4 Direct Deposit Incentive Ideas for Fintechs

Moving a paycheck means changing a routine customers rely on every month. The incentive has to make the switch worth doing and give them a reason to keep salary arriving.

You have four options: pay a bonus, offer a monthly prize draw, waive a fee or give customers a paid plan for free. Here's how fintechs have used each.

1. SoFi: offer a cash bonus based on qualifying deposits

Offer a fixed bonus for bringing payroll to the account. Start the deadline with the first eligible deposit so customers can fit the offer around payday.

SoFi used a 25-day window. Eligible deposits totaling $1,000 to $4,999.99 earned $50; $5,000 or more earned $400. Payment was due within seven business days after completion. Ordinary account transfers and peer-to-peer payments didn't qualify.

The threshold is a major design choice. Set it against the income of the customers you want to reach. Then check whether the next paycheck arrives after the bonus has been paid.

2. Revolut: enter qualifying salary deposits into a monthly draw

Use a recurring draw to keep the prize budget fixed while giving customers another chance each month.

Revolut's Salary Draw selected five winners per monthly cycle. Customers opted in and qualified through salary deposits above a minimum from an eligible external account. Self-transfers, manual top-ups and peer-to-peer payments were excluded.

The budget is predictable; the chance of winning changes with the number of entrants. This suits a product customers already find useful around payday, with the draw adding another reason to stay.

3. Acorns: waive subscription fees while direct deposits continue

Waive a recurring fee when customers bring regular income to an account. The benefit renews each month they qualify.

Acorns' Mighty Oak offer required payroll setup during account opening and at least $250 in direct deposits within 45 days. It waived monthly subscription fees up to $9. Continued eligibility depended on the same deposit amount in the preceding month, the qualifying plan, and keeping the card and account open.

Compare the value of recurring deposits with the subscription revenue you give up. The offer will also reach customers who would have kept paying the fee.

4. Revolut: offer a year of Premium with salary deposits

Give customers time to try a paid plan while making the free period depend on continued deposits.

Revolut offered up to 12 consecutive months of Premium. Eligible customers had to opt in, receive a qualifying salary deposit and activate the offer within one month. Missing a salary month triggered a one-month grace period. If eligibility wasn't restored, the plan continued at its paid price unless the customer downgraded.

Show that billing rule when customers join. During the trial, help them try the features that could make the plan worth keeping.

Measure continued direct deposits after the reward

A cash bonus pays for the initial switch. A draw or fee waiver gives customers a monthly reason to continue. A plan trial introduces benefits they may later pay for.

Before launch, make sure you can identify qualifying income and explain why a deposit counted. After launch, follow the second and third paycheck, account use and the cost of the reward.

For ways to combine payroll with acquisition, see fintech referral program examples. For the money customers keep afterward, explore savings campaign ideas.