Designing a Pan-European Portal That Almost Was

Setting the Scene

A Merger of Markets and Mindsets

In 2019, Nets acquired Concardis, expanding from a Nordic/Baltic focus to now include the DACH region. This merger created an opportunity – and a challenge – to unify two very different merchant portals into one consistent experience: the Nordic “MyNets Portal” and the German “Smartpay Portal”.

At the time, I had just wrapped up work improving the user experience of Betalingsservice’s website and transitioned to MyNets 2.0, which was still in active development. I had worked primarily on the transactions and settlement flows but gradually became involved in broader parts of the portal. That knowledge, plus my experience driving the Figma transition at Nets, led to me being appointed lead designer on the new unified portal.

The Goal

One Portal to Rule Them All

Our mission: Create a scalable, intuitive portal for merchants across seven countries.

Key goals:

• Reduce internal cost by consolidating platforms
• Improve usability and self-service
• Harmonize experience across regions, languages, and markets

Although paired with two Product Managers, the primary PM went on extended sick leave—and never returned. I stepped in to fill the gap: structuring backlogs, setting up stakeholder meetings, coordinating feedback loops, and driving the project forward without an official PM in place.

We had a growing list of requirements from both PM and user research—some aligned, many not. My first job was to bring clarity.

Phase 1

Clarifying Needs with Data-Driven Prioritization

I consolidated requirements from stakeholders and cross-referenced them with analytics, user feedback, and internal survey data. I built a matrix to assess feature relevance, based on:

• GA data (e.g. 70% of users filtered transactions)
• Survey responses (e.g. 78% downloaded settlement reports for their accountant)
• NPS feedback (Accounting: 39% most valuable feature, Transactions: 27%)

Personas were frowned upon in our team, so instead I mapped user mindsets and workflows—distinguishing between accountants, business admins, and employees—and used these behavioral segmentations to drive our IA and role-based design.

We also did several internal usability tests to validate interactions—such as how users preferred to select items in tables, and how to best visualize data loading states.

Phase 2

Architecting the Experience

We developed a clear navigation split between dynamic data (Overview, Transactions, Accounting, Analytics) and administrative tools (My Business, Nets Store). This structure reflected how users mentally sorted their tasks and mirrored both physical and business hierarchies.

Supporting this IA, I helped define user flows and system relationships (e.g. how sales locations tied to agreements and terminals). This was vital for role-based access and clarity.

Phase 3

Building a Scalable Design System

With Figma as our central tool, I led the creation of a modular design system based on an adapted version of Atomic Design. Together, the team and I created:

• Vision statements tied to brand, product, and experience principles
• Consistent naming conventions (e.g. “Shops” instead of “Sales Locations”)
• Rules for iconography, touch targets, states (hover, disabled, pressed), and responsive behavior
• Style guides and UI patterns for desktop, tablet, and mobile

Everything was documented—from agreed decisions to open questions and screen-specific design gaps (like empty states).

Phase 4

Delegation and Mentorship

I distributed work based on strengths:

• I took ownership of Sign In, Transactions, and Accounting
• One designer focused on My Business, Global Search, Support Center, and Administration
• The junior designer I mentored worked on Account Settings, Notifications, and the Dashboard and Nets Store
• A fourth designer handled Analytics

We held retrospectives every two weeks, which fostered transparency, reflection, and process improvement.

Phase 5

Bridging UX, Product, and Tech

We used demo sessions not just to present, but to provoke discussion—connecting architecture, product, and UX. I often facilitated these, helping stakeholders weigh trade-offs, from batch transaction logic to notification strategies.

We also produced a teaser video showcasing our progress, which reignited internal engagement at a time when momentum was fading. This presentation helped spawn a larger initiative led by a service designer and graphic designer, who took our UI and envisioned a full customer journey—from buying a terminal to unboxing, onboarding, troubleshooting, and growing one’s business.

Their concept included packaging design, a companion app, and a new onboarding flow. It too was made into a vision video—and was also ultimately paused. The service designer left Nets not long after.

Phase 6

Testing the Vision with Real Users

Using Preely, we ran two rounds of usability tests with merchants. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

User quotes included:

The Results

Momentum Meets a Wall

In early 2021, Nets was acquired by Nexi. Priorities changed overnight.

Our project was paused. Resources were moved to rebrand existing portals with Nexi’s colors and logos. One by one, the team disappeared: contractors reassigned, internal designers quit or were laid off. A new Lead Designer was brought in to lead the combined portal—but chose not to use the design work we had produced.

After more than two years of effort, alignment, and passion, our work was quietly shelved.

I left Nets not long after.

What I Learned

What I Learned – Design Leadership in the Grey Zone

This project taught me to lead without authority, to structure chaos, and to inspire progress even when direction is unclear. I learned to balance business goals with user needs, and to create clarity for others—even when I didn’t have it myself.

It was a crash course in cross-market design, stakeholder alignment, and platform unification. And yes—it broke my heart a little. But it shaped me more than any polished success story ever could.