http://www.designforaction.org/

1. 68% of consumers don’t
comparison shop before
buying a card.
1

2. “It was a lot of information.”
The most common reason given for not reading disclosures
before purchase.

3. How do we balance things that
impact protect consumers, like
transparency and full
disclosure, with facts we know
about cognition, emotion, and
shopping behavior?
3

4. Thinking beyond the fine print
Thinking about fee disclosures beyond printed information. The
entire purchase experience as a set of actions, behaviors and
decisions.

5. Consumer wants to buy a prepaid card
At a bank In-store Online
Consumer compares two
simple tables side-by-side
on packaging.
B B A B
Consumer purchases best prepaid card for them
Consumer compares two
simple tables on two
different websites.
Consumer compares two
simple tables side-by-side
on brochures.
Visits websites on phone for
full disclosure table.
Clicks prominent link to
full disclosure table.
Refers to handouts with
full disclosure table.
DECISION
MADE
DECISION
MADE
DECISION
MADE
DECISION
MADE
DECISION
MADE
DECISION
MADE
NEEDS
MORE
INFO
NEEDS
MORE
INFO
NEEDS
MORE
INFO
A A
A
A B
B
A B

6. Design goals
1. Trigger comparison shopping
2. Full disclosure of fees
3. Easy to understand
6

7. Less is more.
7

9. Visual hierarchy (salience, visual cues)
Visual hierarchy guides the viewer through content in an
ordered way. It is created through visual contrast, which is
made up of size, alignment, negative space, or proximity of text.

10. We use visual hierarchy to emphasize four fees by increasing the font size and weight of the fee, leading the
viewer’s eye to these fees first. These first four fees deserve the viewer’s attention first because users cited
these fees as the dealmakers or breakers in choosing a card, either based on what they see at the store, or
more often than not, their previous experience with other cards.

11. An example of the alert/call-to-action proposed for prepaid cards used for payroll purposes.

12. Plain language
The fees should be clear. They should feel in control. Full
disclosure, but not in the way.

13. Plain language also means less fine print, less jargon.

14. Delegating information elsewhere
Whatever is not on the outside of the card packaging is on the
“long form,” a full disclosure inside the package, or online.

15. Testing

16. Testing
Last testing took place in Kansas City, Missouri in April. Hour-long
in-depth interviews with consumers to understand their
comprehension of the disclosures, and get background info on
their experiences with prepaids.
We tried to set up realistic shopping scenarios with card
package prototypes, each with different fees. Consumers were
asked to select what they thought was the best product for
them.

17. Prototype
Uses the most-common industry paper package. Main
disclosure is on the back, full disclosure is inside.

18. The form’s design allowed participants to easily find and
understand fees. In shopping scenarios, most participants made
decisions based on the four top-line fees on the label, which
have the least cognitive overload.

19. “The fees were just lower” was the most common reasoning for
their choice, yet it meant something different for each
person.

20. Testing insights
Consumers may not always compare those fees with other
products, but they are comparing them to their own previous
experiences, bad or good. The final shopping choice is usually
based on “gut.”
If this is how consumers are behaving, it’s important for us to
make those main fees appear as clear as possible. To best help
consumers, it may be better to focus on a handful of elements
and connect with them, rather than “full disclosure.”

21. Now vs. later
Top line fees are usually fees with immediate impact on the consumer. The incidence-based fees are long-term
fees or services that may never be used.. The now is more important at purchase time than the later.

22. Supporting Research
22
Less is more

23. Less fees enable more comparison
Research suggesting limits on our capacity for processing
information.
George A. Miller, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for
Processing Information” Psychological Review, 1956, vol. 63, pp. 81-97.

24. Less choice reduces shopping stress
Research suggesting that less consumer choice greatly reduces
anxiety and stress for shoppers. Increases confidence. We want
consumers to feel like they have agency.
Barry Schwartz. "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less.”
Sheena Iyengar, Mark Lepper. "When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good
Thing?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000.

25. There is no “best” card for consumers
Some groups advocate for more information so that people can
make the best choice for themselves. Research suggests though,
that people make decisions based on information we’ll never
know: their past experiences and gut feelings at time of
purchase.
Norbert Schwarz. "Meacognitive Experiences in Consumer Judgment and Decision Making." Journal of
Consumer Psychology, 2004.

26. Insights from the Fogg Model
The likelihood of someone looking at the redesigned simple label and eliciting the desired outcome
(comparison shopping) depends on their motivation, ability, and triggers. We identified some
constraints based on what we knew about shopping behavior, our focus groups, testing, and interviews
with prepaid card consumers.
Shoppers show low motivation to comparison shop because of cognitive overload due to disparaging
information (e.g., fees don’t match up between products)
Triggers are created by information that shoppers are familiar with (e.g., they’ve been burned by it
before).
Shoppers show low motivation to go through a full disclosure because of cognitive overload due to sheer
amount of information.
Low Ability – consumers need to do all of this while waiting in the checkout line, they’ll give up.
Applying basic principles from the Fogg model supported our approach of emphasizing a handful of
elements using visual hierarchy and plain language. Some of these were triggers to look up more
information or remember past experiences. By lowering the amount of things to read or consider pre-purchase,
we increase motivation to consult disclosure, and increase shopping decision ability.