Referrals that reward the right people

Why this needed attention

Referrals bring in 16% of Thndr’s high-engagement users. As the product scaled across MENA, the program became more exposed to fraud and misuse, and rewards were being paid to people who weren’t eligible.

The experience made it worse. People couldn’t tell where their referrals stood, and questions about rewards made up 12% of all CX inbound requests.

• 12%

  abuse rate. Rewards were paid out to ineligible users.

  Market-based rewards, yearly caps, phased payouts and admin tagging.

• 12%

  of CX inbound requests came from people trying to understand their rewards.

  A status for every referral, a How it works sheet and a reward breakdown.

• 30%

  of referrals were eligible. Most friends signed up and stopped there.

  Rewards tied to funding and investing, with reminders to nudge friends along.

The goals

1. Grow LTV, keep CAC efficientReengineer the feature so fraud can’t pay.
2. Make it easy and clearA simpler experience, in the new UI direction.
3. Build trustShow how and why people earn, with clear eligibility, caps and status.
4. Drive retentionTie rewards to meaningful activity, not just a sign-up.

Rules first, then screens

Most of the work happened before any UI: deciding who earns what, when, and how admins keep the program honest.

1. Friend signs upWith the referrer’s link or usernameNo reward yet
2. Friend funds their walletFirst top-up50% of the reward
3. Friend makes 5 investmentsReal activity, not just an accountThe other 50%

Working across teams

• Growth and strategyDefined reward tiers based on CAC payback, and how much to emphasize high versus low tiers.
• EngineeringBuilt the logic for eligibility, phasing and tagging. We defined the flows and edge cases together.
• CXShaped the content and tone of the help center and in-app notifications.
• CRMAligned reward-based re-engagement triggers with campaigns and lifecycle messaging.
• ComplianceValidated which restrictions could be shown where, keeping the UI clear of legal risk.
• DataSupplied the behavior insights behind the reward flow, and tracked KPIs after launch.

The redesign

01 Revamping the structure

The old screen had one job, sharing a link, and did it badly. The new hub explains the program, shows progress and makes sharing the obvious next step.

Before · explore the pins

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Off-brand UIOutdated, and not aligned with the new direction.
2. Unclear termsTerms and conditions hidden in a small link.
3. A weak share actionCopying a raw link wasn’t intuitive.
4. Bare statsThree numbers, with little leaderboard visibility.
5. One state for progress“Waiting to invest” was all anyone saw.
6. Awkward scrollingThe referral list was cramped at the bottom.

After · explore the pins

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. An animated headerConfetti and a clear promise to drive invites.
2. How it worksA clear call to action that teaches the program.
3. Share my linkOne tap to the native share sheet.
4. Stats with a tooltipTotals for the year, with an explainer.
5. Referred friends, expandedEvery friend listed, each with a status.
6. Smooth scrollingA list built to scroll, not squeezed in.

02 Entry points

Referrals now start where they make sense: right after sign-up, and from My Hub at any time.

1. 01After sign-up

   The success screen asks if someone referred you.

2. 02Referred by

   Enter their username, then see how to invite friends yourself.

3. 03My Hub

   The main entry point, always one tap away.

03 Sharing and learning more

Every question people used to send to CX has an answer on screen: how it works, what you can earn and where the limits are.

1. 01Hub

   Share, stats and friends in one place.

2. 02How it works

   Three steps, and the terms one tap away.

3. 03Share

   The native share sheet, with a message ready to send.

4. 04Breakdown

   Referrals and rewards against the yearly cap, with plain disclaimers.

04 My referrals, in detail

Each friend has a status and a progress view, so a referrer knows exactly what’s left, and can nudge them.

1. 01Statuses

   Pending, topped-up or invested, at a glance.

2. 02Progress

   Each step of a friend’s journey, and a reminder you can send.

3. 03Claim

   Claim the reward, or split it with your friend.

05 Accepting and splitting rewards

Rewards wait on the home screen until they’re accepted, and anything close to expiring says so.

1. 01Home

   Pending rewards surface on the home screen.

2. 02My rewards

   Expiry dates in red when they’re close.

3. 03Selected

   Pick one or select them all.

4. 04Claim or split

   Claim the total, or split it with friends.

06 The edge cases

The states nobody screenshots, designed as carefully as the happy path.

1. 01Expired

   Expired rewards stay visible, with their dates.

2. 02Claimed

   A record of what’s been accepted.

3. 03Empty

   No rewards yet, and a way to start.

4. 04Yearly limit

   The cap explained, and inviting still allowed.