Our Work

HELPZ.

We partnered with Helpz to design and develop a student rewards platform that makes earning discounts effortless. By securely linking payment cards with participating merchants, Helpz removes the need for promo codes, vouchers, or loyalty cards, automatically rewarding students for spending at the places they already love. The result is a scalable mobile platform that connects students with local businesses while helping merchants build stronger 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 create unnecessary 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 equally challenging without access to meaningful engagement data.



At the same time, students increasingly expect personalised, mobile-first experiences that fit seamlessly into their everyday lives. Whether discovering independent cafés, shopping online, or attending local events, rewards should feel automatic rather than something users have to remember to claim.



Helpz recognised an opportunity to rethink student loyalty from the ground up. Instead of asking users to search for codes or scan physical cards, the platform automatically tracks qualifying purchases through securely linked payment cards, rewarding users without disrupting their everyday spending habits.



The challenge was to create an experience that was both effortless for students and valuable for merchants, while building an infrastructure capable of supporting sophisticated reward campaigns, behavioural insights, and long-term platform growth.



Key challenges included:

  • Removing friction from the rewards process through automated transaction tracking.
  • Creating a seamless 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.
Helpz mobile app on two phones
Helpz offer component
£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. Rather than simply rewarding spend, these mechanics encourage students to engage regularly while giving merchants greater opportunities to build customer loyalty.



Alongside the consumer experience, we developed a comprehensive Merchant CMS using Laravel and Filament. Business partners can independently manage offers, locations, loyalty campaigns, promotional content, and advertising placements without requiring developer intervention. Flexible campaign configuration allows merchants to create points-based promotions, digital stamp cards, custom offers, and geo-targeted campaigns while maintaining 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 intelligent location mapping throughout the application.



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

WHAT WAS

Success for Play Help.

The result is a frictionless student rewards platform that removes the complexity from loyalty programmes by automatically recognising purchases and rewarding users in real time. Helpz combines secure payment technology, personalised discovery, merchant self-service tools, and engaging gamification mechanics 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.
  • Comprehensive 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

Got an idea? Let us know.

Looking to kickstart your project or find the perfect team to bring your new product to market? Get in touch with us today.