Overview

At any given time, ~70% of payment-active Square sellers were ineligible for Flex Loans. I led discovery research to evaluate a new short-term loan offering ($250–$5K, 30–120 day terms) designed to reach underserved sellers without increasing risk exposure.

Research Setup

• My Role: End-to-end research lead — scoping, recruitment, moderation, synthesis
• Methods: Semi-structured interviews · Concept testing · Prototype feedback
• Sample: 12 qualitative interviews (45 min each) across seller segments

Key Findings

• Access > Optimization: For many sellers, the availability of any loan outweighed concerns about terms — the product's existence was the core value proposition.
• Mental model mismatch: Existing loan users perceived short-term loans as a downgraded Flex Loan, not a distinct product. Positioning mattered as much as product design.
• Repayment anxiety is contextual: Concerns varied by cash flow model — B2B sellers prioritised predictability; variable-revenue sellers needed flexibility.

How Might We

"Position short-term loans so they feel additive, not inferior — and align repayment models with different cash flow patterns?"

Impact

• Simplified offer experience by removing a redundant pre-offer page
• Reframed loan copy from "new" to "60-day loan" for clarity
• Introduced visual repayment explanations to build trust
• Directly informed experimentation strategy for expanding loan access to ineligible sellers

Outcome

Research directly influenced product positioning, marketing strategy, and the roadmap for eligibility tooling across the Square Banking platform.