Role: Content Designer Timeline: Q4 2025 – Q1 2026 Status: Content ready for A/B testing

Overview

Before a customer can send money internationally, Remitly is legally required to verify their identity. This is called KYC (Know Your Customer) and it's a non-negotiable part of operating as a licensed money transmitter.

Verification screens are where trust often breaks. Customers who don't understand why they're being asked for personal information, or what happens next are likely to abandon the flow.

My job was to rewrite this experience so customers felt informed, not interrogated.

The problem

Remitly's existing verification landing screen, referred to internally as the "bouncer" screen was designed around compliance logic. It wasn’t very user friendly.

The copy told customers that they needed to verify, but not why it mattered to them, what they'd need to do, or how long it would take.

• 18% of users abandoned the flow due to unexpected verification requirements
• Users who encountered the screen mid-transfer felt blindsided. They'd already entered their transfer details and were now being stopped before completion
• The existing headline: "As a financial service provider, we're required to check everyone's identity" was flagged internally as inaccurate (Remitly isn't checking everyone, only risk-triggered customers)

There were also five distinct verification cases the screen needed to handle:

1. Identification: passport, driver's license, state ID
2. Tax-based identity: SSN or ITIN
3. Address verification: driver's license, bank statement, utility bill
4. Challenge questions: reason for sending, financial background
5. Finance questions: income source, employment status

One screen copy wasn't going to work for all five. Each case needed its own content strategy.