GTEX App — A digital marketplace for seamless gift-card trading

The Challenge

The main challenge was designing a dedicated gift-card trading platform that made the process simple, transparent, and easy to navigate.

Users needed to find a card, compare available rates, choose a vendor, submit their card, and track the transaction without unnecessary confusion.

I structured the experience around a simple journey:

Find → Compare → Choose → Trade

The app also needed to support other financial services like airtime, data, money transfers, and transaction management, so I had to keep gift-card trading as the core experience while making these services feel naturally connected.

The Solution

The solution was to transform the existing vendor network into a structured digital gift-card marketplace.

The core experience

The primary journey was designed around a simple flow:

Choose a gift card → View available vendors → Compare rates → Select an offer → Complete the trade

This reduces the amount of back-and-forth required to initiate a transaction and gives users greater visibility into their options.

Handling rejected Gift cards & disputes

Gift-card trades can sometimes be rejected if a card appears used, invalid, unverifiable, or doesn’t meet the vendor’s requirements. Instead of leaving customers without recourse, I designed a dispute flow that keeps the entire resolution process within the platform.

The flow is:

Vendor Rejects → Reason Provided → Customer Notified → Dispute Opened → Customer & Vendor Chat → Admin Review → Final Resolution

When a vendor rejects a card, they provide a clear reason, which is automatically communicated to the customer. If the customer disagrees, they can open a dispute directly from the transaction and communicate with the vendor through an in-app chat.

If the issue cannot be resolved, the Super Admin steps in with access to the transaction details, dispute conversation, and submitted gift-card evidence. The admin then determines whether the rejection is justified and resolves the transaction accordingly.

The goal was to build trust and accountability into the trading experience—giving customers a way to challenge decisions while giving the platform a clear mechanism to investigate and resolve disputes fairly..

A fintech experience beyond gift cards

While gift-card trading is the core value proposition, I also designed the platform as a broader financial utility.

Users can access services such as:

• Gift-card trading

• Airtime top-up

• Data top-up

• Sending money

• Receiving money

• Transaction and wallet-related activities

This approach allows the platform to become part of the user's everyday financial activities rather than being used only when they need to sell a gift card.

Authentication & Account Setup

The authentication flow was designed to provide a simple and secure entry point into the platform while collecting the information required to create a trusted financial account.

KYC verification

To build trust and support secure financial transactions, I designed a structured four-step KYC flow that gradually collects and verifies the user's identity.

The process begins with personal profile details, followed by ID verification, selfie verification, and finally BVN submission. A step indicator is used throughout the flow to show users their current progress and make the verification process feel more manageable.

Flow:
Profile Details → ID Verification → Selfie Verification → BVN Submission → KYC Completed

KYC completion flow

The KYC flow was designed to keep users informed from submission to final decision.

After submitting their details, users see a simple confirmation that their information has been received and is under review. A Verification Pending banner on the home screen keeps the status visible while they continue using the app.

Once the review is complete, a bottom sheet clearly communicates the outcome. Successful verification unlocks the app, while a failed verification gives users a Try Again option that takes them back to the KYC flow.

The experience keeps the process clear at every stage: submitted → pending → resolved.

Other Gtex financial services

GTEX goes beyond gift-card trading, offering everyday financial services like airtime and data top-ups, money transfers, and other payment solutions—all within one platform.

Transaction history, Notifications and Receipts

Users can easily track their transactions, stay updated through timely notifications, and access detailed receipts for completed payments and transfers. This gives users a clear record of their activity and keeps them informed every step of the way.

Outcome & Impact

The launch of Gtex transformed the client's manual gift-card trading process into a scalable digital marketplace.

• 100+ vendors onboarded onto the platform, alongside hundreds of existing customers.

• 50% increase in gift-card sales following the launch.

• Reduced the time to sell a gift card from 1–3+ hours to under 10–20 minutes.

• Enabled customers to compare vendor rates, trade gift cards, and track transactions in one place.

• Introduced a structured dispute and resolution process, reducing reliance on manual communication.

Business Impact

The platform shifted the business from manually coordinating transactions to a scalable marketplace that connects customers and vendors directly, while giving the business owner the oversight needed to manage and moderate the ecosystem.