Designing Transparency
at Scale:
Designing Transparency
at Scale:
Designing Transparency
at Scale:
Rebuilding DTE’s Payment Experience for a New Vendor Era
Rebuilding DTE’s Payment Experience for a New Vendor Era
Rebuilding DTE’s Payment Experience for a New Vendor Era
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
When I first joined the Merchant Fee and Paymentus Integration phase at DTE, I already knew it was not going to be a small lift. We were redesigning almost every payment-related flow across the system, from AutoPay and Guest Pay to Move In Move Out and Collections, while also integrating a completely new payment vendor. It sounded straightforward on paper, but the deeper we went, the more we realized how interconnected everything really was.
When I first joined the Merchant Fee and Paymentus Integration phase at DTE, I already knew it was not going to be a small lift. We were redesigning almost every payment-related flow across the system, from AutoPay and Guest Pay to Move In Move Out and Collections, while also integrating a completely new payment vendor. It sounded straightforward on paper, but the deeper we went, the more we realized how interconnected everything really was.
The project started in May 2025, and from the beginning, we knew the goal. Make the experience transparent, trustworthy, and seamless for users while meeting every new rule the Paymentus system introduced. But transparency became more complicated than any of us expected.
The project started in May 2025, and from the beginning, we knew the goal. Make the experience transparent, trustworthy, and seamless for users while meeting every new rule the Paymentus system introduced. But transparency became more complicated than any of us expected.
When the Unexpected Hit
When the Unexpected Hit
Early on, during one of our vendor syncs, Paymentus mentioned something that changed everything. A two-thousand-dollar credit card transaction cap. DTE’s previous system allowed up to two million. That single difference created a ripple effect across nearly every flow. I remember reaching out immediately to the product, IT, and Experience teams to explain what this meant for our designs.
To my surprise, the Mobile team already had a workaround for their app, but it only worked there. Their experience did not cover MIMO (Move In Move Out) or Collections, where many financially vulnerable users would be impacted. We needed a cohesive solution for the web, one that would not confuse or penalize users who were already in delicate financial situations.
Early on, during one of our vendor syncs, Paymentus mentioned something that changed everything. A two-thousand-dollar credit card transaction cap. DTE’s previous system allowed up to two million. That single difference created a ripple effect across nearly every flow. I remember reaching out immediately to the product, IT, and Experience teams to explain what this meant for our designs.
To my surprise, the Mobile team already had a workaround for their app, but it only worked there. Their experience did not cover MIMO (Move In Move Out) or Collections, where many financially vulnerable users would be impacted. We needed a cohesive solution for the web, one that would not confuse or penalize users who were already in delicate financial situations.
It was not panic that hit me, it was logistics. I started listing every scenario this change would touch, mapping out dependencies, and meeting with the product and technical teams to figure out what we could realistically support by our July deadline. Eventually, we decided to simplify the experience for MVP to avoid overcomplicating things for users. It was one of many trade-offs we made to keep the experience humane even under pressure.
It was not panic that hit me, it was logistics. I started listing every scenario this change would touch, mapping out dependencies, and meeting with the product and technical teams to figure out what we could realistically support by our July deadline. Eventually, we decided to simplify the experience for MVP to avoid overcomplicating things for users. It was one of many trade-offs we made to keep the experience humane even under pressure.
Navigating Vendor Constraints
Navigating Vendor Constraints
Working with the Paymentus team introduced a different kind of challenge. Because DTE was using a tokenization approach, many UI elements were controlled directly by Paymentus, and they did not match DTE’s design standards at all. Their tooltips looked different, their error states behaved differently, and their color logic clashed with ours. I spent weeks negotiating these small but important details.
We eventually reached a middle ground. Paymentus adopted DTE’s visual style for tooltips, even though they insisted on keeping hover behavior instead of click, while we agreed to use their field error style to keep compliance intact. It was not ideal, but it protected the user experience where it mattered most, consistency and trust.
Working with the Paymentus team introduced a different kind of challenge. Because DTE was using a tokenization approach, many UI elements were controlled directly by Paymentus, and they did not match DTE’s design standards at all. Their tooltips looked different, their error states behaved differently, and their color logic clashed with ours. I spent weeks negotiating these small but important details.
We eventually reached a middle ground. Paymentus adopted DTE’s visual style for tooltips, even though they insisted on keeping hover behavior instead of click, while we agreed to use their field error style to keep compliance intact. It was not ideal, but it protected the user experience where it mattered most, consistency and trust.
Sometimes the product team pushed even harder than we could, escalating issues directly with Paymentus to preserve certain flows. Watching those conversations play out taught me how much diplomacy it takes to balance vendor compliance with user trust. It was not about winning every argument, it was about knowing which ones were worth fighting for.
Sometimes the product team pushed even harder than we could, escalating issues directly with Paymentus to preserve certain flows. Watching those conversations play out taught me how much diplomacy it takes to balance vendor compliance with user trust. It was not about winning every argument, it was about knowing which ones were worth fighting for.
Language Matters
Language Matters
Then there were the legal debates. One that stands out was over terminology, whether to call the new charge a convenience fee or a processing fee. Legal insisted on convenience, but after an A/B test, ninety percent of users disliked it. Some even expressed anger over not knowing what the fee was for, despite clear messaging on the page.
We pivoted back to processing fee and added a tooltip explaining that it was charged by the third-party vendor, not DTE. It is a small detail, but one that led to a significant shift in how users perceived the brand's honesty. That single word change taught all of us something about transparency.
Then there were the legal debates. One that stands out was over terminology, whether to call the new charge a convenience fee or a processing fee. Legal insisted on convenience, but after an A/B test, ninety percent of users disliked it.
Some even expressed anger over not knowing what the fee was for, despite clear messaging on the page. We pivoted back to processing fee and added a tooltip explaining that it was charged by the third-party vendor, not DTE.
It is a small detail, but one that led to a significant shift in how users perceived the brand's honesty. That single word change taught all of us something about transparency. It is not just about showing information, it is about language, tone, and context.
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It is not just about showing information, it is about language, tone, and context.
It is not just about showing information, it is about language, tone, and context.
Projects
Balancing Scale and Leadership
Balancing Scale and Leadership
Through all of this, the design workload was massive. We recreated over five hundred screens across web, tablet, and mobile, and covered around eighty-five percent of all scenarios within a ten-week timeline. I led the design work across discovery, documentation, and alignment with cross-functional partners while mentoring a supporting designer to handle flow reconstruction and production updates.
Through all of this, the design workload was massive. We recreated over five hundred screens across web, tablet, and mobile, and covered around eighty-five percent of all scenarios within a ten-week timeline. I led the design work across discovery, documentation, and alignment with cross-functional partners while mentoring a supporting designer to handle flow reconstruction and production updates.
Behind the scenes, I managed a Notion board to track all scenarios, used ADO for visibility across teams, and built spreadsheets to map dependencies and timelines. It was not glamorous, but it kept us sane. In a project where everyone was juggling their own fires, organization became a form of calm.
Behind the scenes, I managed a Notion board to track all scenarios, used ADO for visibility across teams, and built spreadsheets to map dependencies and timelines. It was not glamorous, but it kept us sane. In a project where everyone was juggling their own fires, organization became a form of calm.
What We Achieved
What We Achieved
Despite the constraints and compromises, what emerged from this phase was something I am proud of. A system that feels cohesive, transparent, and built with users in mind.
We modernized DTE’s payment experience with a mobile-first approach, simplified error handling, and unified how information appears across flows. And though the release will not go live until 2027, internal feedback has already been validating. DTE employees who tested the new experience said it is the cleanest design they have seen so far.
Despite the constraints and compromises, what emerged from this phase was something I am proud of. A system that feels cohesive, transparent, and built with users in mind.
We modernized DTE’s payment experience with a mobile-first approach, simplified error handling, and unified how information appears across flows. And though the release will not go live until 2027, internal feedback has already been validating. DTE employees who tested the new experience said it is the cleanest design they have seen so far.
Looking Back
Looking Back
This project did not just test my design skills. It tested my leadership. It taught me that clarity is a form of advocacy for users, for teammates, and for the design process itself. When you are working across dozens of teams, vendors, and compliance rules, clarity is the one thing that keeps everyone moving forward.
And that is what I carried out of this project. Not just a redesigned system, but a reminder that even in the most complex environments, clear design and steady leadership can make complexity feel human again.
This project did not just test my design skills. It tested my leadership. It taught me that clarity is a form of advocacy for users, for teammates, and for the design process itself. When you are working across dozens of teams, vendors, and compliance rules, clarity is the one thing that keeps everyone moving forward. And that is what I carried out of this project. Not just a redesigned system, but a reminder that even in the most complex environments, clear design and steady leadership can make complexity feel human again.
This project did not just test my design skills. It tested my leadership. It taught me that clarity is a form of advocacy for users, for teammates, and for the design process itself. When you are working across dozens of teams, vendors, and compliance rules, clarity is the one thing that keeps everyone moving forward. And that is what I carried out of this project. Not just a redesigned system, but a reminder that even in the most complex environments, clear design and steady leadership can make complexity feel human again.
