Removing credit card icons from Checkout

Removing credit card label icons from the payment screen had no negative impact.

What we tested

When donors select the credit card payment option in Checkout, they see icons with credit card brand labels displayed on screen. We wanted to free up space in the Checkout interface to make room for more functional elements — but first, we needed to make sure removing these icons wouldn't negatively affect donor behavior.

To find out, we ran a test comparing the standard Checkout experience (with card icons) to a version without them on desktop and mobile.

Hypothesis

If we remove credit card label icons from the Checkout payment screen, conversion from the credit card payment step to donation will not decrease by more than 0.8%, because the icons are decorative and unlikely to influence a donor's decision to complete their gift.

Test setup

Duration	52 days
Timing	August–October 2023
Audience	~244,700 visitors who selected the credit card payment option in Checkout
Group split	• 50% control (credit card icons shown) • 50% test (credit card icons hidden)
Key metrics	• Donation conversion rate (% of visitors who completed a donation from the credit card screen) • Recurring donation conversion rate • Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) • Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU) • Fee coverage rate (% of donors who opted to cover transaction costs)

Key results

No statistically significant decline was observed in any primary metric.

ARPU and ARPPU held steady across all segments — no meaningful difference detected
Fee coverage rate remained stable across all operating systems and device types
+3.39% increase in recurring conversion overall

All primary performance metrics either held steady or trended positively, confirming that removing the icons does not harm the donor experience.

Segment insights

By OS

Results were consistent across devices.

+1.60% lift in donation conversion on Android
Windows, iOS, and Mac OS showed no meaningful change in either direction

All key metrics passed the threshold for statistical significance (p-value < 0.05), confirming that these results are reliable.

Conclusion

The hypothesis was confirmed. Removing credit card icons from the Checkout payment screen does not reduce conversion, ARPU, or fee coverage in any meaningful way.

We're rolling out this change. The freed-up space in Checkout will be used for more functional improvements.

What this means for you

Not every change in Checkout is visible — and that's intentional. Fundraise Up continuously tests UI (user interface) elements, large and small, to make sure every pixel in your donation flow is earning its place.

This test is a good example of how we work: we don't remove or change anything until we've confirmed it's safe to do so. When results are mixed or unclear, we investigate further before making a decision. When the data is clean, we act.

Your Checkout is always being refined based on what actually works — so you can focus on your mission, not on optimization.

→ Explore how Checkout optimizations can improve your fundraising results