Branch

Sending money home from Canada usually means one of two things. A bank wire that takes days and hides its cost in the exchange rate, or an app that looks fast until you check what actually arrived.

Branch is a money app for people with family in two places. You can send to 14 countries and receive in 6, and the number that matters most is the one your family gets. So that number sits at the centre of every send screen.

Branch began as a brand I designed in 2022, from the name down to the logo, two arrows built from greater-than and less-than signs. The word that kept coming up in research was borderless, and it shaped the product as much as the brand.

Coming back to it, I designed the product the brand had promised. Every screen had to show money moving between places in a way a first-time sender could trust.

The send screen asks one question, how much, and answers two. As you type in dollars, the amount your family gets in naira updates underneath. The rate is locked while you decide, and the fee and arrival time sit on the same screen before you confirm.

I kept the keypad on screen the whole time. People change their minds about amounts, and nothing should jump around while they do.

Once money leaves, the question changes to where it is now. The transfer screen shows each step as it happens, sent from your wallet, converted at the rate you saw, and paid into the account, with a time beside each one.

The estimate is honest. If a step takes longer, the screen says so before anyone has to ask support.

Most Branch users hold money in more than one currency. The balance at the top of home switches between them with a tap, and every amount on the screen follows. Nobody has to do the conversion in their head.

For most people the transfer isn’t done until the person on the other end knows it’s coming. The receipt shares straight to WhatsApp, Messages or email with the amount, rate and reference already on it.