Clinkle

After more than a year of building hype for its mobile wallet, Clinkle has finally gone public with its app and payments service – and it’s nothing like the wallet we were told to expect. What it delivered was a Visa prepaid debit card – that’s right, a piece of plastic – and an accompanying app that allows you to transfer gifts to your friends’ Clinkle cards through a system it calls “treats.” From what we can glean from Clinkle’s updated website, treats work kind of like a loyalty program, except the rewards go to other people. After seven swipes of your card, you earn a treat, which you then gift to another Clinkle user in the form of a personalized message accompanied by a cutesy photo. That user can collect that treat on their next card swipe. It appears that every treat doesn’t result in some kind of monetary reward or gift. Instead you “spin” the treat for a chance to get your purchase comped.

Read the full story at Giga OM.

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