Verse App (part of CashApp)

Enhancing VerseCard Rewards for user engagement and retention

⎯   Turning a feature into a habit

Verse had successfully launched the VerseCard, but something was off—engagement didn’t follow. Because the card worked independently of the app, many users activated it once and never came back. It became a tool for occasional social gatherings, mirroring Verse’s core P2P use case, but it lacked the pull to become part of users' everyday spending habits.

I took the lead in reframing the challenge and designing a value-driven experience that not only re-engaged users but also supported the business in driving long-term retention and transaction growth.

Key Results

+20%

increase in retention among users engaging with rewards.

34.5%

of transacting VerseCard users made a transaction in the offered programs.

higher

VerseCard transaction volume, driven by rewards incentives.

⎯   MVP launch: Establishing the value

We validated that users were motivated by cashback incentives by launching a simple rewards MVP tied to high-traffic merchants — resulting in 34.5% of transacting users engaging with the offers at launch.

⎯   Iteration 1: Making rewards easy to find

We improved offer visibility through a dedicated Rewards section and smart notifications, leading to a +20% uplift in retention among users who engaged with the feature.

⎯   Iteration 2: Building habits and driving repeat use

We introduced categorized rewards and time-limited promotions to encourage repeat usage, boosting app engagement and helping position VerseCard as a go-to payment method.

DISCOVER OPPORTUNITIES 

User feedback revealed a key gap: while cashback campaigns boosted engagement, they also increased support requests tied to subscriptions. We responded by exploring a feature to give users control over recurring payments, reducing friction and reinforcing trust.

What I've learned

Rewarding behavior

To create lasting impact, I had to go beyond one-time perks and design for habit formation. Encouraging repeat engagement through visibility, timing, and relevance.

Friction

Support tickets surfaced what metrics alone couldn’t: a lack of control over subscriptions. That friction became a path to explore new value and reduce churn.

User insight everywhere

Whether through surveys, usage data, or post-launch feedback, staying close to users throughout the lifecycle helped uncover the “why” behind behavior and drive better design decisions.

If you reach this far,
maybe you're interested in saying hi.