A case study on how Travelsim Asia rebuilt their eSIM backend by removing user accounts entirely, resulting in a faster, simpler experience that converts better for travelers.
When most companies talk about rebuilding their backend systems, they focus on what new features they're adding. But at ySolves, we've learned that sometimes the most impactful changes come from asking a different question entirely: what can we remove?
The Problem With Travel SIMs
Anyone who's traveled internationally knows the pain points. You're either stuck in airport SIM card queues, facing surprise roaming charges, or downloading yet another app you'll use for two weeks and never open again. The traditional travel SIM experience is riddled with friction.
For Travelsim Asia, a travel eSIM product, the existing system technically worked—but it was clunky. Users had to create accounts, go through onboarding flows, manage notifications they didn't want, and navigate multiple screens just to get connected. For a product designed for single-trip use, this was massive overhead.
The Bold Decision: Remove User Accounts Entirely
The breakthrough came when we asked: what if we just removed user accounts completely?
No logins. No passwords. No "sign in to continue" screens. Instead, after purchase, customers receive a secure access link directly in their email inbox. That link becomes their entire interface—they can check usage, manage their plan, and top up if needed. Everything lives in that one email.
It sounds almost too simple, but that was precisely the point. Email is infrastructure travelers already have and trust. Their inbox travels with them. We don't need to compete with that.
The Result: A Streamlined Flow
The new experience became beautifully simple:
- Buy online
- Instant delivery to email
- Tap to install eSIM
- Connected to the internet
The entire process eliminates the need to download anything, set up accounts, or remember credentials. For a traveler landing in a new country, this reduction in friction is transformative.
What We Learned About Software Design
This project reinforced several principles we'd suspected but hadn't fully embraced:
Most software is overbuilt. Not because developers are careless, but because adding features feels productive while removing them feels risky. The default response to a problem is often to add another layer—another screen, another step, another confirmation dialog.
Friction kills conversion. Especially for immediate needs like travel internet. If someone's landing in Bangkok and just needs to get online, every extra tap is a reason to give up and look for alternatives.
Simplicity is easier to maintain. By cutting the account system entirely, we eliminated an entire surface area of complexity: password resets, session management, login flows, security concerns around stored credentials. Less to break, less to support, less to iterate around.
The Question That Changes Everything
Now, before scoping any project, we ask: what can disappear entirely? Not which tools to use, not which features to build—but which steps could just not exist?
This is a harder question than it sounds. Removal requires more confidence than addition. It means making deliberate choices about what not to build. But when it works, it really works.
The Results Speak For Themselves
The Travelsim Asia rebuild demonstrates that subtraction can be the most powerful form of addition. By removing complexity rather than adding features, we created a system that's faster, more reliable, and more user-friendly.
If you're working on something that's gotten more complicated than it should be, maybe it's time to ask the subtraction question. Sometimes the best feature is the one you don't build.
See the results in action: travelsimasia.com
And if you're looking to simplify your own systems: ysolves.com
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