Nedbank Greenbacks Rewards 2.0

Year

2023

Client

Nedbank Greenbacks

Content StrategyDeploymentInformation ArchitectureProduct DesignProject ManagementResearchUX DesignUX Writing

About the Client

Greenbacks is a rewards programme designed to encourage and reward positive financial behaviour – including card usage, account activity and saving. As “money experts who do good”, it forms part of Nedbank’s broader strategy to reward good money habits across personal, business and commercial banking clients.

The Brief

Redesign of the Greenbacks 2.0 experience on nedbank.co.za, improving how a complex, behaviour-driven rewards programme is structured, understood and navigated. This formed part of a broader Nedbank website migration effort.

The Challenge

The Greenbacks experience was complex, fragmented and difficult to understand, spanning multiple journeys from onboarding and earning to tracking and redeeming rewards.

Fragmented information architecture and poor discoverability
Content was distributed across multiple pages and sections, with weak linking, inconsistent entry points and poor navigation. This made it difficult for users to find relevant information and move between related journeys.
Complex and unclear reward mechanics
The programme is based on behavioural rules (e.g. spending, saving, borrowing), but these were not clearly explained or connected to outcomes. Users struggled to understand how rewards are earned and how different actions influence progression.
Low visibility of progression and value
Users could not easily determine their current level, what actions influenced their level and how to move up levels,
Abstract value of rewards
Greenbacks operate as points, making it difficult for users to understand real-world value.
Inconsistent terminology and messaging
Use of shorthand (e.g. “GB”) and inconsistent naming across pages reduced clarity, increased cognitive load and impacted user trust.
Content duplication and governance risks
Legal and supporting content (e.g. T&Cs) were duplicated or misaligned across pages, creating inconsistencies and increasing maintenance complexity.

My Role

Improve how the rewards programme communicates key concepts and user journeys, from understanding rewards to progression and redemption, by:

Simplifying reward mechanics and how users qualify
Improving visibility of level progression and benefits
Aligning fragmented content into a cohesive, user-centred experience
Supporting both personal and business audiences

Research & discovery

Conducted content audits, heuristic evaluations and competitor analysis
Participated in workshops, interviews and synthesis sessions
Identified gaps between product logic and user understanding

Structure & experience design

Restructured fragmented content across multiple pages into a coherent, user-centred experience
Contributed to information architecture and navigation improvements

Content design & delivery

Authored and refined content across:
- Landing page
- Rewards and benefits content
- FAQs and help content
- Business and commercial variants
Standardised terminology and messaging across the experience

The Approach

Worked across the full product lifecycle, from audit and restructuring through to authoring, testing and deployment of the Greenbacks 2.0 experience.

Discovery & research – Audits, workshops, stakeholder inputs
Structure & strategy – Defining flows, hierarchy and content model
Content design – Simplifying, aligning and structuring messaging
Validation & delivery – QA, feedback and rollout

Understanding the system & user journeys

Worked with cross-functional teams to map:

How users enter the Greenbacks ecosystem
How behaviours (spend, save, borrow) influence rewards
How content supports decision-making

This exposed gaps between product complexity and user understanding.

Identifying content & experience gaps

Through audits and workshops identified:

Fragmented content across pages
Unclear progression logic
Missing links between behaviour and reward outcomes
Duplication and governance risks

Simplifying & restructuring content

Focus was on:

Clarifying programme mechanics (tiers, behaviours, rewards)
Reducing ambiguity in messaging
Aligning content to support comprehension and comparison
Improving hierarchy and scanability

Aligning content to user tasks & behaviours

Experience was structured around key user goals, shifting it from informational to behavioural.

Join the programme
Earn Greenbacks
Track progress
Redeem Greenbacks

Content & UX decisions

Clarified value of Greenbacks

Shifted from content from abstract programme description to clear user value by reframing content to focus on:

Tangible benefits
Real-world outcomes

Simplified reward mechanics

Reduced cognitive effort required to understand the programme by clarifying: how users earn rewards

How levels are calculated
How banking products link to rewards

Standardised terminology

Improved clarity, consistency and trust by:

Reducing use of unclear shorthand (e.g. “GB”)
Aligning naming across pages

Improved discoverability and navigation

Reduced friction in finding relevant information:

Strengthened linking across related content
Improved hierarchy and grouping

Structured content around user tasks

Aligned content to real user journeys rather than static information: Join > Earn > Track > Redeem

Strengthened governance & content alignment

Improved consistency and maintenance by:

Resolving duplication across pages
Aligning T&Cs and supporting content

Supported multiple audience segments

Content was structured across:

Personal banking
Private Clients & Private Wealth
Business banking
Commercial banking

Made rewards tangible through interactive tools

Greenbacks earnings calculator

Estimates Greenbacks based on card type, Rewards level and monthly spend
Shows projected Greenbacks earned

Greenbacks level calculator

Allows users to select behaviours (e.g. setting up debit orders, spending and saving)
Shows how good money habits contribute to level progression
Helps users understand their current level and how to move up levels

The Outcome

Redesign resulted in:

Clearer, more structured representation of the rewards programme
Improved understanding of how to earn and progress
Stronger alignment between product logic and user-facing content
More connected experience across multiple pages and journeys

Redesigned experience helped translate Greenbacks mechanics into clearer, more actionable user journeys through:

Improved visibility of level progression
Clearer links between behaviour and rewards
Tools to convert Greenbacks into real-world value (e.g. Rands)

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