Page 18 - Pay Magazine s2014

companies & people
Innovators’ Spotlight: Know Your Audience
SEcrEt SaucE
By leveraging technology and adding gami cation into the mix, we’re able to make payments more accessible and rewarding for the underbanked.
GEttiNG tO KNOw
PaySwag
Location
Reno, Nev.
Open for Business
September 2015
Line of Business
Simplifying the collections pro- cess for underbanked consumers, businesses and governments through a white-label mobile app offering cash or card payments, rewards and education.
Founders
Max Haynes, CEO, and Mark Miller, CTO
Funding
Approximately $1 million in private capital.
Business Philosophy
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Innovate without fear.
Something You Might
Not Expect
In addition to state-of-the-art payment options, PaySwag delivers a revolutionary model of reward- ing—rather than punishing—those who live paycheck to paycheck.
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The mobile app making bill payment a rewarding experience.
Retailers have long recognized the importance of customer engagement to drive sales and
retain customers. But Reno, Nev.- based PaySwag is proving the power of engagement to improve results in a somewhat unexpected sector—bill payments. The com- pany’s smartphone-based platform combines gami cation and incen- tives, nancial education and payments to make bill payments easier and more rewarding for the underbanked, thereby increasing collection e ciency for billers.
The company got its start in the automotive lending arena, with co-founders Max Haynes and Mark Miller—both nancial industry veterans—devising a strategy to increase payment e ciency in a
$1 trillion subprime lending sector plagued by a 25 percent default rate. After promising results in auto lending, Haynes and Miller realized their platform could improve col- lections in multiple sectors. They developed PaySwag as a white-label platform that can be used by billers in verticals including government, lending, health care, utilities and student loans.
The PaySwag platform and app en- able users to keep track of bills on their smartphones and make cash payments via barcode scan at more than 17,000 retail locations or pay via bank transfer or debit card within the app. Users earn “Swag” points for paying bills on time, watching educational videos or engaging with games that increase nancial literacy. Swag points can be redeemed for rewards such as gift cards, sports tickets and free
DVD rentals. Users who can’t make a full payment have the option of creating a payment plan, which they can monitor from the app and earn points for sticking to it.
It’s All about Engagement
Engagement and rewards are key
to taking some of the pain out of bill payments, according to Haynes. “Giving points and rewards for paying a bill makes the process a positive experience for the under- banked, who are also under- rewarded,” he says, noting that such users often are shut out of many incentives o ered to banked con- sumers, such as credit card points. Ongoing engagement also is par- amount, making smartphones
the perfect medium to reach the underbanked—many of whom move often and don’t have home phones, Haynes notes. “The key is to com- municate on a regular basis, not just when there’s a problem or a late payment. You have to establish
a channel of communication and leave that channel open.”