American Express SafeKey:

70% Reduction in Abandonment

American Express SafeKey:

Reducing Checkout Abandonment by 70% While Enhancing Security

Walkthrough of SafeKey

“We preserved our fraud prevention strength and rebuilt trust with users at the same time.”

Image of Safekey before and after — Scalable, responsive layouts rolled out to 20 markets.

Project Summary

American Express SafeKey was a critical security checkpoint during online checkout, but the user experience was failing. Customers were abandoning their purchases at alarming rates due to confusion, distrust, and a jarring redirect.

My Role
As Senior User Experience Architect, I led the full redesign of the authentication experience. This included discovery, journey mapping, design, prototype testing, and rollout. The result was a 70% reduction in abandonment without compromising security.

The Challenge

SafeKey was doing its job from a security perspective, but it introduced serious user experience problems:

Abandonment during redirect was high
Customers perceived the experience as a phishing attempt
Visual disconnect triggered suspicion and confusion
Revenue was lost for both Amex and its merchants

The redirect happened after card submission at checkout. Users were moved to a separate site with inconsistent visuals, ambiguous status messages, and unclear next steps. Many closed the window before returning to complete the transaction.

Discovery and Research

Understanding the Journey

I conducted a full analysis of the current flow to identify failure points.

Mapped the full journey from merchant site to purchase completion
Analyzed abandonment data across key drop-off points
Reviewed customer feedback and service logs
Interviewed stakeholders across security, engineering, and business
Studied how competitors handled authentication

Findings showed that the redirect moment created a break in user trust. Users were not prepared, the interface did not feel secure, and the process lacked context or reassurance.

User Research

To validate assumptions and deepen insight, I co-led a structured research initiative.

Created recruitment briefs for users representing key customer segments
Observed real-time reactions during checkout and redirect
Interviewed participants about expectations and mental models
Captured concerns around trust, fraud, and UX expectations

The redirect violated most users’ sense of a safe checkout. They expected to remain within the visual context of the merchant. When this was broken, they lost confidence and abandoned the flow.

Design and Testing

Experience Redesign

Image of Safekey whiteboards — Many whiteboard sessions held to explore ideas, and ensure a shared understanding of the problem and outcome.

Image of Safekey screens — A portion of the many screens created for testing, prototyping, and development.

In response, I explored multiple design directions to fix trust and flow issues.

Created updated journey maps for new flows
Designed wireframes and alternate screen layouts
Built brand-consistent visuals to carry over during transition
Simplified messaging and authentication steps
Introduced visual indicators of legitimacy and process status

Key changes included pre-authentication messaging, merchant branding carryover, and progress indicators during SafeKey steps.

Image of Safekey flow diagram — Call to action flow between screens during a SafeKey journey.

Prototype Testing

We tested the most promising designs through moderated sessions and simulated checkouts.

Developed interactive prototypes for real-world use cases
Simulated checkout scenarios with redirect
Captured behavior, confidence, and task success
Measured time, clarity, and drop-off points

The winning concepts were those that prepared the user for the redirect, reassured them during authentication, and made the return path obvious and seamless.

Prototype of a SafeKey journey

Implementation and Rollout

I worked cross-functionally with development and security teams to implement the redesigned experience.

Refined and finalized visual design and messaging
Built specs and implementation guidelines
Aligned rollout strategy with lower-risk merchant partners
Defined success metrics and measurement dashboards

The phased launch ensured that we could monitor progress and course-correct if needed.

Image of Safekey — Responsive hi-fi mockups of the SafeKey lending experience. One of multiple journeys possible withing the authentication step.

The Solution

The new SafeKey experience achieved strong results through:

Contextual preparation before the redirect
Visual continuity using shared brand elements
Simplified workflow with fewer screens
Explicit security messaging to reduce user doubt
Clear return path to resume the checkout

Outcomes

Reduced checkout abandonment by 70%

Recovered $11M in previously lost billings

0 Reduction in fraud prevention effectiveness

Rebuilt Trust with customers during checkout

Earned industry recognition for best-in-class security experience

Lessons Learned

Security and UX can align
A secure experience can also be a trusted one
Context is powerful
Setting expectations before a redirect changes user behavior
Visual continuity matters
Familiar design reduces friction in high-stakes flows
Realism in testing is critical
Authentication UX must be tested in credible transactional scenarios
Cross-team partnerships drive success
Working with security, product, and dev ensured feasibility and adoption