Cedar
2026
Simplifying cross-border payments for African businesses
Designing a cross-border payment experience that helps African businesses pay international suppliers with locked rates, clear fees and real-time payment tracking.
Overview
Making global supplier payments feel local
Cedar is a B2B cross-border payment platform that helps African businesses pay overseas suppliers in their invoice currency, and helps exporters collect payments from buyers across Africa. Businesses pay in local currencies such as NGN, KES, ZAR and GHS, while suppliers receive USD, EUR, GBP, CNY and more across 190+ countries.
As the product designer, I worked on the web and mobile experience, from business onboarding and verification to quoting, paying and tracking supplier payments.
[Image: Cedar dashboard overview on web and mobile]
Problem
Cross-border payments were slow, opaque and stressful
For importers, paying a supplier abroad often meant shifting exchange rates, unclear bank charges, long queues and cargo held at port while payments cleared. Business owners had little visibility into where their money was or when it would arrive.
The challenge was to design an experience that made international payments predictable: a clear rate, a clear total and clear proof that the payment was on its way.
[Image: Pain points mapped across the traditional cross-border payment journey]The existing dashboard contained large amounts of financial data, but weak hierarchy and dense layouts made balances, transactions, and actions harder to interpret during everyday use. Users frequently paused to compare balances, reopen transaction details, and rescan sections before feeling confident enough to take action.
Research
Understanding importers, exporters and platforms
Cedar serves very different users: SME importers paying a handful of suppliers, high-volume businesses making frequent large payments, digital platforms sending bulk payouts, and exporters collecting from African buyers. I mapped these groups to understand their goals, how often they pay and how confident they feel managing foreign exchange.
A recurring theme was trust. Users wanted to know the exact amount their supplier would receive, see all fees upfront and have documentation they could share to get goods released faster.
[Image: User segments and key research insights]
Ideation
Exploring a transparent payment experience
I explored several directions for the send flow, focusing on how to present exchange rates, fees and totals without overwhelming users. Early concepts compared a step-by-step wizard with a single calculator-style screen where users could see both sides of the conversion at once.
We converged on a quote-first approach: users see the amount their supplier receives, the rate with all fees included and the total to pay in local currency before confirming, so the rate they confirm is the rate they pay.
[Image: Early sketches and wireframe explorations of the send flow]
User Flows
Mapping the journeys that matter most
I mapped the core journeys end to end: registering a business and completing KYC verification, creating a supplier payment, locking a rate, paying in local currency and tracking the payment to completion. Separate paths were defined for high-volume customers who work with a dedicated account manager, and for exporters collecting payments from buyers.
Designing these flows together helped keep onboarding short, make verification steps clear and reduce drop-off between getting a quote and making a payment.
[Image: User flow for business sign-up and KYC verification]
[Image: User flow for creating, confirming and tracking a supplier payment]
Interaction Design
Designing for clarity and confidence
Interaction details focused on reducing uncertainty at every step. Conversion amounts update live as users type, a clear confirmation state shows when a rate is locked, and fee-inclusive totals help users make decisions quickly. Payment status is shown as a simple timeline, with proof of payment that can be shared with suppliers.
Across web and mobile, I kept patterns consistent so users could start a payment on one device and follow its progress on another.
[Image: Send screen with live rate and fee breakdown]
[Image: Payment tracking timeline and proof of payment]
Conclusions
What I learned
Designing for cross-border payments reinforced how much trust depends on transparency. Showing the full picture upfront, including the rate, fees, total and timeline, did more to build confidence than any single feature.
Future opportunities include deeper FX management tools such as rate alerts and holding balances, and richer reporting for finance teams managing many suppliers.
[Image: Final screens on web and mobile]
