TOKEN
2023
Co-founding a payment app for legally compliant cannabis transactions
Our team worked from ideation to MVP within 10 weeks, and eventually demo-ed and pitched our product to an audience of investors and fellow founders in December 2023.
Problem
How can we facilitate cashless payments for cannabis in an intuitive and friendly way?
Outcome
We designed (end-to-end) and built a prototype in 10 weeks.
Role
Founding designer
Timeline
10 weeks
Team
CONTEXT
Merchants want to offer cashless payment, but have limited choice
Cash is a huge risk for cannabis merchants
However, there are tech and legal complications for cashless options
We observed the checkout process, interviewed merchants, surveyed customers, and studied online forums to get a better feel for what the issues were.
There are a lot of [POS] systems that we cycle through, but they're all complicated and our staff must constantly be trained to use them.
LARGE CHAIN DISPENSARY OWNER
We ran into the same wall trying to set up payments for cannabis-related sales - PayPal, Stripe, Square all shut us down pretty quick.
SMALL DISPENSARY OWNER
They had a few main pain points
Taking cash is risky and difficult to manage for merchants
Existing hardware solutions are convoluted (like point of sale)
Large financial firms won't work with cannabis
UNDERSTANDING THE SPACE
Grasping the complexity: business needs, tech constraints, and legal requirements
The technology that is the cornerstone of our product is called ACH
ACH, or Automated Clearing House technology is a network used to process transactions enabling direct debits and payments.
FIG 2.1
BREAKING DOWN AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE TECHNOLOGY
Since we were on a tight deadline, we had to prioritize key flows for the MVP
As soon as we had our target audience (merchants), I could prepare for the flow we wanted to demo to investors.
FIG 2.2
KEY FLOWS AND WIREFRAMES
ITERATING
Evolution of Token through the payment flow
I wanted the experience to be as close to the POS in-store process as possible
I envisioned the flow as an interaction between dual platform interfaces. Then, I used iterative prototyping to simulate what the real world experience would feel like.
FIG 3.1
THE FLOW (SWIPE FOR A SNAPSHOT OF MY FIGMA WORKSPACE)
I went through 3 major iterations of the app as a whole, seen in this payment process
The first two iterations were done in 2024, but the 3rd iteration was done in 2025.
The initial iterations didn’t consider inventory integration which meant amount had to be manually inputted.
FIG 3.2
THE FINAL FLOW (SWIPE FOR ITERATIONS)
The final iteration best targeted the original problem
Prioritizing the tablet breakpoint related closely to what merchants and staff were used to
This simulated the traditional POS experience without all the clunky hardware
As a familiar process for customers, it was very user friendly and efficient
Learn more about the Token design process!
SNAPSHOT
Token's Brandc
Creating an iconic visual identity and design system
SNAPSHOT
Using AI for Token
Leveraging AI to design a customer risk detection flow
SOLUTION
Token
FIG 4.1
CREATE ORDER VIEW
FIG 4.2
PAYMENT PROCESS ON MERCHANT SIDE (SWIPE TO SEE CUSTOMER SIDE)
FIG 4.3
REVIEW/EDIT ORDER ON MERCHANT SIDE (SWIPE TO SEE CUSTOMER SIDE)
FIG 4.4
DASHBOARD AND TRANSACTIONS TAB
REFLECTIONS
Moving flexibly and shipping fast
I learned a lot from this experience
Researching, ideating, and going from wireframes to shipped designs within six weeks was no mean feat. I had to be extremely adaptable and fight to prioritize good design within the process.
Growth mindset
Halfway through the process, we realized we needed to pivot. That’s why keeping an open mind was key.
Meticulous Files
To stay aligned and ship quick, I made detailed specs & component libraries, relying on auto-layout.
Storytelling
We had to share our vision with dispensary owners, lawyers, and other founders in a compelling way.
When our PM fell sick, I ended up delivering the pitch to investors!
