Providing small businesses with the easiest, fastest and most affordable way to get paid and manage their finances.
Introduction
Today many small businesses operate in competitive markets and economically challenging times. Merchants selling face-to-face need payment solutions that can adapt to growth and provide a modern, streamlined experience.
Context
Revolut Business aims to provide users with an 'all-in-one' solution, similar to their retail offering. By expanding into merchant products, they create a unique market proposition that attracts new businesses, adds value for existing customers, and generates revenue through transaction processing — all within a single convenient ecosystem.
Results
The products I contributed to are now implemented by over 15,000 businesses across 20+ countries, generating millions in revenue for Revolut.
During the research stage we sought to understand the needs of small businesses who sell their products in person. We reviewed feedback from existing customers, analysed online discourse and competitors, and had good old fashioned conversations with real merchants and customers.
"I care about reliability, ease-of-use, and the cost of transaction fees."
"I haven't really found a solution that does both online and in-person payments well."
"There's a lot to maintain, a business account, a merchant account, with separate apps for everything."
"Ideally if my card reader battery dies, I shouldn't have to close up shop."
Through the discoveries outlined above, we arrived at a few key objectives and guiding principles to follow. These would serve as a source-of-truth when making design and technical decisions going forward, and a great way to resolve conflicting feedback or subjective opinions.
Frictionless
Aim for the fastest, most direct path to a completed transaction with the fewest possible interactions.
Laymanised
Tools can be setup and used by anyone — no technical skills, development springs, or extra resources needed.
Resilient
Prioritise making the sale — if something fails, have a backup solution.
Cohesive
Simple, intuitive, and consistent with the rest of the platform. Leverage existing design patterns where possible.
Premium feel
A reliable, polished, and professional experience for merchant and customer
Unintrusive
Merchants should be free to focus on selling and serving customers
We designed and built three low-effort products that wouldn't require commitment from merchants or need complex integrations to use — a physical card reader, Apple Tap to Pay, and QR codes.
A way for merchants to take contactless payments without committing to additional hardware — all that's needed is an iPhone with the Revolut Business app. Now fairly common, Revolut Business was one of the first providers to offer Apple Tap to Pay.
The design system for the Revolut Business app is robust and versatile, however the use cases we needed to support didn't quite align with existing patterns.
Before
After
While the process of charging customers is simple, setting up Tap to Pay has some important logic and user permissions we needed to consider. These user flows covered all possible cases and were used as a source-of-truth when coding the solution.
As operations and transaction volumes expand, businesses can benefit from card readers. These devices support faster transaction speeds, offer longer battery life, and provide the ability to accept all payment methods, including chip-and-pin cards. Separating sale management from payment devices can also improve efficiency during peak hours and keep queues moving.
Designing the interface for the Revolut Reader presented some unique challenges. The tiny low-res screen required careful consideration of every visual element and typographic style. Additionally, the screen featured fixed tappable areas, imposing specific constraints on button placement and keypad design.
When promoting the reader, the hardware design and competitive fees are placed front-and-center.
Allows customers to pay on their own devices via a branded payment page, accessed by scanning a QR code. Also provides a reliable backup when other payment options are unavailable, helping avoid lost sales during downtime or technical issues.
QR codes and payment links provide a device-agnostic option to accept payments — online or in person. By directing customers to a branded payment page, businesses build customer confidence and maintain their presence throughout the payment flow.
Designed with efficiency and muscle memory in mind — prioritising fast load times, consistent placement of key actions, and visual clarity even in challenging environments like bright sunlight or dimly-lit venues. By minimising unnecessary interactions and optimising information density, cognitive load is reduced during high-stress periods like the morning rush or end-of-day reconciliation.
Finding a balance between a focused, no-frills interface and allowing users to configure the product to their specific needs took some time. Through continuous testing, iterating, and event tracking we're able to keep refining the experience.
Utilising Revolut's elegant and succinct data visualisation components, we're able to present key performance and sales metrics that provide important insights to help merchants identify opportunities and potential optimisations.
Since launching and iterating on merchant products for Revolut Business, a number of significant milestones were achieved.
The tools we built continue to be used and loved by businesses and contribute significantly to the Revolut Business customer base, bottom line and overall value of the platform as a whole — a substantial piece of the 'all-in-one' business finance super app.
The suite of in-person payment products in particular has continued to grow, covering even more use cases and business types with the Revolut Terminal and point-of-sale system.
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Photo credits
Video credits
Ben Brouckaert Design + Product Porfolio
2025