PayPal is launching a new rewards program to help people find deals on the internet and save money with the company's Honey acquisition at its core.
Honey is a browser extension that scours the internet looking for deals, promo codes, or coupons for online retailers (and a popular YouTube channel sponsor). PayPal bought the developer behind Honey (opens in new tab) back in early 2020, but didn’t really do much with it until today. Now with the aptly named PayPal Rewards (opens in new tab), aspects of Honey will serve as the foundation for the new program. The company states its motivation behind the PayPal Rewards is to help people “navigate high prices [as we head] into the holiday shopping season.”
Discounts and rewards
PayPal Rewards has been given its own in-app hub on mobile devices and desktop where you can track the points you collect. Those points can be earned by either engaging with the official app or using the Honey browser extension to find discounts.
In turn, points can be redeemed for “cash back and other rewards”. However, it appears those other rewards are simply more points added to your account. It doesn't look like PayPal will be utilizing Honey Gold (opens in new tab), which offers additional savings on purchases. Speaking of which, customers who are a part of Honey Gold can link their account to PayPal and use those points on the new program.
A company representative told us that 100 points equals $1 USD. That money will appear on your PayPal balance where it can be transferred over to a bank account, sent to someone else via peer-to-peer payment, or donated to charity.
The new program is currently rolling out to users in the United States so we highly recommend updating your PayPal app if you're interested. When asked about expanding PayPal Rewards globally, the same representative told us there are no plans to grow at the moment. There are plans to include PayPal Card products like the debit card into the Rewards program, but no date for that was given.
Future of online payment
The launch of PayPal Rewards comes at a really interesting time, and not because of the holiday season. It appears the company is seeing the writing on the wall when it comes to the future of online payment tech: providing your customers with deals and discounts. Apple saw this coming, too: when it revitalized its Pay app, it included a Pay Later feature giving people a new option for purchasing. Instead of paying for something in full, you can use Pay Later to create a payment plan that’s more budget friendly.
Google also recently brought back its old Wallet app (opens in new tab), but didn’t add any discount finder tool. Instead it focuses more on providing convenience and security. Perhaps PayPal Rewards will give the long running platform the edge it needs over its rivals.
If you’re looking for an alternative to PayPal, we recommend checking out TechRadar’s money transfer apps list for 2022, which was recently updated.
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