Registration: turning demo traders into live investors

Anyone can try Valbury on a free demo account in a minute. But to trade with real money, they need a live account, and opening one meant a long form, a camera and a stack of agreements. Too many people stopped there. We redesigned that step. The new flow keeps every check a regulated account needs, but gives people a reason to start, one clear progress bar and guided photos.

As part of the product team, I:

• Did the competitor research: captured the sign-up flows of seven investing and crypto apps, screen by screen, to see how they get people through verification.
• Turned it into ideas: a clear progress indicator, a short checklist of what's left, and rewards for finishing.
• Designed with the team: helped redesign the whole upgrade, from the card on the demo home to the account status page.
• Stayed on it from start to finish: from the first research to the final screens.

Here's how the story unfolds ▼

Valbury Asia Futures runs a trading app for futures and forex traders in Indonesia, and in late 2025 it was adding US stocks and crypto. New users sign up with their phone number, name and email, set a PIN, and land on a demo account with practice money.

A live account is different: it's regulated, so Valbury has to verify who you are, what you do and how much risk you can take before you deposit a single rupiah. On the demo home, a card invited people to start.

The same happened to us. Too many demo users who tapped the card never finished. That step matters more than any other: without a live account nobody can add money, and without deposits the business earns nothing. Here's what they faced in the live app: an intro promising four stages of about two minutes each, then 16 steps and 12 documents.

• The invitation says little about what you get→no reason to push through 16 steps→people put it off
• The step counter restarts every stage→5 steps, then 8, then 3→no idea how much is left
• Three photos on one screen, with no examples→people guess what a good photo is→some get it wrong

I did the competitor research. I picked seven investing and crypto apps, local and global, and captured every screen of their sign-up flow, from the first screen to “account under review”. For each I noted the order of the steps, what they ask for and when, and how they show progress.

1. 7

   apps' sign-up flows captured

   →

2. Every screen

   from welcome to account review

   →

3. 3

   things compared: order, asks, progress

   →

4. 3

   ideas for our flow

Nearly every app asks for an ID photo and a selfie: verification can't be skipped, only made easier to finish. So my recommendations were about the journey, not about removing steps:

1. 01

   Show a clear progress indicator.

   People finish what they can see the end of. Show every step, and where they are.

2. 02

   Make it a three-step checklist.

   Demo account ✓ → ID verification → bank linking → start investing. The first box is already ticked.

3. 03

   Reward finishing.

   A small welcome bonus (e.g. Rp 20K credit or a free stock or crypto trial), or lower fees for verified users.

The business wanted more demo users to become funded live accounts: that's where deposits, trading volume and revenue begin. Users wanted to know what they get for the effort, how much is left, and how to get each step right the first time. Three kinds of people reach the upgrade card:

We designed the new flow as a team. It follows the three rules above, and two of my recommendations are in it: rewards up front (the upgrade page leads with lower trading fees and bigger loyalty points) and one clear progress indicator. It also ends better: your account shows as Pending, and you can update your details later.

We couldn't drop the checks a regulated account needs, so we changed what surrounds them. Side by side, problem by problem:

The redesign launched in the Valbury app. I framed its success as a funnel, from demo user to funded account, so each stage shows whether one part of the redesign is doing its job:

1. Demo

   users who see the upgrade card

   →

2. Start

   tap Upgrade after the benefits page

   →

3. Submit

   complete every step

   →

4. Deposit

   fund the new live account

1. 01

   You can't delete compliance, but you can design around it.

   The checks stayed. What changed was why you'd start, how easy each step is to pass, and what you see at the end.

2. 02

   Set honest expectations.

   The old flow promised two minutes per stage, then asked for 16 steps. A flow that's upfront about its length loses fewer people halfway.

3. 03

   Next time, test the rewards.

   I'd test a small welcome bonus against lower fees, to see which gets more people to the finish.

Thanks to Valbury's Sr. UI/UX Designer, Lead Product Manager and VP of Product.