---
type: case
slug: remessa-online
title: Remessa Online
tagline: "Design from 0 to exit."
company: Remessa Online
role: "Product Design Lead to Head of Design"
period: "2016-2020"
category: "Design Leadership"
order: 2
featured: true
status: archived
updated: "2026-07-11"
lang: en
summary: >
  I joined as the first product designer and built the team from scratch to
  12 people in 4 years, at the largest currency exchange platform in Latin
  America. I redesigned the journeys that sustained the growth up to the
  US$229M exit to EBANX.
metrics:
  - label: "Exit"
    value: "US$229M to EBANX (2021)"
  - label: "Design team"
    value: "from 1 to 12 people"
  - label: "Company"
    value: "from 10 to 300+ employees"
tags: [fintech, cambio, exit, remessas]
---

# Remessa Online

International transfers were expensive, opaque and bank-dependent. Remessa Online wanted to change that. I joined to build design from scratch.

There was no team. No process. Not even clarity about what the product was.

A blank page can be an opportunity or a trap. It depends on what you do with it.

## Impact first

In 4 years: a design team structured from scratch and scaled from 1 to 12 people. Signup, transfer and acquisition journeys redesigned. Processes that kept up with the company's growth from 10 to more than 300 employees without breaking. In 2021, EBANX acquired the company for US$229 million.

## The decision that mattered most

It wasn't visual. It was understanding that in a currency exchange fintech, trust is the product.

The user isn't buying a transfer. They're betting real money on a company they just met. What I designed had to eliminate doubt before asking for action.

Every screen was a question never asked out loud: is this safe?

## From funnel loss to process

The company saw the losses at each funnel stage, from acquisition to sending, but had no structured process to attack that with design. I led the project end to end.

I translated the business need for the team, placed the right people on each front and facilitated the process with CS, Operations, Sales and Marketing. We ran collaborative user journey mapping, problem clustering by stage, How Might We exercises, prioritization with product and engineering, prototyping and in-person usability testing with real users in São Paulo, and defined tags to monitor the post-launch.

The priority target was the transfer-type selection screen. Users didn't understand timelines, document descriptions were confusing, Central Bank charges created unexpected amounts, and mobile failed. Result: fewer documentation tickets, less doubt about tax and timing, shorter time to complete the operation and higher conversion on mobile.

The learning that got documented: involving other areas in the design process isn't optional at a company focused on customer experience.

## Role in the exit

I was Head of Design when Remessa closed the partnership with Nubank, projecting growth from 350 thousand to 1 million customers in 12 months. Months later, EBANX acquired the company for US$229 million. The 4 years of building were part of the product infrastructure that sustained that value thesis.

Design didn't cause the exit. But a confusing product never gets there.