Our Work

HELPZ.

We partnered with Helpz to design and develop a student rewards platform that makes earning discounts easy. By securely linking payment cards with participating merchants, Helpz removes the need for promo codes, vouchers or loyalty cards, and automatically rewards students for spending at the places they already like. The result is a scalable mobile platform that connects students with local businesses and helps merchants build customer loyalty through data-driven campaigns.

Helpz

Client

Social

Sector

Mobile App

Product

2026

Year

Helpz Mobile App Header Images

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

Reinventing Student Rewards for a Digital Generation.

Students are constantly looking for ways to make their money go further, yet many traditional reward schemes add friction. Offers are often hidden behind voucher codes, paper loyalty cards or complicated redemption processes that discourage regular use. For merchants, understanding customer behaviour and encouraging repeat visits can be just as hard without useful engagement data.



Students also increasingly expect personalised, mobile-first experiences that fit into everyday life. Whether they are finding independent cafés, shopping online or attending local events, rewards should feel automatic and not something users have to remember to claim.



Helpz saw an opportunity to rethink student loyalty from the ground up. Users do not search for codes or scan physical cards. The platform tracks qualifying purchases through securely linked payment cards and rewards users without disrupting their everyday spending habits.



The challenge was to create an experience that was easy for students and valuable for merchants, on infrastructure able to support reward campaigns, behavioural insights and long-term platform growth.



Key challenges included:

  • Removing friction from the rewards process through automated transaction tracking.
  • Creating a smooth onboarding journey that encourages rapid user adoption.
  • Helping local businesses increase repeat visits and customer loyalty.
  • Delivering personalised offers based on location and user behaviour.
  • Building a flexible campaign management platform for merchants.
  • Creating scalable infrastructure capable of supporting future monetisation and behavioural analytics.
Two phones showing a Helpz verified student voucher code and the Helpz home screen
Helpz mobile app on two phones
Helpz offer component
Hand holding a phone open on the Helpz Discover map of nearby partner shops
Helpz Streaks tab button with a flame icon
Helpz Points tab button with a star icon
£17.4BEstimated annual UK student spend
68% Of Gen Z Consumers say rewards programmes influence where they shop
100% Automatic reward trackingWith no promo codes or manual redemption required
CRAFTING THE SOLUTION

A Smarter Rewards Platform That Works Automatically.

Working closely with the Helpz team, we designed a mobile-first platform centred around one simple idea: rewards should happen automatically.



The experience begins with a streamlined onboarding journey where students quickly verify their identity before securely linking their payment card. Once connected, every qualifying purchase at participating merchants is tracked automatically through the Fidel API, removing the need for promo codes, QR codes, or manual redemption.



The application revolves around a dynamic home dashboard that adapts to each user's progress, surfacing personalised offers, reward balances, nearby businesses, and promotional campaigns based on their activity. Local and online offers are supported alongside interactive map views, flash deals, event listings, and geo-triggered notifications that encourage users to discover businesses around them.



To drive long-term engagement, the platform introduces several gamification features, including automated points accumulation, digital Streaks that reward repeat visits, referral incentives, and a daily Spin the Wheel experience. These mechanics encourage students to engage regularly and give merchants more opportunities to build customer loyalty.



Alongside the consumer experience, we developed a Merchant CMS using Laravel and Filament. Business partners can manage offers, locations, loyalty campaigns, promotional content and advertising placements without developer help. Flexible campaign configuration lets merchants create points-based promotions, digital stamp cards, custom offers and geo-targeted campaigns, with oversight through a moderated approval process.



From a technical perspective, the platform was built using Flutter to deliver a consistent experience across iOS and Android from a single codebase. Fidel powers secure payment card linking and transaction verification, while Awin provides access to online partner offers. RevenueCat supports activation payments, Firebase delivers analytics and engagement tracking, and Postcodes.io enables location mapping throughout the application.



The result is a scalable rewards ecosystem that simplifies student loyalty, gives merchants campaign management tools, and creates a more engaging local marketplace built around real purchasing behaviour.

Helpz sign-up screen asking for name, email, university and graduation year before sending a one-time passcodeHelpz welcome screen offering student discounts plus points, prizes and perks, with log in and sign up buttonsHelpz Local Businesses list with offer cards for a coffee house and Pizza ExpressHelpz Discover map with pins for local brands such as Boots, Greggs, McDonald's and hmvHelpz home screen with streak, points and ticket counts above local offers, online offers and refer a friendHelpz home screen scrolled to trusted brands and a featured coffee house offer cardHelpz rewards progress screen showing pending points, total points, cash value and recent partner purchases

WHAT WAS

Success for Play Help.

The result is a student rewards platform that removes the complexity from loyalty programmes by recognising purchases automatically and rewarding users in real time. Helpz combines secure payment technology, personalised discovery, merchant self-service tools and gamification to create value for both students and local businesses.



The proposed solution included:

  • Automated rewards powered through secure payment card linking.
  • Personalised local and online offers with location-aware discovery.
  • Interactive map experience showcasing nearby businesses and events.
  • Points-based rewards with configurable merchant multipliers.
  • Digital Streak campaigns encouraging repeat customer visits.
  • Daily Spin the Wheel and referral system to increase engagement.
  • Merchant CMS for campaign management and moderation.
  • Geo-triggered notifications driving in-store footfall.
  • Cross-platform Flutter application for iOS and Android.
  • Scalable architecture supporting future monetisation and advanced customer insights.

KEY FEATURES FOR

Helpz.

  • Secure student onboarding with OTP authentication
  • Payment card linking and automated transaction tracking via the Fidel API
  • Dynamic dashboard with personalised offers and rewards progress
  • Local and online offer discovery with map-based search and Flash Deals
  • Configurable points engine with merchant-defined multipliers and automated reward lifecycle
  • Digital Streak campaigns with configurable visit thresholds and redemption logic
  • Geo-triggered notifications with intelligent rate limiting
  • Merchant self-service portal built with Laravel and Filament CMS
  • Campaign management for Points, Streaks, Custom Offers and Key Offer advertising
  • RevenueCat integration for payments and Firebase Analytics for engagement tracking
  • Flutter cross-platform application with scalable Laravel API architecture
  • Role-based administration supporting merchants and platform managers

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