Fortsella
Fortsella is an escrow-powered platform that helps online vendors using WhatsApp and Instagram secure their payments. Whether it’s pay-on-delivery stress, buyer ghosting, or delayed transfers — Fortsella holds funds safely until orders are delivered. Designed in collaboration with real SME owners, and reworked from the ground up based on what they actually need.
Fortsella
Product Designer
Payment & Logistics
Project status
In-development
The Problem
In Nigeria, thousands of SMEs sell daily via WhatsApp and Instagram. But while making sales is easy, getting paid safely is not.
Many rely on pay-on-delivery, but this opens the door to all kinds of risks:
• Orders that never get paid for
• Fake confirmations and chargebacks
• Time-wasting buyers who ghost at the last mile
We set out to fix that with a simple wallet-based escrow system that protects both vendors and buyers.
What Makes Fortsella Different?
Fortsella helps small business owners:
• Accept orders online with clear details
• Store customer funds in escrow until delivery is confirmed
• Automatically release payment to the vendor after delivery
In short: no more delivery gamble. Just smoother operations, trusted payments, and more peace of mind.
Our Journey (And Why We Pivoted)
We were excited about solving this problem and jumped straight into designing the MVP. But midway through, we realized something important:
“We’re designing based on assumptions, not real vendor behavior.”
So, we paused.
We sent out a Tally form and spoke to 10 business owners selling everything from fashion to beauty and electronics. Their feedback reshaped our understanding.
📌 Key findings from vendor responses: • 76 to 100% of their sales still depend on pay-on-delivery
• Most sell via Instagram or WhatsApp with no structured system
• Strong interest in escrow—if it's local, fast, and simple
• Concerns about whether buyers will understand or trust escrow
• No current tool helped them track, hold, and release payments with ease
This led us to Iteration 2, a full redesign focused on: • Simplified flows
• Local bank integration
• Clear explanations of how escrow works for both parties
• A soft onboarding experience to reduce fear of change
It was a big shift, but absolutely the right one.
My Design Process 🧠
1. Discovery & User Research Used a Tally form and direct conversations to uncover trust issues, workflow gaps, and platform behavior.
2. Ideation & First Design Started with an ordering system and escrow logic—but made too many assumptions.
3. Deep Research & Pivot Real merchant responses helped reshape the screens, flows, and onboarding content.
4. UI Design (Round 2) Focused on simple, jargon-free interfaces with relatable language and visuals.
5. Developer Handoff Shared flows, edge cases, and component specs including states like “pending payment,” “delivery received,” and “dispute raised.”
Our Journey (And Why We Pivoted)
We were excited about solving this problem and jumped straight into designing the MVP. But midway through, we realized something important:
“We’re designing based on assumptions, not real vendor behavior.”
So, we paused.
We sent out a Tally form and spoke to 10 business owners selling everything from fashion to beauty and electronics. Their feedback reshaped our understanding.
📌 Key findings from vendor responses: • 76 to 100% of their sales still depend on pay-on-delivery
• Most sell via Instagram or WhatsApp with no structured system
• Strong interest in escrow—if it's local, fast, and simple
• Concerns about whether buyers will understand or trust escrow
• No current tool helped them track, hold, and release payments with ease
This led us to Iteration 2, a full redesign focused on: • Simplified flows
• Local bank integration
• Clear explanations of how escrow works for both parties
• A soft onboarding experience to reduce fear of change
It was a big shift, but absolutely the right one.
Setup & onboarding screens 1
What We’ve Learned
Good design solves problems. Great design listens first.
What started with momentum turned into a lesson in humility and alignment. We were reminded that:
• Research is a compass, not a checkbox
• Simple tools with clear language beat sophisticated ones with friction
• Even small language changes (“money on hold” vs. “escrow”) increase trust
What’s Next 🚀
Fortsella is still in development, now backed by real user insight. Screenshots and prototypes will be uploaded soon.
We’re excited not just to launch, but to deliver a product that reflects the real needs of small business owners.
Conclusion
If you're a vendor, all you want is to know you'll get paid. With Fortsella, you finally can. No guesswork. No stress.
Stay tuned.
