For a Credit Card, Activation Is the Real Launch
For a Credit Card, Activation Is the Real Launch
At Kiwi I lead product for a credit-on-UPI app, and much of that work is onboarding: getting a user from download to an issued card they actually use. Issuance numbers are easy to celebrate. Activation is the number that tells you whether the product works.
Every partner is a step in the user's journey
A credit card on UPI depends on issuing banks, credit bureaus and KYC providers. Each integration is a step the user goes through, even if they never see the partner's name. Deep integration with each of them is what makes the journey feel like one product rather than a chain of handoffs.
Verification is part of the experience
Video KYC is a regulatory requirement, and it is also a moment where many users drop off. Treating it as a product problem, not only a compliance step, changes the questions the team asks: when should it happen, what does the user need to prepare, and what happens if the call fails?
Work with compliance, not around it
New credit products need sign off from compliance teams and banking partners. Bringing them in early, while the onboarding design is still open, makes the final journey both simpler and safer. Late reviews tend to add screens. Early ones tend to remove them.
Measure the first use, not just the issue
A card that is issued and never used costs money and teaches the user nothing. The first transaction is where the product proves its value. Designing the path from approval to first use is as important as designing the application itself.
Where AI fits
Building AI products in the Curious PM cohort, and earlier through the generative AI programme at 100x Engineers, has made me think about onboarding support differently. Many drop offs come from users who are confused about a step. Clear, timely help inside the journey, which AI can now make much easier to provide, can matter as much as any change to the flow itself.
Nishant skipped presentations and built real AI products.
Nishant Pandita was part of the August 2026 cohort at Curious PM, alongside 24 other talented participants.