The ask

Enable API customers to embed gift card credentials directly into their applications, creating a seamless redemption experience while preserving a critical safeguard: keeping rewards locked until recipients are ready to spend, which both protects credentials and retains value from unredeemed cards.

My role

• Defined the user experience strategy

• Designed new interaction and visual design concepts

• Conducted user research, including customer interviews and usability testing

• Collaborated with engineering to ensure feasibility and quality

• Alignined with stakeholders to address business concerns

The problem

Tango’s API customers build their own reward experiences, using our API to purchase gift cards for their recipients. However, once a gift card is purchased, the recipient must navigate to Tango’s hosted site to retrieve their reward credentials. This additional step introduces friction, as users must copy a security code from the customer’s app and paste it into Tango’s landing page to unlock their card.

Some customers attempt to work around this by embedding a URL in their application, allowing users to open the Tango-hosted page in a new tab. However, this still requires them to switch back and forth between apps to retrieve the security code, creating an inconvenient experience.

Tango’s API customers want a seamless way to display gift card credentials directly within their applications—eliminating the need for users to leave their platform. The challenge was to remove unnecessary friction while maintaining security and balancing the business need to retain revenue from unredeemed cards.

Balancing user needs and business objectives

Our solution architects identified a way to embed gift card credentials securely within customer applications while eliminating the security code step. This drastically reduced user friction and improved the overall redemption experience. However, removing friction entirely introduced a challenge: historically, about 6% of recipients never unlock their gift card.

In Tango’s model, when a customer sends a reward, they are charged immediately. But Tango does not actually purchase the underlying gift card until the recipient unlocks it. If the recipient never takes that step, Tango retains the funds—revenue known in the industry as breakage.

The unlock step isn’t just about revenue, though—it also protects users. By discouraging premature unlocks, we help ensure that reward credentials remain secure until the moment recipients are truly ready to spend. People who intend to use their reward can do so with confidence, while those who never would have used it leave it safely locked, benefiting both the user and the business.

Designing for light friction

I created several interaction concepts that explored ways of slowing recipients down—encouraging them to only unlock their reward once they were ready to spend it.

Concept 1: Confirmation dialog

• Displayed a confirmation message before unlocking, explaining the benefits of keeping the reward locked.

• Result: Felt like unnecessary friction and disrupted the flow, especially in embedded environments.

Concept 2: Undo option

• Allowed users to cancel the process after clicking unlock, giving them extra time to consider the message about the benefits of holding onto their reward.

• Result: Largely ignored by users; didn’t provide a clear reason to reconsider unlocking.

Concept 3: ‘Keep Locked and Use Later’ CTA

• Introduced a secondary option that gave recipients an intentional alternative to unlocking. Since most users arrived on the page expecting to click “Unlock” immediately, this option created a pause—encouraging them to consciously decide whether to use their reward now or keep it for later.

• Result: This approach resonated most with users, providing a clear, helpful choice rather than an obstacle.

The final iteration

In the final iteration, recipients land on the page and are immediately reassured with a success message: they’re all set and can return anytime when they’re ready to use their reward. This framing suggests that their task is complete unless they’re about to spend, reducing the likelihood of unnecessary unlocks.

The CTA on the page is “Spend now,” designed to signal that it should only be selected when the recipient is ready to use their reward. Clicking this flips the gift card image—mimicking the feel of holding a physical card. This subtle animation adds a moment of delight and boosts perceived value by making the virtual reward feel more tactile and real.

When flipped, only the last four digits of the card number are visible, with the rest masked. This detail came directly from user testing: in earlier concepts the credentials were blurred, which unintentionally sparked curiosity and made recipients want to unlock. Showing the last four digits gave them confidence that the credentials were real and securely stored, without prompting premature unlocks. We also included the expiration date, another user-driven insight. Without it, recipients felt an unnecessary sense of urgency, worried their reward might expire and pushing them to unlock before they were ready.

A supporting message reinforces both the business and user benefit: keeping the reward locked until purchase not only safeguards revenue from unused balances but also keeps credentials more secure until the recipient is ready to spend. At this point, recipients see the same two options that proved most effective in prior testing:

• Unlock – Displays the full credentials, enabling immediate use.

• Keep locked and use later – Flips the card back, reinforcing that the reward is safely stored.

Animated gift card

Together, these strategies create a natural decision point: users who are ready can unlock and spend, while those who aren’t are guided to keep their reward secure until the right moment.

Embedding in customer apps

The redesigned experience was built to be easily embedded directly into customer applications. Instead of being redirected to a separate web view or new browser tab, recipients now stay within the customer’s app, eliminating the clunky back-and-forth of copying and pasting a security code.

While a layer of light friction remains to support business objectives, the new design strikes the right balance:

• Simpler for developers – The embed reduces integration complexity for customers.

• Smoother for recipients – Redemption feels native and seamless, minimizing unnecessary steps.

• Stronger for Tango – By guiding only ready-to-spend recipients to unlock, the design protects a critical revenue stream tied to unused gift cards.

Impact

Embedded gift card credentials were instrumental in renewing a major customer contract worth $64M in reward value. The design eliminated needless friction while keeping rewards more secure for recipients and preserving Tango’s deferred redemption safeguard. This balance strengthened customer trust and positioned Tango as a seamless, integrated solution.