The Scratch Card Move: How Google Tez Turned a Transaction Into a Habit
When Google Tez launched in India in 2017, it entered a crowded payments market and did something simple: it made every transaction end with a digital scratch card. The reward was unpredictable, which is exactly why it worked. Variable-ratio reinforcement turned a one-time digital payment into something users came back to repeat. This case is one of the patterns in jugnu's Kosh.
The tension it resolves
Tez dissolved the conflict between the rational case for digital payments and the emotional pull of cash by making the digital act feel more exciting than the paper one.
The challenge it solved for Google Pay (launched as Google Tez): How do you turn a first-time digital payment into a durable daily habit when users already trust cash and your app is entering a market with well-funded, structurally advantaged competitors?
The mechanism
A probabilistic variable-reward interface layered directly onto the moment a transaction completes, so paying itself becomes the trigger for a small, unpredictable positive event.
Google launched Tez in India on 18 September 2017, built on the UPI system, into a market where Paytm, PhonePe, and the government-backed BHIM were already established. To drive repeat use, every eligible transaction triggered a digital scratch card inside the app. Users scratched to reveal either a randomised cashback amount credited directly to their bank account or the message 'Better Luck Next Time.' Tez was rebranded Google Pay in August 2018.
The proof
Within 37 days of launch Tez had attracted approximately as many users as established rivals, as noted in Wikipedia's sourced entry on the app.
Where this applies in India
This principle is available right now in Indian ed-tech apps where completing a lesson could reveal a mystery reward instead of a fixed badge, making learners return to find out what they earned. It fits grocery and quick-commerce apps that want to convert a first online order into a weekly habit. It also applies directly to mutual fund and savings platforms where hitting a monthly savings target could unlock a surprise benefit, giving users a reason to open the app with genuine curiosity rather than routine.
FAQ
What is the Scratch Card That Built a Payment Habit pattern?
A probabilistic variable-reward interface layered directly onto the moment a transaction completes, so paying itself becomes the trigger for a small, unpredictable positive event.
Which brand proved it works?
Google Pay (launched as Google Tez), in fintech / digital payments (India). Within 37 days of launch Tez had attracted approximately as many users as established rivals, as noted in Wikipedia's sourced entry on the app. jugnu's Kosh tracks 304 such patterns across Indian and global brands.
How do I apply this to my brand?
Run your brand challenge through jugnu. It diagnoses the tension underneath your problem, checks whether this pattern fits it, and builds ideas on the patterns that do.
This is the story. Every Kosh card also carries a transfer layer: the consumer insight underneath, the principle that moves across categories, and the boundary conditions where it breaks. jugnu applies that layer to your brand when it builds ideas.
Wondering if this pattern fits your challenge? Run it through jugnu and find out.
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