Overview

Earned Wage Access (EWA) lets employees access a portion of their earned wages at any time of the month before payday. At PaidHR, I led the lifecycle marketing effort to move users from activation to first withdrawal, then from first withdrawal to a repeat habit. I built the journeys on SendGrid and Customer.io for more sophisticated journey logic, and used Mixpanel and Looker Studio to track activity and see where users dropped off.

The Challenge

A company admin switches EWA on, so many employees were activated without knowing it, or without knowing how to start. Two problems followed:

• Activation without first use. Employees had access but never set a PIN or made a withdrawal.
• One-off usage. Those who did withdraw didn’t come back regularly.

The Objectives

• Increase the rate at which users go from onboarding to first withdrawal.
• Increase recurring withdrawals among existing users.

The Solution

1. An onboarding journey, from signup to first withdrawal

I mapped the path a user follows and built a triggered email sequence around each step.

2. A weekly nudge series for recurring use

For existing users, I created a weekly email series built on real-life money scenarios, the moments when an early withdrawal solves a real problem: fuel for the weekend movement, cash for grocery shopping, or extra cash for a friend’s birthday gift. The aim was to show users when EWA is useful, not just that it exists.

Every Friday, users also received the “Cha-ching” email, a personal summary of what they had accrued in earnings that week and how much was available to withdraw. Where the scenario emails explained when EWA helps, Cha-ching showed each user their own number. Landing on a Friday put it in front of people as the weekend began, when spending needs tend to rise. It also turned the weekly email into a habit users could expect, tied to money they had already earned.

3. A cutoff date email that creates urgency

Each company has a cutoff date, the last day to withdraw before payroll processing begins. It typically falls a week before payday. The “cutoff date” email told employees exactly how long they had. The deadline created fear of missing out and gave users a reason to act now rather than later.

4. Moving to Customer.io

The journeys started on SendGrid. I migrated them to Customer.io because it gave a cleaner view of the user journey and let me build branches with different triggers based on what each user had done. A user who had already set their PIN no longer received the PIN reminder, and each person’s next message depended on their stage. That made the sequence feel relevant rather than like a blast.

5. Measurement and iteration

I tracked user activity and drop-off at every step with Mixpanel and reported on the funnel in Looker Studio. That showed where users stalled between activation, PIN set-up and first withdrawal, and where to adjust timing and messaging.

6. Exploring SMS

I also explored SMS as an additional channel using Termii, to reach blue-collar users or users who weren’t opening emails. I deployed in-app push notifications through Firebase Console for users on our mobile apps. Used together, a user who missed a message in one place had another chance to see it in another.

Results

• 60% increase in the onboarding-to-first-usage rate
• 45% increase in withdrawals after the cutoff date email was introduced

Key Learnings

• Sequence beats a single announcement. Welcome, PIN, then “ready to withdraw” each removed one barrier, so users weren’t asked to do everything at once.
• Timing matters as much as copy. Prompting the PIN at 24 hours and the withdrawal within three days kept the message close to activation, when intent is highest.
• Branching makes journeys personal. Triggers based on user behaviour kept messages relevant and reduced sending the same emails to everyone. Each person got a nudge based on where they were in the journey.
• Scenarios make a financial product feel relevant. People connect more to products that solve problems in their personal lives. Real-life examples gave users a reason to withdraw beyond “you can.”
• Built-in deadlines drive action. The cutoff date was a natural trigger that needed no discount or incentive but proved very effective. Our highest withdrawal amounts were usually made after the cutoff email.
• Funnel data tells you what to fix. Tracking drop-off at each step showed which email or screen was losing people, so we could go in and fix it quickly.

My Role

I owned the lifecycle strategy end to end: mapping the user path, defining triggers and timing, writing the email content, building the journeys in SendGrid and Customer.io, setting up tracking and dashboards, and sending SMS.

Tools

SendGrid, Customer.io, Mixpanel, Looker Studio, Termii, Firebase Console

Overview

From December 10, 2024 to January 31, 2025, PaidHR ran Christmas Village, a virtual shopping gateway inside the PaidHR wallet. Users unlocked discounted essentials from vendors by making an Earned Wage Access (EWA) withdrawal or using their wallet for transfers and bill payments.

The Challenge

Employees had access to EWA and the wallet, but access wasn’t turning into usage. Two problems stood in the way:

• Features without a reason to try them. Many users knew the wallet existed but had no pressing reason to make a first transaction.
• Peak season, peak pressure. December and January are when money is tightest and spending intent is highest, which made them the best moment to build a habit, and a costly one to miss.

The Objectives

• Drive adoption of EWA withdrawals, wallet transactions and bill payments.
• Give users real value through discounted essentials.
• Lift EWA volume beyond the projected Christmas and January numbers.

The Solution

1. A marketplace you unlock by using the product

Christmas Village began as a gated, in-app marketplace. To enter, users had to complete at least one qualifying action: an EWA withdrawal, or a wallet transfer or bill payment. Once they did, they got immediate access to browse and shop. The reward sat directly behind the behaviour we wanted to build.

We launched with a strict gate: users had to complete all three actions (an EWA withdrawal, a wallet transfer and a bill payment) to get in. Four days in, I reviewed user behaviour and drop-offs and saw that the bar was too high. Many users started the journey but stopped before finishing all three actions, so they never reached the marketplace.

We lowered the barrier from all three actions to at least one. The gate still tied entry to a real product action, but a single transaction was now enough. That kept the incentive to try the product while removing the step where users were giving up.

2. Discounts on what people actually need

Inside, vendors offered deals across food, gadgets, travel, fitness and gifting. The mix covered both everyday essentials and festive spending, so there was something for most users.

3. A simple experience on web and mobile

The marketplace lived inside PaidHR’s web and mobile apps. I kept the interface simple, with intuitive navigation, attractive visuals and large banners for visibility, so users could go from unlocking to shopping without friction.

4. A multi-channel launch and sustain plan

Results

Engagement

• 655 total visits
• 533 unique users
• 138 successful seller contacts, about 26% of unique users

Product growth (EWA withdrawal volume)

Christmas Village also drove EWA volume beyond the projected Christmas and January numbers, and withdrawals and participation rose significantly during the event.

Key Learnings

• Tying entry to a product action works. The reward was linked directly to the behaviour PaidHR wanted, so EWA volume moved with it.
• Seasonal intent lowers the cost of adoption. Discounts on essentials gave users a reason to act when they were already ready to spend.
• Most visitors never reached a seller. About three in four unique users didn’t make contact. With 655 visits from 533 users, most people came once, so friction in the flow likely cost conversions.

What’s Next

• Simplify the journey: fewer screens and touchpoints to reduce drop-offs.
• Plan earlier: start six months before launch to bring in more vendors and give stakeholders time to test.
• Improve measurement: add tracking tags inside the feature for better reporting.