PayPal is launching a new rewards program to help people find deals online and save money thanks to its acquisition of Honey.
Honey is a browser extension that scours the web for deals, promo codes, or coupons for online stores (and a popular YouTube channel sponsor). PayPal bought the developer behind Honey (opens in a new tab) back in early 2020 but haven’t really done much with it until today. Now with aptly named PayPal Rewards (opens in a new tab), aspects of Honey will serve as the basis for the new program. The company says the motivation behind PayPal Rewards is to help people “manage high costs [as we head] during the holiday shopping season.”
Discounts and rewards
PayPal Rewards got its own hub in the mobile and desktop app where you can track your points. These points can be earned either by using the official app or by using the Honey browser extension to find discounts.
In turn, points can be exchanged for “cash back and other rewards.” However, it appears that these other rewards are just extra points added to your account. It doesn’t look like PayPal will use it Honey gold (opens in a new tab), which offers additional savings on purchases. By the way, Honey Gold customers can link their account to PayPal and use those points in the new program.
A company representative told us that 100 points equals 1 US dollar. This money will appear in your PayPal balance, where it can be transferred to a bank account, sent to someone else using a peer-to-peer payment, or donated to charity.
The new app is currently rolling out to users in the United States, so we strongly recommend updating your PayPal app if you’re interested. When asked about the expansion of PayPal Rewards worldwide, the same representative told us that there are no plans to grow at this time. There are plans to include PayPal Card products like debit cards in the rewards program, but no date has been given.
The future of online payments
The launch of PayPal Rewards comes at a really exciting time, not because of the holiday season. It looks like the company sees the writing on the wall when it comes to the future of online payment technology: providing customers with deals and discounts. Apple saw it too: when it has revived its Pay program, it included a “Pay Later” feature that gave people a new shopping option. Instead of paying for something in full, you can use the Pay Later feature to create a more budget-friendly payment plan.
Google also recently brought back its old Wallet app (opens in a new tab), but didn’t add a discount finder. Instead, it is more focused on providing convenience and security. Perhaps PayPal Rewards will give the long-running platform the edge it needs over the competition.
If you’re looking for an alternative to PayPal, we recommend checking it out TechRadar’s list of money transfer apps for 2022, which was recently updated.
https://www.techradar.com/news/new-paypal-program-will-to-help-you-find-discounts-thanks-to-honey/
