Balance holdswithtransparency

Flow and microcopy redesign

and clearer rules to reduce friction

Mercado Pago account with a partially held balance notice and guidance on settling an overdue payment.

Context

Redesigning the balance hold experience at Mercado Pago, focusing on transparency, trust and reduced friction. The project combined improved business rules, UX Writing, and A/B testing to make restrictions easier to understand and encourage payment resolution.

Timeline: Aug–Oct 2024
Role: Product Designer · UX Research · UI Design
Scope: UX Research, Heuristic Evaluation, Flows, Microcopy, A/B Testing.
Status: Project with documented results.

Results

The new balance hold policy, combined with clearer communication and UX writing, had a direct impact on the business and the user experience:

–18% support requests

Related to held balances, reducing support operating costs.
+21pp in understanding

Of deadlines and penalties.
+6pp in overdue payment rate

After the first notification (within 3 hours).
+9pp in perceived clarity

In how the rules are communicated.

These results validated the strategy of making rules more proportional and transparent, reducing friction while maintaining security and compliance.

Mercado Pago screens showing a held balance notice, hold details, and guidance on resolving the payment.

Mercado Pago account notice about a partially held balance and an overdue payment.

Mercado Pago flow with a balance hold notice, payment information, and balance details.

Payment confirmation and available balance in a Mercado Pago account.

Mercado Pago screens after payment resolution, showing confirmation and balance tracking.

Comparison of messages about available and partially held balances in Mercado Pago.

Overview of the Mercado Pago flow, with hold notices, balances, and payment guidance.

Balance holdswithtransparency

Context

Results

–18% support requests

+21pp in understanding

+6pp in overdue payment rate

+9pp in perceived clarity

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