LevelUp

For other uses, see Level Up.
LevelUp
Type of business Private
Type of site
Mobile Payments
Available in English
Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Area served Worldwide
Founder(s) Seth Priebatsch
Employees 80
Website www.thelevelup.com
Registration Required
Launched March 2011
Current status Active

LevelUp is an American mobile payments platform created by Boston, Massachusetts-based start-up SCVNGR.[1] The LevelUp mobile application uses QR code technology to allow for mobile transactions to be made at local businesses via iPhone and Android phones.[1]

History

LevelUp was initially launched in March 2011[2] and operated for its first 3 months as a daily deals platform.[3] In July 2011, LevelUp shifted away from the daily deal space to focus exclusively on their mobile payments solution.[4] In July 2013, around 200,000 users and 3,000 companies were using LevelUp.[5] In October 2014, around 14,000 stores were using LevelUp.[6]

Overview

The LevelUp mobile application for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone allows registered users to securely link their debit or credit card to a unique QR code displayed within the app. To pay with LevelUp, users scan the QR code on their phone at LevelUp terminals located at local businesses who accept LevelUp as a form of payment.[1]

Some merchants that accept LevelUp as a form of payment also offer monetary savings to users.[7] Users are given “First-Time Visit Specials” the first time they make a transaction at the merchant's location. Users can also unlock "credit" to a merchant’s store after spending a certain amount at the merchant’s location.[4]

As of June 2016, LevelUp is available for businesses in the Boston,[2] Chicago,[1] Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia,[4] St. Louis, New York City,[4] Atlanta, San Francisco,[4] Dallas, San Diego, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Seattle areas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wong, Wailin (February 16, 2012). "Loyalty program LevelUp to launch in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Kirsner, Scott (March 11, 2011). "Test-driving SCVNGR's new LevelUp app for local discounts". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  3. Jennifer Van Grove (10 March 2011). "SCVNGR Pilots New Hybrid Mobile App for Local Merchant Deals With Game Mechanics". Mashable.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Sutter, John D. (12 October 2011). "LevelUp app aims to keep coupon users coming back". CNN.
  5. Chen, Brian X. (July 12, 2012). "LevelUp Tries Dropping the Transaction Fee for Mobile Payments". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  6. Shontell, Alyson (April 16, 2014). "Payment Startup LevelUp Thinks It Has Found A Way To Charge Merchants A 0% Credit Card Processing Fee". Business Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  7. Martinez, Edecio (August 29, 2011). "LevelUp challenges Groupon's model with trio of deals". CBS News. Retrieved June 14, 2016.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.