eLaisee Gifting Enhancement
eLaisee Gifting Enhancement
A regulatory deadline, a fraud spike, and a feature users loved. I had three months to make eLaisee safer without making it feel broken — and without missing Chinese New Year.
To prepare PayMe for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's new security requirements, I redesigned the digital red packet experience to eliminate risky payment links and introduce app-native collection paths — protecting users against fraud while preserving the joy and virality that made eLaisee a seasonal highlight for 3.2M users. The result: +13% YoY transaction volume and +8% user engagement.
TIMELINE
Oct 2023 - Jan 2024
ROLE
Journey owner
UI & UX designer
Illustrator
DELIVERABLES
UI/UX design
Animation
Illustration
TOOLS
Figma
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Illustrator
Outcome
The redesign directly improved safety and reduced friction, leading to meaningful lifts across key engagement and transaction metrics. Year over year, more users sent eLaisee, more packets were collected, and total gifting volume continued to climb.
The redesign directly improved safety and reduced friction, leading to meaningful lifts across key engagement and transaction metrics. Year over year, more users sent eLaisee, more packets were collected, and total gifting volume continued to climb.
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in group eLaisee amount sent
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in eLaisee collected amounts
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in eLaisee collected amounts
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in users sending eLaisee
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in users sending eLaisee
What's PayMe eLaisee?
Laisee (利是 🧧), the traditional red packet gifted during Chinese New Year (CNY), is a cherished Hong Kong custom symbolizing luck and prosperity.
PayMe’s eLaisee modernizes this ritual by enabling users to craft personalized greetings, assign fixed or random amounts of “lucky money,” and share them digitally with up to 100 recipients. As a culturally central and highly viral CNY feature, eLaisee has become a key driver of PayMe’s seasonal growth — making it critical for the redesigned experience to maintain its festive charm and shareability while enhancing security and compliance.
Laisee (利是 🧧), the traditional red packet gifted during Chinese New Year (CNY), is a cherished Hong Kong custom symbolizing luck and prosperity.
PayMe’s eLaisee modernizes this ritual by enabling users to craft personalized greetings, assign fixed or random amounts of “lucky money,” and share them digitally with up to 100 recipients. As a culturally central and highly viral CNY feature, eLaisee has become a key driver of PayMe’s seasonal growth — making it critical for the redesigned experience to maintain its festive charm and shareability while enhancing security and compliance.
Problem to solve
PayMe’s dynamic payment links powered eLaisee sharing but also created an entry point for fraud. With fraud incidents rising 43% and HKMA mandating stricter security, relying on shareable URLs was no longer viable. But removing links risked undermining eLaisee’s signature virality.
Our challenge was to improve safety without diminishing the cultural and viral nature of eLaisee — all under a three-month deadline leading up to Chinese New Year, PayMe’s highest-traffic season. We needed a solution that met compliance, protected users, and remained effortless to use.
PayMe’s dynamic payment links powered eLaisee sharing but also created an entry point for fraud. With fraud incidents rising 43% and HKMA mandating stricter security, relying on shareable URLs was no longer viable. But removing links risked undermining eLaisee’s signature virality.
Our challenge was to improve safety without diminishing the cultural and viral nature of eLaisee — all under a three-month deadline leading up to Chinese New Year, PayMe’s highest-traffic season. We needed a solution that met compliance, protected users, and remained effortless to use.
Ideation
We initially explored a “Laisee Group” concept — a shared space for sending, collecting, and interacting around eLaisee.
The long-term vision included richer social interactions, group bill-splitting, and merchant engagement, expanding eLaisee beyond a seasonal feature.
We initially explored a “Laisee Group” concept — a shared space for sending, collecting, and interacting around eLaisee.
The long-term vision included richer social interactions, group bill-splitting, and merchant engagement, expanding eLaisee beyond a seasonal feature.
Hi-Fi mockup of PayMe eLaisee group.
Challenges & Tradeoff
Low use case
User testing with six participants revealed a key issue: outside of CNY, the group concept lacked a compelling reason to exist. Participants weren’t motivated to return after the holiday period, limiting long-term engagement.
Technical constraints & timeline
Engineering sizing placed the feature at M+, exceeding what could be delivered within one PI (3 months). With CNY approaching, shipping the group experience risked missing the peak seasonal window entirely.
We deprioritized the full ‘Laisee Group’ concept after technical sizing exceeded the PI timeline. Instead, I reframed the HMW to unlock a smaller, high-impact surface area that engineering could deliver without compromising security or user delight:
We deprioritized the full ‘Laisee Group’ concept after technical sizing exceeded the PI timeline. Instead, I reframed the HMW to unlock a smaller, high-impact surface area that engineering could deliver without compromising security or user delight:
"How might we enable users to send and collect eLaisee through alternative methods without relying solely on links?"
Design Solutions
Working within the CNY deadline, I focused on four targeted improvements that delivered a safer, more intuitive gifting experience while staying feasible for engineering to implement in one PI.
Working within the CNY deadline, I focused on four targeted improvements that delivered a safer, more intuitive gifting experience while staying feasible for engineering to implement in one PI.
> 01
Instant collection
Instant collection
To eliminate dependency on risky external links, we created an app-native “instant collection” flow, internally referred to as the “close loop.” Users now receive a push notification for each new eLaisee and can collect it directly from the Notifications tab with a single tap — strengthening security while reducing friction.
We also implemented privacy-by-default protections: if the sender and recipient aren’t friends on PayMe, personal information such as their name and profile photo remains hidden to prevent exposure.
To eliminate dependency on risky external links, we created an app-native “instant collection” flow, internally referred to as the “close loop.” Users now receive a push notification for each new eLaisee and can collect it directly from the Notifications tab with a single tap — strengthening security while reducing friction.
We also implemented privacy-by-default protections: if the sender and recipient aren’t friends on PayMe, personal information such as their name and profile photo remains hidden to prevent exposure.
> 02
Share modal with customization
eLaisee QR Code & Skins Customization
To provide a secure, link-free way to share eLaisee, we introduced unique QR codes for every packet. I partnered with the campaign designer to create four limited-edition Year of the Dragon skins for the 2024 release, adding festive delight while encouraging sharing.
Users choose their skin directly in the share modal, then save or send the QR code through their preferred channels — maintaining virality without compromising security.
> 03
New entry point
New entry point
Testing showed a strong expectation for eLaisee collection to live within the “Laisee” tab, not Notifications. To reduce cognitive load and align with real behavior, I introduced a new “Collect” entry point in the laisee modal.
This allows users to scan their QR code directly from the place they intuitively look first — improving discoverability and making the experience more seamless.
Testing showed a strong expectation for eLaisee collection to live within the “Laisee” tab, not Notifications. To reduce cognitive load and align with real behavior, I introduced a new “Collect” entry point in the laisee modal.
This allows users to scan their QR code directly from the place they intuitively look first — improving discoverability and making the experience more seamless.
> 04
Delightful experience upon collection
Delightful experience upon collection
Receiving an eLaisee is an emotional moment, especially during Chinese New Year. To amplify this, I crafted custom illustrations and motion designs for the collection experience, building all animations from scratch using Illustrator and After Effects.
These playful micro-interactions reinforce PayMe’s festive brand personality and strengthen user delight at peak seasonal moments.
Receiving an eLaisee is an emotional moment, especially during Chinese New Year. To amplify this, I crafted custom illustrations and motion designs for the collection experience, building all animations from scratch using Illustrator and After Effects.
These playful micro-interactions reinforce PayMe’s festive brand personality and strengthen user delight at peak seasonal moments.
New Business Use Cases
The QR code share modal I built enabled PayMe to unlock new business opportunities beyond seasonal CNY gifting. In 2026, the team rolled out wedding and birthday themes.
By making eLaisee flexible and secure, the platform could later explore additional occasions and themes, expanding user engagement and driving sustained growth — all built on the foundation I helped create.
The QR code system I built enabled PayMe to expand eLaisee beyond CNY. In 2026, the team rolled out wedding and birthday themes, letting users celebrate new occasions seamlessly — demonstrating the long-term flexibility of the original design.
User Journey
In the new design, after payment, senders can now customize and share their eLaisee QR code directly from the new modal. They can select a preferred design theme before sending the group laisee to friends and family.
In the new design, after payment, senders can now customize and share their eLaisee QR code directly from the new modal. They can select a preferred design theme before sending the group laisee to friends and family.
Final Design
Following the launch of the new feature, I collected eLaisee from friends through two entry points and documented the flows with screen recordings -
Following the launch of the new feature, I collected eLaisee from friends through two entry points and documented the flows with screen recordings -