Increasing deposits at tax year end
An exploration into different methods to encourage varying audiences to save £1.3 billion for their financial future
Moneybox • Fintech
Problem
Maximise end-of-tax-year deposits by helping customers take full advantage of their tax allowances and bonuses. This supports their financial goals and boosts Moneybox's net deposits on platform during this critical period in the tax year.
Solution
Designed a hero module on the home screen to show customers how much time and money they have left to save, using the scarcity principle to encourage deposits.
Conducted experiments with alternative, more gentle encouragement techniques to help off-track customers boost their savings.
Project challenges
Tactical
Short timeframe
Continuous learning
Results
AuA brought into the platform
conversion of customers viewing the module and depositing
Cross sells into new savings or investing accounts
Context & Audience
Our problem: Increase the number of 'on track' customers to max out their savings
Moneybox helps millions of UK customers save towards their future. Their Lifetime ISA is designed to help first-time buyers save £4k each year for their house deposit, earning them a 25% government bonus. One of our strategic goals was to increase the amount of 'on track' users to maxing out their £4k allowances.
Why did we focus on 'on-track' home-buying customers?
Our 'on track' customers on average are 30 years old, with an average of £800 saved so far in the tax year, leaving most with a large distance to go in order to max out by tax year end. They need encouragement that they're heading in the right direction with their savings. Informed by our UX Research team's personas and data from Insights, we felt this subset of our audience provided the most potential to deposit as:
They had the largest unrealised deposit amount of £262 million
They were our most engaged customers, logging in 7x a month
They saved with a mix of one-off payments and weekly or monthly deposits
Why did we tackle this project for the end of tax year period?
The lead up to tax year end is a critical period for Moneybox's success. It is when most users deposit money to make the most of their £20k tax-free ISA allowance before it resets for the new tax year in April. Therefore, during the months of January to April, we need to lead with our best tactics to encourage as many deposits as possible.
Context & Audience
Our problem: Increase the number of 'on track' customers to max out their savings
Moneybox helps millions of UK customers save towards their future. Their Lifetime ISA is designed to help first-time buyers save £4k each year for their house deposit, earning them a 25% government bonus. One of our strategic goals was to increase the amount of 'on track' users to maxing out their £4k allowances.
Why did we focus on 'on-track' home-buying customers?
Our 'on track' customers on average are 30 years old, with an average of £800 saved so far in the tax year, leaving most with a large distance to go in order to max out by tax year end. They need encouragement that they're heading in the right direction with their savings. Informed by our UX Research team's personas and data from Insights, we felt this subset of our audience provided the most potential to deposit as:
They had the largest unrealised deposit amount of £262 million
They were our most engaged customers, logging in 7x a month
They saved with a mix of one-off payments and weekly or monthly deposits
Why did we tackle this project for the end of tax year period?
The lead up to tax year end is a critical period for Moneybox's success. It is when most users deposit money to make the most of their £20k tax-free ISA allowance before it resets for the new tax year in April. Therefore, during the months of January to April, we need to lead with our best tactics to encourage as many deposits as possible.
Context & Audience
Our problem: Increase the number of 'on track' customers to max out their savings
Moneybox helps millions of UK customers save towards their future. Their Lifetime ISA is designed to help first-time buyers save £4k each year for their house deposit, earning them a 25% government bonus. One of our strategic goals was to increase the amount of 'on track' users to maxing out their £4k allowances.
Why did we focus on 'on-track' home-buying customers?
Our 'on track' customers on average are 30 years old, with an average of £800 saved so far in the tax year, leaving most with a large distance to go in order to max out by tax year end. They need encouragement that they're heading in the right direction with their savings. Informed by our UX Research team's personas and data from Insights, we felt this subset of our audience provided the most potential to deposit as:
They had the largest unrealised deposit amount of £262 million
They were our most engaged customers, logging in 7x a month
They saved with a mix of one-off payments and weekly or monthly deposits
Why did we tackle this project for the end of tax year period?
The lead up to tax year end is a critical period for Moneybox's success. It is when most users deposit money to make the most of their £20k tax-free ISA allowance before it resets for the new tax year in April. Therefore, during the months of January to April, we need to lead with our best tactics to encourage as many deposits as possible.
Initial solution
Highlighting how much time and money there is left to save resulted in £415k average daily deposits
By prominently showing the number of weeks left to save, we created a clear and motivational nudge for users. This strategy encouraged them to make timely deposits, keeping them on pace to meet their savings targets.
The introduction of a donut chart visually represented the remaining savings gap, serving as a powerful motivator. This design leveraged the goal gradient effect, as customers accelerated their deposit efforts the closer they got to maxing out.
Results
In the first two weeks, we saw…
19% of all deposits came from the widget
£6.8m in Instant Bank Transfers - average deposit of £1,237 per user
£51 saved per seen, 132k views
Discovery
How could we get 'on-track' customers to save more during a cost-of-living crisis?
I utilised the wealth of customer insights we had gathered from a recent research project on early stage home-buyer with Moneybox, informed by a series of moderated interviews for a concept test. We had found that customers:
Wanted visibility and encouragement towards their savings progress
Users wanted to be rewarded for their good savings habits by seeing their progress visually, to make them feel better about what they've achieved
Chipped away goals with spare cash at the end of the month
On-track users were fairly focused on their savings goals - highlighted by putting away leftover money in their LISAs when possible for a sense of progress
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Competitive research and UX psychology
Digging into the psychology of encouragement and habits
If customers wanted to chip away at their home-buying goal, and needed a bit of encouragement along the way, one of the first things we did was to see how other apps encourage their customers to do something difficult and encourage them to do so. I looked at a range of habit trackers, meditation, fitness and finance apps to assess different techniques we could explore later.
We found that users are more likely to act on their savings goals when they can visualise their progress and feel a sense of control over it.
We found that users are more likely to act on their savings goals when they can visualise their progress and feel a sense of control over it.
Discovery
How could we get 'on-track' customers to save more during a cost-of-living crisis?
I utilised the wealth of customer insights we had gathered from a recent research project on early stage home-buyer with Moneybox, informed by a series of moderated interviews for a concept test. We had found that customers:
Wanted visibility and encouragement towards their savings progress
Users wanted to be rewarded for their good savings habits by seeing their progress visually, to make them feel better about what they've achieved
Chipped away goals with spare cash at the end of the month
On-track users were fairly focused on their savings goals - highlighted by putting away leftover money in their LISAs when possible for a sense of progress
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Competitive research and UX psychology
Digging into the psychology of encouragement and habits
If customers wanted to chip away at their home-buying goal, and needed a bit of encouragement along the way, one of the first things we did was to see how other apps encourage their customers to do something difficult and encourage them to do so. I looked at a range of habit trackers, meditation, fitness and finance apps to assess different techniques we could explore later.
We found that users are more likely to act on their savings goals when they can visualise their progress and feel a sense of control over it.
Discovery
How could we get 'on-track' customers to save more during a cost-of-living crisis?
I utilised the wealth of customer insights we had gathered from a recent research project on early stage home-buyer with Moneybox, informed by a series of moderated interviews for a concept test. We had found that customers:
Wanted visibility and encouragement towards their savings progress
Users wanted to be rewarded for their good savings habits by seeing their progress visually, to make them feel better about what they've achieved
Chipped away goals with spare cash at the end of the month
On-track users were fairly focused on their savings goals - highlighted by putting away leftover money in their LISAs when possible for a sense of progress
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Found saving for a £40k deposit daunting
Average house deposits in the UK are high. Customers felt that reaching this goal was so far away that "it felt scary and demotivating."
Competitive research and UX psychology
Digging into the psychology of encouragement and habits
If customers wanted to chip away at their home-buying goal, and needed a bit of encouragement along the way, one of the first things we did was to see how other apps encourage their customers to do something difficult and encourage them to do so. I looked at a range of habit trackers, meditation, fitness and finance apps to assess different techniques we could explore later.
We found that users are more likely to act on their savings goals when they can visualise their progress and feel a sense of control over it.
Ideation
Applying different UX psychological principles to encourage depositing
Inspired by our competitor exploration, I sketched out a few ideas to help my PM and I figure out which UX psychological strategies would be suitable for our 'on track' customers and the 3 month end of tax year period.
Prioritisation
How did we select which concept to take forward?
With a lot of ideas at hand, we had to prioritise the one we believed in the most, using an effort/impact matrix. Impact can be tricky to define, but we based our scores on our understanding of our customer base and their behaviours as well as assessing what can bring us more net deposits.
With this in mind, scarcity and the goal gradient effect score the highest.
Exploration
Exploring scarcity and the goal gradient effect across the Moneybox app
We assessed high traffic screens to see where we could convince 'on-track' users to deposit more. While there were multiple areas across the app where we could create impact, the This Week tab was the most prominent area, and benefitted from being an easier screen to build on from a development perspective.
Ideation
Applying different UX psychological principles to encourage depositing
Inspired by our competitor exploration, I sketched out a few ideas to help my PM and I figure out which UX psychological strategies would be suitable for our 'on track' customers and the 3 month end of tax year period.
Prioritisation
How did we select which concept to take forward?
With a lot of ideas at hand, we had to prioritise the one we believed in the most, using an effort/impact matrix. Impact can be tricky to define, but we based our scores on our understanding of our customer base and their behaviours as well as assessing what can bring us more net deposits.
With this in mind, scarcity and the goal gradient effect score the highest.
Exploration
Exploring scarcity and the goal gradient effect across the Moneybox app
We assessed high traffic screens to see where we could convince 'on-track' users to deposit more. While there were multiple areas across the app where we could create impact, the This Week tab was the most prominent area, and benefitted from being an easier screen to build on from a development perspective.
Ideation
Applying different UX psychological principles to encourage depositing
Inspired by our competitor exploration, I sketched out a few ideas to help my PM and I figure out which UX psychological strategies would be suitable for our 'on track' customers and the 3 month end of tax year period.
Prioritisation
How did we select which concept to take forward?
With a lot of ideas at hand, we had to prioritise the one we believed in the most, using an effort/impact matrix. Impact can be tricky to define, but we based our scores on our understanding of our customer base and their behaviours as well as assessing what can bring us more net deposits.
With this in mind, scarcity and the goal gradient effect score the highest.
Exploration
Exploring scarcity and the goal gradient effect across the Moneybox app
We assessed high traffic screens to see where we could convince 'on-track' users to deposit more. While there were multiple areas across the app where we could create impact, the This Week tab was the most prominent area, and benefitted from being an easier screen to build on from a development perspective.
Continuous learning through a series of A/B tests to broaden the impact
With our fantastic results, we had increased confidence that this could be effective for other audience types. We ran a few experiments to understand what messaging resonated with different types of savers. We launched an A/B tests with different messaging to test our real depositing behaviour vs. hypothetical behaviour if we were to ask users their preference through a survey or moderated testing.
A/B test
Can we convince 'off-track' users to save more by reducing their custom tax year target?
We designed this test to cater for 'off-track' users who don't see themselves hitting a £4k target within a tax year. These customers are yet to build stronger financial habits and their financial literacy is weak.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Outcome:
Unfortunately, didn’t perform well in terms of net deposits. Therefore we went back to the default variant. This did save us from experimenting with this idea later, with a project that would have been more costly to build.
Upon reflection, it may have been a demotivating experience to hit edit goal. It would have been interesting to see if it made a difference if we sequenced setting a goal upfront in the flow instead
A/B test
Reframing 'left to save' into 'bonus left to earn'
We had a hunch that users could be motivated by government bonuses, as that was the reason why would open a LISA in the first place. We were unsure if users would be more likely to deposit by seeing the bonus they could earn vs. seeing their overall savings progress for the year.
Hypothesis
LISA users are more likely to deposit if they see how much bonus there is left to earn, vs how much left to save to max out.
Outcome:
After analysing the results, both the test and control groups had similar conversion rates, hovering at 6-7%. There was no significant improvement, so we're keeping the original experience since it can be easily applied to other products without a bonus.
Looking ahead, we realised that if we were to roll this out further, users with multiple products would see confusing language ("saved so far" vs. "left to earn"). This would create a disjointed experience, even though most of our customers only use one product.
Continuous learning through a series of A/B tests to broaden the impact
With our fantastic results, we had increased confidence that this could be effective for other audience types. We ran a few experiments to understand what messaging resonated with different types of savers. We launched an A/B tests with different messaging to test our real depositing behaviour vs. hypothetical behaviour if we were to ask users their preference through a survey or moderated testing.
A/B test
Can we convince 'off-track' users to save more by reducing their custom tax year target?
We designed this test to cater for 'off-track' users who don't see themselves hitting a £4k target within a tax year. These customers are yet to build stronger financial habits and their financial literacy is weak.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Outcome:
Unfortunately, didn’t perform well in terms of net deposits. Therefore we went back to the default variant. This did save us from experimenting with this idea later, with a project that would have been more costly to build.
Upon reflection, it may have been a demotivating experience to hit edit goal. It would have been interesting to see if it made a difference if we sequenced setting a goal upfront in the flow instead
A/B test
Reframing 'left to save' into 'bonus left to earn'
We had a hunch that users could be motivated by government bonuses, as that was the reason why would open a LISA in the first place. We were unsure if users would be more likely to deposit by seeing the bonus they could earn vs. seeing their overall savings progress for the year.
Hypothesis
LISA users are more likely to deposit if they see how much bonus there is left to earn, vs how much left to save to max out.
Outcome:
After analysing the results, both the test and control groups had similar conversion rates, hovering at 6-7%. There was no significant improvement, so we're keeping the original experience since it can be easily applied to other products without a bonus.
Looking ahead, we realised that if we were to roll this out further, users with multiple products would see confusing language ("saved so far" vs. "left to earn"). This would create a disjointed experience, even though most of our customers only use one product.
Continuous learning through a series of A/B tests to broaden the impact
With our fantastic results, we had increased confidence that this could be effective for other audience types. We ran a few experiments to understand what messaging resonated with different types of savers. We launched an A/B tests with different messaging to test our real depositing behaviour vs. hypothetical behaviour if we were to ask users their preference through a survey or moderated testing.
A/B test
Can we convince 'off-track' users to save more by reducing their custom tax year target?
We designed this test to cater for 'off-track' users who don't see themselves hitting a £4k target within a tax year. These customers are yet to build stronger financial habits and their financial literacy is weak.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Hypothesis
A £4k LISA allowance may be too unrealistic for early stage savers. By allowing customers to edit their tax year target to a smaller amount, they are more likely to take save into it, due to the perception of working towards a more manageable amount.
Outcome:
Unfortunately, didn’t perform well in terms of net deposits. Therefore we went back to the default variant. This did save us from experimenting with this idea later, with a project that would have been more costly to build.
Upon reflection, it may have been a demotivating experience to hit edit goal. It would have been interesting to see if it made a difference if we sequenced setting a goal upfront in the flow instead
A/B test
Reframing 'left to save' into 'bonus left to earn'
We had a hunch that users could be motivated by government bonuses, as that was the reason why would open a LISA in the first place. We were unsure if users would be more likely to deposit by seeing the bonus they could earn vs. seeing their overall savings progress for the year.
Hypothesis
LISA users are more likely to deposit if they see how much bonus there is left to earn, vs how much left to save to max out.
Outcome:
After analysing the results, both the test and control groups had similar conversion rates, hovering at 6-7%. There was no significant improvement, so we're keeping the original experience since it can be easily applied to other products without a bonus.
Looking ahead, we realised that if we were to roll this out further, users with multiple products would see confusing language ("saved so far" vs. "left to earn"). This would create a disjointed experience, even though most of our customers only use one product.
The evolution of the
end of tax year widget
Improvement
Expanding the tracker to other tax-free accounts
The widget has evolved through a significant rebrand, notably when the structure of our Home screen underwent a transformation to include 'Hero Modules', providing us a change to improve our widget.
The redesign included expanding it to our other tax wrapped products: Cash ISAs, Stocks and Shares ISA. We also reintroduced quick add buttons to reduce friction to adding money and increase interactivity with the module.
We provided users an overall picture of their £20k ISA allowance across the products they had, to ensure they’re making the most of their tax wrapper across their accounts.
Iteration
Once the tax year deadline passes, what happens?
After the final tax year push, we needed to guide users into the new tax year with a clear, motivating experience. The challenge was maintaining momentum and encouraging early deposits.
Our solution implemented subtle but impactful updates:
A new tax year banner: A clear message to let users know their ISA allowance has reset.
An empty state tracker: Acts as a powerful visual cue, prompting users to fill it up again.
Prompt to deposit : We added a reminder of their full allowance and a direct encouragement to deposit now, helping them get ahead early on in the year.
Iteration
Tackling sustained engagement at mid tax year
We identified a key behavioural pattern: long-term customers showed low engagement and minimal deposits during the mid-tax year, away from the pressure of the annual deadline.
To address this, we designed a gentle, in-app "check-in" to provide users with a snapshot of their ISA savings progress. This feature offers a low-pressure way for customers to compare their current savings with past performance, helping them to feel a sense of control and motivation during a typically inactive period.
This iteration is still ongoing, so results are pending.
Learnings
Reflections on the project
A series of tiny experiments lets us learn quickly
We didn’t run moderated testing, but I was still confident in our approach. By limiting our audience, we had a focused solution and qw A/B tested to reduce exposure and learn quickly. Our learnings have been valuable as they’ve informed other Moneybox projects over the years.
I loved the challenges of catering to our wide and varied user base
This project was definitely a good exercise to help me learn about growth design, with different approaches tailored for different audiences and timing within the tax year.
Learnings
Reflections on the project
A series of tiny experiments lets us learn quickly
We didn’t run moderated testing, but I was still confident in our approach. By limiting our audience, we had a focused solution and qw A/B tested to reduce exposure and learn quickly. Our learnings have been valuable as they’ve informed other Moneybox projects over the years.
I loved the challenges of catering to our wide and varied user base
This project was definitely a good exercise to help me learn about growth design, with different approaches tailored for different audiences and timing within the tax year.
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