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Case study
Spark: Where Fun Meets Fintech in Campus Life
Finance
Gamified
UI design
Secure way to get paid, Just like your wallet, you can send, spend, and manage your money. All from one app and manage your business finances
Role
Lead Product Designer
Deliverables
Mobile App
Time line
24 weeks
Understanding the challenge
Payments on Nigerian campuses are still mostly cash-based. Students move between cyber cafés, photocopy shops, restaurants, and small campus businesses every day. The problem?
Carrying cash isn’t always safe.
Transfers are slow and clunky.
Businesses lack digital presence to reach students.
We needed to create a seamless, playful fintech app for students, one that handles payments, promotes campus businesses, and fits naturally into university life.
Design solution
Spark brings a wallet + tap-to-pay system into one app, built just for students and campus businesses.
NFC Tap & Pay: Students pay instantly at shops with a simple tap.
purse: Send and receive money easily with just a phone number.
Marketplace Offers: Businesses post special offers (escrow-protected until fulfilled).
Themes: Students personalize their app with up to 7 playful themes (purple, gold, orange, etc.).
Gamification: Transactions earn points → leaderboard by school → points converted to cash.
My Approach
Research: Weekly calls with 2 to 4 students and business owners for six months. This helped validate features like NFC stickers (anime, football, TV-themed) that could be customized and used as tap-to-pay tokens.
Tone: Instead of a “serious” fintech vibe, Spark was designed to feel friendly, youthful, and playful without losing financial trust.
Key flow
Send & Request Money : Simple transfers via phone numbers.
Tap & Pay : NFC sticker tap with optional pin for security.
Marketplace Offers : Businesses post deals, money held in escrow until fulfilled.
Gamification : Earn points, climb the leaderboard, convert points to cash.
Send and request money
Tap and pay
Market place
Gamification
The Outcome
6-month design cycle with continuous student feedback
Development in progress with strong adoption interest from pilot universities
Impact: Spark bridges fintech and student life, giving both businesses and students a safe, fun, and reliable way to transact.
Reflection
Designing Spark was about meeting students where they are. By blending fintech security with playful themes, NFC tap, and a marketplace for small businesses, we made financial services feel less intimidating and more integrated into daily campus life.
This project reminded me that the best fintech products don’t just process payments, they become part of culture.
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Copyright
2025 Folajomi Bello