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Remitly Loyalty & Rewards

Rewards that turn a one-time transfer into a trusted habit.

Growth is in high demand at Remitly. I designed rewards and retention experiences that make the product stickier by building future value into everyday engagement.

As a Product Designer on the Growth team, I partnered with PMs, data analysts, and engineers to take retention-focused experiences from concept to launch.

Timeline

Nov 2024 – Jan 2025

Team

Designer, PM, engineers

Role

UX, visual, research, design system, testing

Impact

The launch lifted engagement and conversion, directly driving $29M in revenue.

↑78%

Customer engagement across invitation and earned modals, the rewards card, and calculator banner views

↑65%

Of the 39,000 customers in the A/B test qualified for rewards across multiple corridors

$29M

27,283 customers sent over $1,000 in their first month after launch and qualified for rewards

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The problem

Over 60% of users didn't return after their first transaction.

Engagement fell 60% in the three months after a user's first transfer.

Many switched to competitors for later transfers.

Without a meaningful reason to come back, Remitly had become a one-time tool instead of a trusted habit.

Competitor analysis

Competitors with loyalty programs retain 20% more users.

User research led us to three key insights

  1. 1Customers making planned, non-urgent transfers care more about price than speed or delivery options.
  2. 2Customers focus on their current transfer, not the special offer. Even when curious, they need frequent reminders.
  3. 3Although the special offer applies next month, the feeling of achievement happens in the month they qualify.

Final design

A design sprint from subtle prompts to prominent interventions.

It uncovered major untapped potential in designing for trust on Remitly's platform.

Home banner → drawer → rewards widgets → send flow

  1. 1A social card on the home screen, with a drawer that pops up automatically.
  2. 2A progress bar that keeps tracking how much customers have sent.
  3. 3A special exchange rate banner in the send flow that keeps customers reminded.

Design components contribution

Progress cards that celebrate every step.

The progress card helps customers track how much they've sent, see how close they are to earning rewards, and celebrate their progress along the way.

Exploration 2, with the Design Systems team

  1. 1Customers can easily see their send amount in the loyalty program.
  2. 2Aligns with the design system.
  3. 3Customers view progress at a glance and quickly send again to earn more.
I partnered with Design Systems to introduce a new, scalable tracking bar component and helped build it.

Rewards tracker, final version

A new component, scalable across all platforms.

Why this version

  1. 1Aligns with home design patterns.
  2. 2Saves engineering effort and helped us hit the launch deadline.

Final design

  1. 1Surfaces rewards progress on Home to boost engagement and catch customers' attention.
  2. 2Saves space for transfer history.

Impact on the design system

  1. 1Update hierarchy: aligned the merchandising banner in the send flow with the Home offer.
  2. 2Exchange rate component: moved it to grey for a calmer, more neutral interaction.
  3. 3Ensure consistency: added an icon and refined colors to match the commercial card offer.

Next steps

Keep motivating customers to earn more rewards.