Getting growth right starts with a clean measurement framework. Define your denominator, align on time horizons, and ensure your KPIs separate volume from value.

• Core growth KPIs: active share draft accounts (30/60/90-day activity), net new accounts (opens minus closures), average balance per active account, monthly debit transactions per account, and direct deposit penetration.
• Revenue lens: interchange revenue per active account, NSF/fee revenue mix, and average monthly deposit spread contribution. Track both gross and net of promotions.
• Engagement lens: primary relationship rate (paycheck + bill pay + card-on-file), digital/mobile adoption and usage, and card present vs. card not present spend mix.
• Cohort views: new-to-institution vs. existing-member conversions, tenure-based retention curves, and small business vs. household segments.
• Quality and risk: dormant rate, early account attrition (first 120 days), fraud/write-off rate, and cost to serve.
• Unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC), average revenue per account (ARPA), contribution margin by cohort, and payback period.
• Operational SLAs: account opening completion rate, time to first funding, time to first paycheck, and card activation time.

Guardrails: set targets per cohort, not just in aggregate. A growth program that boosts low-quality accounts will look good for 60 days and then reverse. Require visibility into activation, engagement, and profitability before scaling spend.

Growth in share draft accounts comes from disciplined execution across the lifecycle. Focus on four levers that compound.

• Acquire with intent: use lookalike audiences built from high-LTV cohorts, geo-target around existing branches or service areas, and tailor creative to paycheck capture and everyday spend. Offer value that ties to usage, not just opening bonuses.
• Make funding and activation effortless: frictionless digital account opening, real-time identity verification, instant debit issuance, and clear prompts to add direct deposit and set up bill pay. Remove paper steps and chase drop-offs within 24 hours.
• Win the paycheck to earn primacy: simple direct deposit setup flows, early-pay options when viable, smart nudges between pay cycles, and onboarding emails that show how to move recurring bills. Track paycheck acquisition as the north-star for primacy.
• Drive everyday spend: tailored debit rewards, card-on-file campaigns for top merchants, and proactive card replacement for heavy users nearing expiry. Use merchant category insights to personalize offers.
• Lift balances responsibly: promote automatic savings sweeps, round-ups, and linked savings for emergency buffers. Avoid pushing balances that increase overdrafts or reduce satisfaction.
• Offer overdraft choice: transparent options (alerts, overdraft lines of credit, or opt-out), clear pricing, and education to reduce surprises. Monitor NSF frequency per account and intervene early.
• Retain with relevance: lifecycle messaging by tenure, proactive service for small businesses, and win-back plays for accounts showing declining activity. Measure cost to retain versus cost to reacquire.

Keep incentives honest: tie rewards to behaviors that predict lifetime value, such as paycheck inflow, debit transactions, and digital engagement, rather than vanity milestones.

Translate strategy into an operating rhythm your team can execute.

• Quick wins (0–60 days): shorten account opening forms, enable instant card issuance, launch a direct deposit switch flow, and send day-0 to day-30 onboarding messages with three clear asks: fund, set paycheck, use the card.
• Next moves (60–180 days): build a weekly activation dashboard, implement merchant category-based rewards, and create a small business onboarding path with invoicing and ACH education. Stand up a dormant-account reactivation campaign.
• Scale (180+ days): establish cohort-based LTV models, automate CAC guardrails in your ad platforms, and create an A/B testing backlog covering account opening, rewards, and messaging frequency.
• Data and governance: define a single source of truth for KPIs, enforce consistent cohort tagging at open, and review contribution margins monthly. Include risk and compliance in the growth review to keep incentives aligned.
• Team roles: a growth lead (own KPIs), product manager for account opening and digital banking, data analyst for cohort and LTV, lifecycle marketer for onboarding and retention, and operations partner for training and SLAs.

Documentation matters. Keep a simple playbook: what you measure, the two or three levers you are actively testing, and the next decision you will make based on the data.