation. The report went out on time.

Stalled · Professionally exposed
Unblocked · Prepared · Moving on time

What made this possible

"None of this was simple to build. The PA's experience felt effortless. Behind it was a product that had to earn its place inside one of the most regulated financial platforms in the world."

Reviewed by compliance, data governance and multiple market teams before a single attribute went live. What data could surface, how it could be labelled, which actions were permitted, all subject to rigorous review. Designed in close collaboration with product, engineering, compliance and client-facing teams across timezones.

The platform

Direct access. No intermediary. No waiting.

Screens shown are representative wireframes. Actual production designs are under NDA.

Five screens showing the self-service platform that replaced the email chain. Four actions per file "rerun, reprint, audit and help and support" each previously requiring days of back and forth.

Self service platform screen 1 — entry point data file list The entry point. A PA lands on a list of all their firm's data files with status visibility and action type shown upfront.

Available and Processing states visible at a glance. No need to contact anyone to check progress.

Self service platform screen 2 — action menu expanded Four actions available per file. Each one previously required an email chain. Now accessible in two clicks.

Rerun, Reprint, Audit Trail and Help & Support. All self-serve.

Self service platform screen 3 — step 1 date range selection Step 1 of 3. The PA confirms which file they are acting on and selects the date range for the request.

Date range input replaces a manual specification previously written in an email.

Self service platform screen 4 — step 2 file selection Step 2 of 3. Based on the date range selected the system surfaces all available files. The PA selects what they need.

Live count of selected files updates as the PA makes selections. No empty submissions possible.

Self service platform screen 5 — step 3 review and submit Step 3 of 3. Full summary of the request before submission. The PA reviews everything before committing.

Every selected file visible for final review. Back navigation available at this stage. Deliberate and clear.

Impact

Piloted with two firms. Built to scale one market at a time.

40%

Reduction in operational timeline

80%

Usability success rate in testing

2

Pilot firms in the first market go-live — the solution was built for all markets from the start

1 × 1

Market expansion model — one market at a time, each requiring its own compliance and regulatory review before go-live

All work

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