Wallet Management

Designing a Seamless Wallet Experience: Managing Credit, EBT, and Gift Cards for Kroger Pay

Kroger Pay:

✔ As part of the Kroger Pay product team, I led the design of a unified wallet system that supports diverse payment types—including credit/debit cards, SNAP EBT, and gift cards.

✔ Our goal was to simplify wallet setup and management while meeting compliance standards and supporting accessibility.

Role: Product Designer
Employer: Kroger
Platforms: Web
Areas: Research & Design

Entry point for Kroger Wallet Management

The Problem

Users needed a way to manage multiple types of payment methods in one centralized location. Each method (e.g., EBT vs. credit card) had distinct use cases, eligibility requirements, and limitations.

✔ Simple to navigate

✔ Flexible across payment types

✔ Compliant with government regulations (ie: EBT restrictions)

✔ Scalable for future integrations

Research & Insights

I collaborated with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to understand:

✔ What user pain points are with existing wallet experiences

✔ What the technical constraints for real-time card verifications are.

✔ The differences in how gift cards and EBT behave in digital checkout

User interviews revealed that:

✔ Users wanted clearer separation between payment types

✔ EBT users were unsure what items were eligible at checkout

✔ Gift cards were often forgotten or buried in the interface

Design Process

Information Architecture & Entry Points

We structured the wallet home to clearly distinguish between:

✔ Primary payment methods (Credit/Debit)

✔ Government benefits (SNAP EBT)

✔ Store incentives (Kroger gift cards)

Add Payment Flow

✔ Added step-by-step guidance for each card type

✔ Built in real-time error states for card validation

Card Management

✔ Allowed users to reorder, rename, or remove cards

✔ Enabled default payment method selection

Impact & Results

📈 2x increase in users successfully adding an EBT card

💳 Feature shipped across all Kroger Pay markets within 1 quarter

🎯 Improved satisfaction scores in wallet usability testing

Key Takeaways

✔ Designing for edge cases (like SNAP EBT) improves inclusivity for all users

✔ Small UX wins, like reorder-able cards and smart reminders, create outsized impact

✔ Collaboration with legal and compliance early on saves time and backtracking