Paytrail: UX Research & Accessibility Compliance

Following Paytrail's strategic acquisition of Checkout Finland in 2020, the company successfully unified two competing payment platforms, doubling their traffic while migrating to AWS cloud infrastructure. As Finland's leading payment service provider serving tens of thousands of businesses, Paytrail faced two key challenges. First, they needed to validate their understanding of how merchants actually used their platform. 'We had a mental picture of how our product was being used, but we wanted confirmation,' explains Product Owner Juho Fröjd. Second, with European Accessibility Act requirements approaching, they needed expert verification of their WCAG compliance. With internal design resources allocated to ongoing projects, Paytrail needed a flexible partner who could deliver specialized expertise exactly when needed.

The Good Side engaged with Paytrail on two complementary projects: user research analysis and accessibility compliance. Our approach emphasized concrete, actionable findings over theoretical frameworks. 'What stood out was the direct communication style,' Juho recalls. 'No corporate gloss - we discussed real issues and got straight answers about what could be done.' We worked flexibly, allowing Paytrail to evaluate deliverables before full commitment, building trust through results rather than promises. The user research focused on understanding actual merchant behavior through comprehensive analytics, while the accessibility project delivered a thorough WCAG 2.2 audit and required accessibility statement.

The user research project delivered immediate strategic value by validating Paytrail's product direction while revealing unexpected usage patterns. 'We got confirmation that we had understood roughly correctly how our product was being used, which is fundamentally good,' Juho explains. 'But then we also got new angles that hadn't necessarily been spinning in our own thoughts - usage cases we hadn't considered, which gave us clear development topics for moving the product forward.' The accessibility audit provided the expert validation Paytrail needed for EAA compliance, identifying issues their internal testing had missed while confirming their overall approach. 'The reports were highly concrete,' Juho notes. 'Here are the issues, here are the findings, and here are suggestions for how to address them. No unnecessary fluff around it.'

Both projects delivered lasting business value beyond immediate deliverables. The validated hypotheses enabled better feature prioritization, while discovered usage patterns informed roadmap decisions. Identification of unused features allowed resource optimization and better allocation of development efforts. The accessibility compliance not only met legal requirements but also enhanced the overall user experience for all merchants. 'Both projects felt like we got exactly what we wanted from them at that moment,' Juho reflects. The flexible engagement model proved ideal for established companies with internal capabilities who need targeted expertise for specific initiatives rather than ongoing engagements.

Paytrail's experience highlights the power of direct, honest communication in consulting relationships. 'When we started talking, we immediately discussed real issues directly, without that corporate gloss you often have to get through first,' Juho notes. This straightforward approach extended throughout both projects, with deliverables focused on actionable insights rather than theoretical frameworks. The projects also demonstrate the value of expert validation - even when internal teams have strong capabilities, specialized external expertise can confirm direction, identify blind spots, and provide confidence in critical decisions. The flexible project model proved ideal for established companies with internal capabilities who need targeted expertise for specific initiatives rather than ongoing engagements.