Technology is playing the role of a double-edged sword. Being beneficial, whereas bane sometimes for us. This technology evolution has given birth to online payments service in the disguise of apps in your pockets. The new payment mechanism is gaining momentum. The concept of mobile payments saw the rise in value and usage when COVID-19 bolted out of blue, in regards to doing safe transactions.
These mobile apps are indulged in the service of offering contactless payments, since the introduction of Near Field Communication (NFC). These services are turning smartphones into the equivalent of a payment card. Have we ever thought about how these transactions take place and make your life and shopping too much easier?
Let us understand how a payment app works: Payment apps are built on software containing a lot of information. The software helps in offering security and encryption for personal information and for conducting the actual transaction. To transact money should be deposited in the payment app through an individual’s bank account which can be easily linked with the digital wallet.
They are offering us service for free, but how do these companies earn? They earn by:
Charging fee on transactions
Advertisement
Peer to Peer payments
Micro Payment methods
Data
They not only earn themselves but also let their consumers earn too by offering:
Redeemable schemes and Scratch Cards
Filling surveys
Playing games
Let’s take a tour of different companies to know how they help you to earn at ease:
The major market leaders like Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and PhonePe provide cash backs on certain transfers or transactions. Like Paytm has collaborated with petrol pumps and gives cash backs when an individual pays for its petrol or diesel through Paytm. Google Pay gives scratch cards on transactions and referring friends. This is how different payment apps allowing their customers to earn a few points and money, after all, drop by drop fill the ocean.
Now let us see how other apps that are “not payment apps”, which are not related to any payments, allow their customers to earn at ease.
You might have been listening to ads of Gaana subscription on Gaana itself for the last few months. Recently Gaana came with a new advertisement or say strategy to retain its consumer base and expand the same by offering a Redeemable scheme. The scheme says earn coins for doing any activity on Gaana for example earn coins on opening an app, making a playlist, etc.
You can check your coin balance from the profile and then redeem as you want with the schemes or offers offered by Gaana. Example of Offers that Gaana offers are:
Missing dates to pay your credit card bills are one of the worst nightmares of your lives. CRED came as an angel in disguise to let you sleep peacefully with sweet dreams. CRED is an app which alerts you before due dates and allows you to pay your credit card bills from CRED itself and earn CRED coins and gems, and then you can redeem your CRED coins across shops, movie, theatre, etc. CRED here takes up one of the responsibilities of your busy lives and helps you pay credit card bills on time with exciting rewards.
Eat and earn. Another, the app that helps you earn rewards by enjoying your desserts. Belgian Waffle came up with a strategy to collaborate with Hashtag loyalty, the best customer loyalty program in India. Belgian waffles reward you with coins through HLoyal when you order waffles and enjoy your sweet and then you can redeem those rewards when you wish to with your favorite waffle.
And this is how these apps allow their customers to redeem the offer and enjoy its benefits. But what do they get?
Customer retention
The rise in consumer base (different users will get attracted towards such schemes)
Data
Earn by advertising
Your earnings don’t end here. There are apps in your Playstore and App Store that especially allow consumers to earn money by doing certain tasks.
Covid- 19 has pushed people to earn easy money and these paying apps have attracted people like a magnet towards them. Google search shows 63 such famous apps that pay money to its audience on completing certain tasks.
You don’t believe this? Let us believe it by looking into some examples of brands or apps that will pay you for completing a certain task.
Survey Junkie this app asks you to be the influencer — and give your opinions to hundreds of partner brands. It offers popular gift cards and cash outs via PayPal.
MobileXpression is a market research panel that pays you for data from your mobile phone. It offers weekly credits redeemable for gift cards to popular retailers.
HealthyWage the app allows you to win money by betting on your own weight loss goals.
But the question still arises of authenticity and the surety of earning money, yes these apps will pay you, but sometimes they fail to pay or redeem your money.
Yes, you are thinking right… Why do these apps pay consumers? They pay us because they want to collect data. Data is the new fuel to drive the market. These Data gatherers look for patterns. The pattern of consumer behavior for advertisement, marketing, and branding. This data or pattern is collected to sell it to other companies and earn money and this is how these companies earn money. The data contains secret data in the background about which even the users are not aware. It could include access to your photo library, sensitive banking information from your messaging apps.
The last question that arises in consumers’ minds should I use these apps?
Reasons to use:
Earn easy* money.
To Use your free time.
The reason why you should not use:
Your Data is at high risk
Invasion in privacy
There are high chances that most of apps are a fraud and won’t pay you.
Now the responsibility of decision is in the hands of the Consumer. As we know “Consumer is the king of the market”, it can be decoded that being a king consumer would be wise enough to take his/her own decision.
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Until next time!
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