App Showcase: Settlemate

What it does

Settlemate is a finance app designed to help ordinary consumers discover and claim money from class-action settlements. It simplifies the often complex and obscure process of finding out if you're owed money from companies for various issues. The app scans for settlements and, based on a user's history, helps them file claims to receive payouts.

Where it shines

Settlemate's strength lies in making an abstract financial opportunity feel personal and urgent. The entire onboarding experience is a funnel leading to a single, powerful moment: the payout reveal. At 01:18, after a detailed quiz, the app presents a specific dollar figure the user has supposedly missed out on. This isn't a vague promise; it's a calculated number based on their inputs. The app then brilliantly reframes this value at 01:21, translating $152.00 into "8 movie theater experiences," making the potential gain feel incredibly tangible.

UX highlights

• Purpose-Driven Quiz: The multi-step quiz (starting at 00:56) doesn't feel like fluff. Each question about past services used (Instagram, Yahoo, Apple) directly contributes to the final payout calculation, giving the interaction clear purpose.
• Loss Aversion Framing: By showing money "you missed out on" (01:15), the app leverages loss aversion. This creates a stronger psychological pull than simply promising future gains.
• Clean, Focused UI: The quiz interface is minimal, with large tap targets and a clear progress bar, reducing friction through a potentially tedious process.
• Permission Warmups: The app effectively uses warmup screens before asking for notifications (00:50) and app ratings (01:25), explaining the benefit to the user before triggering the system prompt.
• Social Proof at Point of Sale: The paywall (01:38) includes strong social proof with a "4.9 Stars from 31k+ users" badge, building trust at the critical moment of decision.

Monetization & growth

Monetization is direct and comes after the value demonstration. After calculating the user's potential missed payout, the app presents a hard paywall at 01:38. There is no free trial visible. The paywall offers two subscription plans: a monthly and a yearly option. It uses several effective tactics, including showing a large discount ("79% off") for the annual plan and breaking down the cost to a small daily figure ("$0.10/day") to make the price seem more palatable.

Who it’s for

This app is for the everyday consumer who uses popular services but is unaware of the potential money owed to them through class-action lawsuits. The target user is likely not an expert in legal or financial matters but is motivated by the idea of reclaiming money with minimal effort. The simple interface and clear value proposition cater to a broad audience that has used services like Instagram, Apple, or Visa.

Notes & opportunities

The onboarding flow is long and requires significant user input, including account creation and a phone number (00:31), before delivering the core value proposition. While this may increase user commitment, it could also lead to drop-off. A potential opportunity could be to offer a 'guest' calculation with fewer questions to show a preliminary estimate earlier, possibly reducing initial friction and encouraging more users to complete the full sign-up process.