Groceries in the Freedom super app: integrated in a month
from the start of design to release
cashback on Platinum: Arbuz’s base cashback plus the tier cashback
the whole purchase journey inside the super app
Context. Freedom bought Arbuz and decided to build it right into the super app.
Arbuz is a grocery delivery service with its own app. The task wasn’t to move it over as is, but to take the best of it and combine it with what the bank can do.
What we built. The whole purchase journey inside the super app — with payment in a couple of taps and cashback.
Catalog → cart → payment → delivery → order tracking. From the bank side, we added what Arbuz didn’t have:
- Quick payment. No need to enter a card — just pick your Freedom card. You can also pay with Freedom Currency.
- Up to 25% cashback. Arbuz has its own base cashback for orders in the super app, and the loyalty tier cashback is added on top. On Platinum it adds up to 25%. The payment screen shows how much you’ll get back. In the first version, cashback looked like a discount; later it was shown as a “price with cashback”.
If an item is out of stock, we don’t decide for the customer: they choose whether to replace it or remove it.
A common situation in grocery delivery: someone places an order, and an item runs out at the warehouse. Customers choose in advance what to do in that case.
Review. Before launch, I tested the build and found places where the interface undermined trust.
- The price of items sold by weight was misleading. A watermelon showed 350 ₸ on the product page and 2,450 ₸ in the cart: the price was per kilogram.
- The counter didn’t say what it was counting. “7” next to the watermelon read as 7 pieces, not 7 kg.
- Sold-out items sat at the top of the list, even though you couldn’t buy them.
- The payment screen had no “Back” button. The only way back was a swipe.
Leadership. I met the Arbuz team for the first time at kickoff and had to lead them right away.
I had to quickly understand someone else’s product, agree on what we keep and what we change, and give feedback in a way that kept the team moving instead of redoing work.
Result. The service launched in a month, and every review finding was fixed before release.
- Launched in a month — from the start of design to release.
- Every issue from the review was fixed before release, including the price of items sold by weight.
- Groceries became part of the Freedom ecosystem: purchases earn up to 25% cashback.
What I learned. Leading another company’s team means giving direction, not designing for them.
And making decisions fast so the project never stalls.