Random thoughts based on interactions I’ve had this week with merchants.
At least in the UK, reward cards are becoming more prevalent. Almost every coffee shop has a some form of loyalty stamp that offers a free drink after you purchase X drinks. Other merchants (book shops, video game places) are also starting to pick up on the trend.
Wirex cards offer “Cryptoback” - bitcoin rewards on purchases made by the Wirex linked cards.
WeGift offers discounts on giftcards from major retailers using a Coinbase/WeGift exchange program.
Got me thinking that it would be cool to reward users with SNT for making crypto purchases via Status, and would also incentivise users other using other wallets / payment networks.
In China, most large retailers now offer reward points via WeChat. If you pay by WeChat, the app will ask if you want the reward card too. Could be a good example of UI/UX if Status want to implement this. (I’ve used it a little myself, with retailers like Starbucks and Uniqlo)
My prior company, Newton, started their NewMall project with much the same thing in mind. Running a decentralized Amazon where payment was in crypto, and all users/merchants/parties would receive “cashback” as NEW tokens.
Last year we learned that rewards points as virtual currency definitely seem to be a huge market in South Korea as well.
Recently learned about RappiPay, a delivery service turned currency provider that allows you to build up credits through orders (RappiCreditos) and use these as a a currency to transfer it as money to another user’s account (now partnering with Softbank). It’s a great onboarding mechanism into virtual currencies provided that accepting them is an additional benefit and fully optional. Rewards tied to discounts can easily turn coercive.