Case Study | Payout Method Deprecation
The challenge
In somewhat rapid succession, we experienced three different deprecations in payout method types used by Airbnb Hosts to get paid.
Lebanon - Western Union
In Jan 2020, Airbnb deprecated Western Union payouts to Lebanon because Western Union stopped supporting USD payments to Lebanon.
Brazil - Payouts in USD
In Feb 2020, Airbnb decided to stop supporting USD payouts to Brazil because the cost of transacting with Brazil as a foreign entity (transmitting funds back and forth between Brazil’s closed financial system and ours) was extremely high. Airbnb officially stopped supporting USD payments to Brazil in April, 2020.
India - Yes Bank seizure
In March 2020, India’s Yes Bank was deprecated for several weeks because the Reserve Bank of India imposed a 30-day moratorium on its operations.
The solution
For many of our Hosts, Airbnb is a primary source of income. Therefore we moved quickly proactively communicate with Hosts who used these deprecating payout methods, and created a communication ecosystem to help get Hosts get paid again quickly. When feasible, we set up email reminder campaigns prior to deprecation dates, to help ensure Hosts didn’t experience a pause in payouts.
Outcomes
After three back-to-back deprecations, we learned a lot about the best surfaces to use for communication, the most effective language to use, and how to move quickly. I created a playbook for managing a payout method deprecation, including questions to ask the Product team, user-facing messaging framework, principles and terminology guide, and example communications. This playbook was used by the content team going forward.
Lebanon - Western Union
Brazil - Payouts in USD
India - Yes Bank
