Rewarding Financial Discipline: How CRED Turns Payments into Lifestyle Perks

Akshay Aedula, who oversees product and growth at CRED, in an exclusive conversation with Tech Today, details how the platform differentiates its rewards program, ensures data privacy, and overcomes engineering challenges to ensure a seamless member experience.

What makes CRED’s rewards and value proposition different?

When asked how CRED differs from competitors targeting similar affluent audiences, Akshay emphasized the unique value of financial responsibility. “At CRED, we reward and recognize financial prudence because it drives real progress,” he explained. With over 14 million monthly active users, the platform improves credit scores, uncovers hidden charges, and helps members avoid late payments through ongoing payment reminders and incentives. The rewards system, including cashback and exclusive experiences, is designed to reward positive financial habits, creating a feedback loop that improves users’ lifestyle and financial health.

Journey for reward and redemption

Akshay spoke in detail about the simple yet fun process of redeeming CRED rewards. “At CRED, every transaction is a step towards improving your financial habits. Members earn coins that unlock rewards such as cashback, vouchers, lifestyle products and experiences, turning financial discipline into tangible benefits,” he said. He said more than half a million members redeem the vouchers each month and the cashback can be used to reduce the next month’s credit card bills, leading directly to savings and encouraging responsible spending.

CRED’s offerings are extensive:

• Vouchers and special offers: “Since 2021, merchants have rewarded more than 11 million members with 1.5 billion vouchers,” Akshay noted, highlighting the enormous scale of CRED’s impact on consumer spending on food, restaurants and more. Members spent 315 billion CRED coins in just three months on vouchers from popular brands like Swiggy, Myntra and Uber, highlighting the platform’s relevance to users’ everyday needs.
• Lifestyle and Jackpots: CRED members with over 1 million coins can unlock perks that go beyond regular rewards programs. Akshay shared, “These members have exclusive access to an upgraded lifestyle – 100 nights at Marriott hotels, Starbucks coffee, cocktail mixers and premium electronics, all with no strings attached.” Additionally, users won coveted items like Dyson home appliances, luxury fashion clothing from Dior and Balenciaga and even MG Hector cars.

Prioritize privacy and data security

Akshay assured that in an era where data security is of paramount importance, CRED attaches utmost importance to the protection of member data. “We have recently received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a Payment Aggregator (PA), which allows us to process transactions efficiently while maintaining the highest level of security,” he explained. CRED’s triple certification to global security standards includes ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and PCI DSS v4.0. These achievements, coupled with RBI approval, highlight CRED’s comprehensive approach to data management and security.

Gamification: How to make financial management useful

CRED’s innovative use of gamification aims to bring a sense of excitement and achievement to financial activities that are typically considered mundane. “CRED rewards members for paying bills on time and responsible credit behavior by gamifying a typically tedious task,” Akshay said. The platform’s approach is multifaceted:

• Reward-based engagement: Earning coins for timely actions motivates members to maintain good habits.
• Anticipation and Joy: The anticipation of receiving rewards makes managing finances an enjoyable experience.
• Surprise and delight. Sometimes participants receive unexpected privileges, ensuring that the interaction remains dynamic.
• Challenges and Goals: Participants who reach certain milestones, such as accumulating a million coins, can access unique rewards, adding an element of challenge that encourages further positive behavior.

Solving Technical Problems Using a Natural Adult Approach

CRED’s journey has not been without technical obstacles. “One of the biggest challenges we faced was managing scale from the start,” shared Akshay. The “born grown” approach meant expecting rapid growth and building robust systems that could handle that expansion smoothly. The engineering team also focused on sustainability, ensuring continuity of service through intelligent redundant systems and proactive data management. This strategy allows CRED to process millions of credit card statements daily, predict user behavior, personalize experiences and prevent fraud while maintaining cost efficiency.

Despite working with a relatively small team, CRED remains committed to quality and user experience. “We prioritize pixel-perfect design and fast, secure and reliable payment products to provide a top-notch experience for our members,” said Akshay.

The future of rewards at CRED

Looking to the future, CRED is committed to continuing to reimagine rewards through initiatives like “Only Fridays,” which feature exclusive, upscale gifts and experiences. “For example, three lucky winners recently got VIP access to Delhi’s top cocktail bars on a bar hopping adventure,” shared Akshay. Other notable rewards include PS5 bundles and gourmet meals. Additionally, CRED’s introduction of the Claw machine, the physical embodiment of its digital rewards system, further merged online interactions with real-world interactions, proving that CRED’s vision for rewards extends beyond the screen.

As rewards programs continue to evolve, CRED is positioning itself as a leader in providing innovative, meaningful and personalized financial incentives. “We will continue to reward members for making financially smart decisions by offering even more exciting rewards tied to their individual financial journey,” confirmed Akshay.