Merchants are definitely not paying at the moment. I think Ruwan has no intention of doing so yet, because the potential footprint is massive and I get the feeling there's potentially more additions to the system (in terms of brands and freebies), in addition to potential media business also.
In terms of a comparision model, I don't know any exact replicas. But for your research, there is BPS, Bucqi (see some of my other posts and reviews on it, it seems very quiet), BeattheQ. On that note though, alot of Rewardle's Australian competition, namely the two I've mentioned seem to be hung up trying to highlight Rewardle and make comparisons for the better of their product. What really impresses me is that Ruwan is not even focussed on this aspect. He and the team prefer to plug away, get more merchants, get more brand partnerships. Basically grow the base. Then worry about monetisation, although he believes we should see an uplift of revenue's in upcoming quarterly.
Umi it basically comes back to that argument about the tech space. This one is under the radar. Yes no massive revenue growth yet, but users, activity, and brands. Yes, Yes and Yes. I would be happy to see this continue with the right partnerships and business development.
Finally back to your point, Ruwan mentioned Yelp in the US as somewhat of a parallel. I haven't had time to look into that. Hope that answers your q's and thanks!
Expand