Say you are about to make a payment. But the transaction fails. Isn’t it frustrating?
But what’s more frustrating?
Confusing error message.
Policybazaar users were facing this same frustration with insurance payments.
Issue
Suppose the payment fails due to an issue with the bank server. The existing copy tells the same. It pops up these questions in the reader’s mind:
What’s a bank server?
What am I going to do with this information?
Is my payment still in process or cancelled?
What am I going to do next?
Solution
The user wants an error message with a clear:
Payment status.
Actionable step.
The dual objective gave us an answer to our existing issues.
Is it relevant to talk about technical problems like “bank server” or “3D secure”?
No. The readers want to know about payment status.
Should we explain the technical problem?
No. The information is irrelevant to users. It’ll increase the word limit and confusion.
List of a few old error messages
I updated the messaging of 200+ scenarios. Here are some copies:
1: Incorrect account
2: Transaction denied
3: Authentication failed
4: Bank server issue
5: 3D secure authentication
6: Session expired
7: Inactive card
8: Ecommerce disabled
9: Back button pressed
10: EMI payment issue
