MoMo - Growth Activation
Improving First Transaction Rates & Scaling MAU
Project Overview
MoMo is Vietnam's leading digital wallet. This project focused on improving the new user activation funnel to increase the North Star Metric (MAU). By optimizing the onboarding flow, shifting eKYC requirements, and integrating digital bank account opening, we successfully boosted first transaction rates while strictly controlling fraud risk.
My role
As Product Manager, I collaborated with the Banking, eKYC, Growth, and Data teams to design and implement A/B testing schemes. I led the analysis of real-time funnel data, optimized the onboarding UX, and built a sustainable product growth framework.
The Activation Bottleneck
As Vietnam's top digital wallet, MoMo serves millions of daily active users. However, as the market matured, acquiring new users became increasingly expensive. The real challenge shifted to activating registered users—getting them to complete their first successful transaction. Data revealed a significant drop-off between registration and first transaction, primarily caused by a heavy upfront onboarding flow requiring eKYC verification and bank linking before users could experience any value.
Sustainable growth isn't about acquiring more users—it's about activating the ones you already have, while never compromising on trust and compliance.
Project Lifecycle
Discovery
- Funnel Analysis
- User Interviews
Hypothesis
- Onboarding Redesign
- eKYC Deferral
Experimentation
- A/B Testing
- Cohort Analysis
Rollout
- Gradual Release
- Fraud Monitoring
Optimization
- Growth Engine
- Retention Metrics
The First-Transaction Bottleneck
While MoMo has a massive footprint in Vietnam, new user growth (MAU) naturally slows down over time. To sustain quality growth, our priority shifted from acquiring users to activating them—specifically, driving the first successful transaction.
Through data funnel analysis and user interviews, we discovered a major bottleneck: many users successfully registered but dropped off before transacting. The primary cause was a heavy onboarding flow requiring eKYC and bank linking upfront, creating friction and privacy concerns for new users. The challenge was dual-faceted: reduce friction to boost activation, while maintaining strict regulatory compliance and fraud control.
Growth Activation Strategy
Under the direction of the Head of Product, I coordinated with Banking, eKYC, Growth, and Data teams to redesign the activation journey. We focused on maintaining compliance while reducing the cognitive load of onboarding.
Onboarding Lite
Designed a streamlined onboarding flow that deferred heavy eKYC requests, allowing users to explore core features before committing to full verification.
Contextual eKYC
Experimented with shifting the eKYC trigger to different touchpoints (e.g., post-bank linking or pre-deposit) to find the optimal conversion sweet spot.
Just-in-Time Incentives
Integrated promotional rewards natively into the UI at the exact moment of bank linking to motivate immediate transaction completion.
A/B Testing & Real-time Tracking
We built a robust internal A/B testing framework allowing us to run these experiments concurrently without requiring new app releases.
Backend-Driven UI
We configured variant schemes (e.g., eKYC placement, UI messaging) directly from the backend. The system automatically routed cohorts (20% Group A, 30% Group B, 50% Control) dynamically at signup, eliminating data bias.
Risk & Fraud Monitoring
Collaborating closely with engineering, I ensured every variant was tracked against fraud indicators (e.g., incentive farming). Real-time dashboards allowed the growth and risk teams to monitor dropout rates and shut down risky variants instantly.
Results & Strategic Impact
The continuous loop of hypothesizing, testing, and refining resulted in a highly optimized activation journey. We established a sustainable product growth engine that relies on real user data rather than short-term marketing pushes.