Background
A fast-growing digital wallet fintech expanded into Saudi Arabia with ambitious user acquisition targets. While ad impressions and clicks were strong, conversions across the funnel — from landing page → registration → KYC verification — fell far short. The product and marketing experience were entirely in English, appealing mainly to expats and tech-savvy users, but alienating the majority of local Saudis.

Challenge

• Trust deficit: Users hesitated to share KYC details with an app that felt “foreign.”

• Language barrier: English ads and onboarding created cognitive friction.

• Compliance risk: Lack of Arabic disclosures invited regulator scrutiny.

• Low efficiency: High ad spend generated clicks but very few verified accounts, driving CAC up sharply.

Our Approach
We rebuilt the funnel with localization + trust-building as the core strategy:

• Arabic-first UX

  • Translated ads, landing pages, onboarding screens, and FAQs into modern standard Arabic.

  • Shifted layouts to right-to-left (RTL) for natural readability.

• Trust slab on landing pages

  • Placed Central Bank license badge above-the-fold.

  • Added bank-grade security icons, encryption visuals, and local banking partner logos.

  • Highlighted Shariah-compliant features prominently.

• Cultural content strategy

  • Launched UGC-style Arabic video ads featuring young Saudi professionals.

  • FAQs tackled local concerns: “Is my money safe?”, “How fast are withdrawals?”, “Can I use SADAD/ZainCash?”

• KYC onboarding redesign

  • Localized flows to reflect Saudi ID formats.

  • Added reassurance text: “Your ID verification is required by Saudi regulations to protect your account.”

Results (6 weeks post-launch)

• Conversion to sign-up: +170% (2.7× increase).

• KYC completion: +22pp (41% → 63%).

• CAC: ↓ 34%.

• Customer support tickets: ↓ 38%.

• NPS (Arabic users): ↑ 19 points.