AXS M-Station | UX Case Study

Capstone Group Project · UX Design · Workshop Facilitation

AXS M-station

Reimagining Digital Payment Journeys

As the final deliverable of my UX Design course at General Assembly, my team and I partnered with AXS, Singapore’s leading payment solutions provider, to improve two of their flagship apps: M-Station (bill payments) and Drive (motoring services and parking).

Objective

Discover & identify user needs & improve areas that drive new adoption for the M-station and Drive app.

My role

Ideation Lead, UX Design

Timeline

3 weeks

About AXS

AXS is a trusted, multi-platform solution serving millions every month, connecting people and businesses in Singapore through seamless, digital bill payment experiences for 25 years.

AXS M-station

Mobile app extension of the AXS network, enabling payments anytime, anywhere.

AXS Drive

All-in-one motoring app, streamlining services and payments across partners.

The UX Challenge

AXS had not run usability testing in more than a decade. In that time, user expectations and mobile standards evolved, leaving both apps vulnerable to friction and competition from digital banks and fintechs.

Our challenge was to identify user pain points, translate them into user-centered improvements aligned with business goals, and propose a roadmap for redesign focusing on M-station.

For me, this was also a personal milestone: my first time leading workshops in unfamiliar domains like bill payments and parking. It tested not only my design skills but also my critical thinking, adaptability, and confidence as a facilitator.

Our Solutions

A smoother, more intuitive bill paying experience - helping users pay bills on time, find what they need quickly, and manage their account with confidence.

Read on to learn how we tackled the brief.

The Design Process

With only three weeks and two apps, we couldn’t follow a neat, step-by-step process. Instead, we worked in loops — shifting between research, ideation, and synthesis while co-creating solutions with AXS stakeholders.

DISCOVER

Secondary research, content audit, interviews, and usability tests revealed friction in navigation, account setup, and feature awareness.

Secondary research, content audit, interviews, and usability tests revealed friction in navigation, account setup, and feature awareness.

IDEATION

Facilitated a Design Studio (M-Station) and Feature Prioritization workshop (Drive) with 20+ stakeholders.

Facilitated a Design Studio (M-Station) and Feature Prioritization workshop (Drive) with 20+ stakeholders.

DEFINE

Synthesized findings into personas, journey maps, and “How Might We” statements to frame opportunities.

Synthesized findings into personas, journey maps, and “How Might We” statements to frame opportunities.

DELIVER

Created high-fidelity prototypes to showcase improved flows; usability testing planned as the next step.

Created high-fidelity prototypes to showcase improved flows; usability testing planned as the next step.

Discover - Research phase

Uncovering pain points

We began with secondary research and a content audit to map M-Station’s key flows and spot usability gaps. To validate assumptions, we conducted interviews and usability testing with 15 participants (existing and new users, aged 25–45). Below are the main findings.

Low awareness

83% of non-users had never heard of M-Station; most existing users thought it was only for fines or bills.

Discovery issues

Users struggled to find billers like Singtel and often missed the search bar. “My Favourites” was usually found by accident.

Unclear account setup

Few realized the passcode was device-specific, leading to lost history when switching phones.

Missed opportunities

Users wanted reminders and valued an all-in-one hub, but didn’t realize M-Station already offered both.

ideation - workshops

Co-creating solutions

with AXS

Co-creating solutions

with AXS

With clear insights, we moved into co-creation. As ideation lead, I scoped the workshops, selected formats, and balanced user needs with business priorities under tight timelines.

Design Studio - AXS M-station (1 hr)

To reimagine M-Station’s homepage, we facilitated a Design Studio workshop with 20 stakeholders. The format encouraged both individual idea generation and group collaboration, ensuring every voice was heard.

Idea Generation – Participants sketched solutions individually to spark diverse ideas.

Collaboration – Groups combined and refined concepts, guided by teammates.

Voting & Outcome – Everyone voted (not on their own ideas), surfacing the strongest redesign.

Impact-Effort Mapping - AXS Drive (30 mins)

For AXS Drive, a newer app, we needed to prioritise ambitious features within realistic constraints. We ran an Impact–Effort mapping session to guide the discussion.

Idea Presentation – We introduced 14 potential features to the group.

Discussion – Stakeholders debated impact and feasibility, with my facilitation keeping us on track.

Alignment – Features were placed on the map, giving us a clear, agreed roadmap.

Workshop Takeaways

Facilitating workshops with 20 participants was one of my biggest challenges — balancing time, condensing research into digestible insights, and adapting on the spot.

Support from teammates and instructors was invaluable, but the real learning came from trial and error. I learned firsthand that no amount of preparation replaces live facilitation.

The experience tested my confidence, clarity, and adaptability — becoming the proudest learning moment of this project.

DEFINE - persona & problem statements

Defining the problem

The Design Studio and Feature Prioritization workshops not only generated ideas but also sharpened our understanding of recurring user pain points. Together with our research, this helped us frame four clear How Might We (HMW) questions:

Features are hard to find

HMW make features more visible so users can discover and use them easily?

Users learn by accident

HMW guide new users to key features without relying on trial and error?

Passcode is confusing

HMW help users understand the purpose of the passcode and its benefits?

No personal touch

HMW personalize the app so reminders and favourites reflect user preferences?

man in white dress shirt standing near green plant

Meet Bryan

39 · Office Executive · Moderate to High Digital Literacy

39 · Office Executive ·
Moderate to High Digital Literacy

"I just want one app to save my bills and remind me before they’re due."

A busy professional who values convenience but struggles with friction in digital payments.

Behaviors

Relies on apps daily, uses reminders to stay organized, and prefers quick access with personalization over complex menus.

Goals

Wants to easily find billers, avoid late payments with reminders, retain history across devices, and manage favourites on his own terms.

Pain Points

Struggles to locate billers, risks missed payments due to unclear reminders, feels confused by the passcode, and unsure if favourites are set up correctly.

DELIVER - Before & after

UX Solutions

On the final day, we presented six high-fidelity prototypes — turning research insights and workshop ideas into tangible solutions for smoother digital payments.

01 NEW SIGN UP

Build trust with clearer onboarding and security context

Before

The onboarding flow let users skip feature introductions, jumping straight to email entry and passcode setup.

This sped things up but sacrificed clarity — 11 out of 15 users showed low awareness of the passcode’s purpose and importance.

After

We proposed making sign-up mandatory with clear explanations of why confidential details are required. This built trust and helped users understand critical steps like login.

Explained why security matters without overcomplicating the flow

Added optional Face ID login for convenience

02 PERSONALISATION

Surface key features and recent payments

Before

The homepage looked clean but lacked hierarchy. Research showed:

80% of users didn’t use the search bar and struggled to find billers

73% found “My Favourites” useful but most discovered it by accident.

After

We redesigned the homepage to balance user needs with business goals.

Introduced a customised dashboard

Added a Recent Payments section for quick access and tracking

03 SAVED FEATURE

Let users control what they save — not auto-save everywhere

Before

“My Favourites” auto-saved bill details after each transaction, but users often didn’t understand its purpose. New users found it confusing; existing users stumbled upon it by accident.

After

We renamed it to “Saved” for clarity and gave users more control.

Manually save unpaid bills anytime

Sort by All, Paid, Due, Due Soon, Unpaid

04 REMINDERS

Bring reminders to the homepage for visibility and customisation

Before

The reminder feature was buried in the account menu, leaving 40% of existing users unaware it even existed. 33% said they wanted reminders to manage recurring bills.

After

We surfaced reminders directly on the homepage. Users can now:

See reminders in list or calendar view

Customise and manage bill reminders easily

05 PAY BILLS

Simplify bill categories for faster access

Before

The flow was functional but billers were inconsistently categorised. In usability testing, 87% of users had difficulty finding Singtel.

After

We proposed a new information architecture for bill categories.

Integrated Saved, Reminders, and History for easier access

Users can now locate billers faster with less effort.

06 HISTORY PAGE

Show past, pending and completed payments in one place

Before

The history page only displayed successful transactions, with no visibility into pending or incomplete payments.

After

We redesigned history as a centralised dashboard.

Displays all payment states (completed, incomplete, pending, unpaid)

Provides a clear record for easy follow-up on outstanding bills

Client Testimonial

“The team demonstrated professionalism, creativity, and strong user-centered thinking. Their research and design proposals provided actionable insights and valuable perspectives that will inform future improvements to our digital platforms.”

– Laverne Soh, Chief Strategy Officer, AXS

Reflection & Takeaways

If given more time, I would have explored bill-paying behaviors more broadly before diving into product or competitor research. This would have provided a stronger foundation for understanding both the problem space and the product.

My biggest takeaway is the importance of clear communication and collaboration — with teammates, stakeholders, and users. I learned to question assumptions, dig deeper into feedback, and uncover the real meaning behind words, not just what’s on the surface.

On a personal level, leading workshops in a completely new domain pushed me out of my comfort zone. I discovered that no amount of preparation replaces live facilitation — and this experience helped me grow not only as a designer, but also as a communicator and problem-solver.

Resume

Natasha Ow

Product designer based in Singapore

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