Redesigning Streamer Payouts for a Global Creator Economy
Designing a clearer and faster payout experience for global streamers without requiring them to understand crypto.
Research
UX design
Userflow
UI Design
Loco previously represented streamer earnings through “Beans,” an internal virtual currency. Creators found it difficult to understand how Beans translated into withdrawable value, where their earnings came from and when a payout would arrive.
This created a trust problem, particularly for international creators dealing with cross-border settlement delays and multiple payout providers.
We introduced a stablecoin-based wallet that consolidated earnings into a USD-denominated balance and allowed eligible creators to withdraw through supported bank or crypto routes.
Role
Product designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Platforms
Streamer web dashboard
Team
Product, Design, Engineering
How might we help global streamers understand, access and withdraw their earnings without forcing them to learn crypto or payment infrastructure?
Familiarity
Creators think in spendable money, not blockchain terminology.
Flexibility
Some creators prefer bank transfers, while others already use crypto wallets.
Trust and compliance
KYC, transaction processing and failures needed to feel understandable rather than unpredictable.
I owned the end-to-end product design for the Stablecoin Wallet inside Loco’s streamer dashboard.
My scope included wallet onboarding, balance and earnings visibility, KYC entry points, bank and crypto payout setup, withdrawal flows, transaction history, status communication and failure recovery.
I collaborated with product, backend and our wallet infrastructure partner to translate technical and regulatory requirements into an experience that felt familiar to streamers.
Understand earnings
Balance
Local equivalent
Earnings sources
Transaction history
Become payout ready
Contact verification
KYC
Wallet creation
Method setup
Trust and compliance
Bank transfer
Crypto address
Fees
Status tracking
Creators were being paid in “Beans” a virtual in-app currency that caused massive confusion and inefficiency.
“Creators didn’t need more features they needed clarity.”
Streamer Pain Points
Unclear value: “How much are my Beans actually worth?”
Delayed settlements: 5–7 day payouts for global streamers.
Hidden fees: Up to 30% lost to app store or PSP commissions.
Lack of visibility: No real-time ledger or status tracking.
Business Pain Points
Operational overhead: Multiple PSPs across 10+ markets.
Poor retention: Low trust → low streamer loyalty.
Legal & compliance friction with virtual currency handling.
Lost revenue from double conversion and fee leakage.
Opportunities
Replace “Beans” with a stablecoin-based payout system one currency, one value, one transparent experience.
Before designing the wallet, we dove deep into what creators and platforms were already doing to build something that truly works.
What Streamers Told Us
I don’t know what my Beans are worth in real money.
Shroud OP
It takes a full week before I can transfer my payout.
Booaster
I have 5,000 Beans in my wallet but I don’t know what that’s worth in real money.
S8ulMortal
I have no idea which of my streams made me money.
Dr Disrespect
The conversion rate from beans to local currency isn’t clear.
Ninja
I’m not sure whether the earnings are coming from subscriptions or stickers.
Sora
What we learned by studying Twitch, YouTube & Kick.
Monetization Model
Payout Schedule
Payout Gateways
Minimum Payout
Sub-Only Features
User Frictions
Payouts in USD equivalent, localized pricing for viewers.
Monthly (Net-15/Net-30). Minimum threshold $50 – $100.
PayPal / ACH / Wire / Regional bank transfers.
$50 (min ACH) / $100 (wire).
Sub-only chat, streams, videos
Delayed global payouts, tier complexity, fee leakage.
Paid in USD or local currency via AdSense.
Monthly, between 21st–26th after threshold ($100).
AdSense direct bank transfers / wire.
$100 (AdSense standard).
Members-only videos, live chats, streams
High threshold, slow cross-border settlements, opaque tax deduction display.
USD primary currency (some localized conversions).
Weekly payouts (some immediate access for top creators).
Bank transfer / PayPal (region-dependent).
Small balances roll over weekly.
No sub-only streams yet
Limited reporting/analytics, smaller geographic coverage.
What We Borrowed
No one really knew how much their Beans were worth until payout time.
Streamers were paid in Beans, a made-up currency that didn’t have a clear value.
Payouts took 5–7 days, especially for streamers outside India.
The old wallet had no proper history users couldn’t track where money came from.
Support tickets were the only way to find out payout status.
The system was confusing and created trust issues.
We didn’t compete with them
we completed what they left out.
What We Did Differently
We added real-time wallet value in USDT + USD with transparent fee breakdowns.
We built exportable CSV payout history directly in dashboard.
We added earnings-by-stream visibility and “live payout tracker.”
We enabled instant withdrawals through custodial wallets + blockchain settlements.
We made payout status live: “Success / Pending / Failed” with auto-refresh.
We use stablecoin rails (USDT) with real USD peg and zero FX risk.
Make stablecoin earnings feel familiar
Problem
USDT terminology and wallet mechanics could make the new system feel more complex than Beans.
Decision
Display the balance using three layers:
Primary USDT balance
USD equivalent
Estimated local-currency equivalent
Pair the amount with short explanations rather than leading with blockchain terminology.
Impact
Creators could understand the wallet without performing conversion calculations or having previous Web3 knowledge.
Offer payout flexibility without creating choice overload
Problem
Some creators wanted local bank withdrawals, while crypto-native users wanted to send USDT to an external wallet.
Decision
Introduce subscriptions contextually when users encounter exclusive experiences
Bank transfer
Familiar for most creators
Requires supported bank details
Includes estimated settlement context
Crypto wallet
Requires network and address selection
Includes address confirmation
Warns that an incorrect network or address may be irreversible
Impact
Creators could choose based on familiarity, while the product progressively revealed only the details required for that route.
Make trust visible through verification and status
Problem
KYC, provider processing and blockchain confirmation could create periods where the creator did not know what was happening.
Decision
Build a clear state system covering:
Verification required
Verification pending
Verification failed
Withdrawal initiated
Processing
Completed
Failed
Provider unavailable
Address or network error
Every state should answer:
What happened?
Is my money safe?
What should I do next?
Impact
Instead of relying on support to understand payout progress, creators received contextual status and recovery actions inside the wallet.
