SoFi Member Rewards

Driving 60% pilot adoption with a behavioral rewards system

ROLE

Senior Product Designer

SCOPE

Product design for member rewards program—research synthesis, experience strategy, and UI design across iOS and Android.

TEAM

Staff Product Designer
User Researcher
Engineering

Reframing the problem

Rewards programs in FinTech are commoditized. SoFi couldn't differentiate on economics alone—our 1% cashback was competitive but not category-leading.
User research revealed a critical insight: the program appealed most to students and people just starting their financial journey—not Points Optimizers chasing maximum returns. These users welcomed rewards for improving their financial lives, not just spending.
The work shifted from competing on points value to designing the moment of earning to feel rewarding.

Strategic Tenets

Based on research findings and business requirements, we established four operating principles

01

Simple and Easy

Members shouldn't jump through hoops to earn or understand the system.

02

Flexible

Redemption adapts to which SoFi products the member has.

03

Memorable

Everyday rewards interlaced with personalized offers keep the card top of mind.

04

Ecosystem Adoption

The more you use SoFi products, the more you get rewarded.

Research Foundation

18 one-hour remote video interviews: 13 members across 6 customer segments and 5 prospects. Research validated appeal of behavioral-based rewards and shaped earning frequency decisions.

"It's an interesting idea and kind of the opposite of most rewards programs that favor people who are already doing well."

"In most programs that I'm familiar with, you get points based on spending, whereas with this there are a number of places where you don't have to spend to earn points."

"I think the gamified version encourages more frequent engagement with the app."

Key finding: Users wanted ongoing earning opportunities, not just one-time triggers. A 100-point award for paying off a loan felt "insulting"—they suggested smaller rewards to mark progress toward payoff.

Points Dashboard & Redemption

The dashboard serves as the central hub, accessible from Home and Credit Card surfaces. Points visibility across multiple touchpoints reinforces the ecosystem.

01

Dashboard

Auto-redeem fields only appear after toggle is enabled—reducing cognitive load for users wanting manual control.

02

Redemption

Pilot data showed users wait to amass points then deplete 95% of balance. Auto-redeem full balance aligns with revealed behavior.

03

Ecosystem

Points badge on Home, alongside available credit on Credit Card L1, within credit score tracking

Role & Scope

STRATEGY

Defined product strategy and design principles

Presented systems thinking to leadership

EXECUTION

Led end-to-end design for survey

Art-directed illustration work

Owned direction, flows, and key screens

Built prototypes and co-ran user testing

LEADERSHIP

Mentored a product designer

Reviewed systems diagrams

Aligned scope with Engineering