The Challenge

Japan’s digital-first bank Habitto faced a costly problem:

• More than 60% of brokerage accounts sat dormant, despite advanced digital tools.

• Users lacked financial confidence and were held back by cultural risk aversion.

In short, the technology was powerful - but people weren’t taking action

Our Solution:

Habitto partnered with Money Mojo to design Japan’s first behavioral money coaching program.
We:

• Developed a culturally adapted curriculum to resonate with Japanese customers.

• Trained financial advisors to deliver coaching with empathy and confidence.

• Built structured coaching frameworks to move clients from anxiety to action.

This combined human insight + digital delivery gave Habitto a clear market edge.

Measurable Results:

• The pilot delivered immediate, measurable impact:

  • 📈 334% increase in monthly app engagement

  • 💬 318% growth in user interactions (chat + video)

  • 💡 100% of participants reported greater financial confidence

  • ⭐ 5/5 program value & relevance (users)

  • 👩‍💼 4.75/5 advisor effectiveness rating

  
  

Business Impact:

Alongside the pilot’s success, Habitto secured $11.7M in Series A funding, validating their human-centric digital strategy and setting them apart in Japan’s crowded fintech space.

Testimonials:

“Sanam was knowledgeable, creative and a pleasure to work with. She steered the Coach program to practical solutions, training our advisors, and helped package this new service. We could not have achieved our objective without her.” Yasunori Kume, Habitto COO

“Sanam’s deep understanding of finance and her advisory skills helped me build the confidence to deliver a new service in a short period of time.” - Akiko Guinn, Habitto's Senior Financial Advisor

"I used to feel a vague anxiety about money, but having you break down the specific amount needed to reach my goals and setting a monthly savings target has really alleviated my worries." - Self-Employed Business Owner Participant

“The challenge is to create quality content and delivery mechanics that engage whilst being scalable and get customers to take action. The latter is the most impactful and challenging - and one we are deeply focused on at Habitto. We believe that combining tech with human interaction can help customers achieve better outcomes. That’s why we chose to work with Sanam to build a pilot program that had many technology features but also required advisor-customer synchronous interactions.” Samantha Ghiotti, Habitto Co-Founder and CEO

Why It Matters:

This project proved a powerful truth: financial wellbeing drives engagement, trust, and growth. By blending coaching with technology, Habitto turned dormant accounts into active, confident customers - and Money Mojo’s approach became the differentiator.

External Sources:

Refer to the following links for more details:

• Habitto's Website Announcing the Partnership

• Official Case Study on LinkedIn