Wisely Rewards
Purpose
To help users save money and shop smarter by providing various opportunities to make extra cash by using their Wisely debit card.
What is Wisely? Wisely is a bank alternative with an accompanying card and app that allows users to get paid early and save toward their goals.
The Problem
How do we present a rewards program for users so that they understand the various opportunities Wisely provides in earning extra cash while they spend and use their card?
BACKGROUND
In order to increase engagement and card usage in a competitive card landscape, decisions were made to integrate two different cash back programs to the Wisely card. Prior to this addition, the card had already implemented a promotional sweepstakes program which offered users a chance to win cash. Additionally, an incentives program was on the roadmap to provide yet another opportunity to earn bonus money by referring friends and using the card in a particular way.
Cash Back on eGift Cards [Integrated Wisely experience]
I had previously designed an experience for an active cash back program where users could earn up to 10% cash back on eGift card purchases. Because we didn’t have any internal research on rewards behavior (we were implementing this feature mostly based on an evaluation of our market segment rather than user feedback), I started with insights provided by the company with whom we were integrating to shed some light on users behavior as I evaluated how best to create an experience around the feature’s core functionality.
Cash Back on Purchases [SDK]
In the midst of creating the egift card program, I was advised of a second cash back integration that was coming to Wisely. This integration would be implemented as an SDK; thus, I had little control over the experience. This new program would be a more passive program that users would simply have to opt into. The cash back could automatically accrue for certain purchases whether they were aware of a deal or not.
Research
With two similar programs coming to Wisely, I was concerned with how to organize the touch points of these features and whether or not there would be any confusion with two cash back programs. Thus, we recruited some of our users for usability testing (to validate the gift card experience) and to delve into users’ mental models around rewards/benefits programs, generally.
HYPOTHESIS
Users view various rewards/benefits programs without much distinction; they would consider various opportunities for rewards as one category.
USER FEEDBACK
Having conducted six interview and usability sessions, we got validation from these sample of users that they tended to perceive the cash back rewards and other benefits programs to be the same. When we referred to rewards programs, users mentioned several different types of programs they had had experiences with. Most had some degree of awareness of such offerings. Thus, we found that it would make most sense to organize the existing and upcoming rewards programs or any other programs that could be added to the Wisely portfolio under a general rewards area.
Because we were looking to launch multiple rewards programs in a relatively short amount of time, it was only in scope to focus on how best to architect the launch points of the various programs. The feedback suggested that we could explore ways in which to surface data on users’ progress with these programs to increase engagement.
Next Steps
- Beyond a Menu Enhance the Wisely Rewards experience by exploring ways to provide users useful data on the main Wisely Rewards screen. Explore how we may increase engagement by surfacing the right reward summary data and cash earning opportunities.
- Research Adoption Rate While usage of the cash back features has been high for the users who opt in, the overall adoption rate has been low. Thus, explore the reasons for the current adoption rate and uncover ways to increase adoption.