Simplifying QRIS Onboarding for Small Businesses

A. Knowing the Why?

At the time OCTO Merchant was initiated, CIMB Niaga had no standalone app tailored for merchants. Most QRIS registration was handled manually or offline, and early government rollout efforts showed that many small business owners still lacked access to easy digital tools or didn't fully understand the benefit of QR payments.

This presented a unique opportunity → design a mobile-first onboarding experience from scratch, one that's intuitive enough for first-time users, but compliant with Bank Indonesia's QRIS regulations.

That insight led us to design a new product:

A split-flow onboarding experience → that adapts to the user's relationship with the bank, shortening steps for ETB merchants, and guiding NTB users through registration and e-KYC.

This led us to the development of two distinct onboarding flows:

NTB Flow → Full onboarding journey including personal/business identity verification, e-KYC, and bank account creation.

ETB Flow → Shortened flow that leverages existing bank data to fast-track QRIS registration and business verification.

The intention behind these flows was clear:

To make QRIS adoption seamless and scalable for SMEs, regardless of their banking status, while reducing dependency on manual field agents or branch visits.

B. Design Process

I collaborated with internal product owners, compliance teams, and onboarding staff to understand the full requirements, from documentation and approval flows to channel follow-up.

I also studied competitor flows and marketing strategies to identify pain points and potential enhancements, particularly how other apps simplify onboarding for digitally inexperienced merchants.

All logic and screens were structured via detailed user flows, followed by low-to-mid fidelity wireframes used in vendor handoff and internal validation.

User Goals

Register for QRIS smoothly with minimal confusion → Both flows were structured to feel familiar and reassuring, even to users with low digital literacy.

Know which documents are required upfront → Clear microcopy and visual cues helped merchants understand each input or upload requirement.

Complete the process via mobile → The flows were fully mobile-first, allowing merchants to onboard from anywhere without visiting a branch.

Business Goals

Acquire merchants at scale without agent dependency → Self-service onboarding reduces operational load and helps CIMB reach merchants in remote or unbanked areas.

Comply with QRIS and e-KYC regulations → Flows were aligned with Bank Indonesia's requirements, including document type, size, and upload structure.

Educate a low-awareness merchant segment → Many merchants were unfamiliar with QRIS and digital onboarding. The experience was designed to educate and convert, not just collect data.

Key Findings

With goals aligned, I benchmarked Nobu Bank and GoBiz (by Gojek) to understand different onboarding approaches from both a banking and PJSP perspective:

Benchmarking from other merchant platforms

How do platforms distinguish between ETB and NTB merchants? → Nobu's entry flow is linear, often unclear. We introduced a clear entry selector to route users appropriately, reducing drop-offs.

How do competitors handle education and awareness? → GoBiz includes merchant success stories, but requires multiple app hops. We chose to embed welcome kit materials directly into OCTO Merchant to minimize friction.

What design patterns help low-literacy users? → Many PJSPs lack visual document examples. OCTO Merchant uses simplified upload interfaces with image guidance and real-time validation.

NTB Onboarding User Flow

A full onboarding path for new merchants including identity verification, business validation, and account creation, designed to comply with e-KYC requirements.

Process Flow Onboarding Merchant (NTB)

ETB Onboarding User Flow

A shorter, simplified flow that pulls data from CIMB's existing records and minimizes required input from merchants.

Process Flow Onboarding Merchant (ETB)

Welcome Kit Experience

After registration, merchants receive a visual welcome kit outlining QRIS usage, account activation status, and contact info, delivered digitally via the app.

Welcome Kit OCTO Merchant

UI Mobile Preview

Sample mobile screen to illustrate how input forms, document uploads, and progress tracking were structured for clarity and accessibility.

Mobile UI Preview

D. Learnings

This project gave me the opportunity to define critical logic and flows for a high-impact, first-time banking product, even before UI came into play.

Even before pixels were applied, well-structured user flows gave CIMB the foundation needed to launch OCTO Merchant as a national onboarding tool for QRIS adoption.

Live Mobile App