BillRewards

Inspiration

As MSCS students at Boston, we quickly realized how juggling classes, and grocery runs leaves little time and money to spare. After bouncing between Walmart for groceries, Starbucks for coffee, and countless other stores, we saw a pattern where each merchant offered separate loyalty programs that never really added up to anything substantial. Rather than watch these scattered rewards go to waste, we envisioned a single platform where every purchase matters and every bill can generate tangible value. That’s what inspired BillRewards: a blockchain-based, universal loyalty solution that turns ordinary receipts into an extraordinary rewards experience.

What it does

BillRewards makes every purchase count. Here’s how: Receipt Upload: You snap a photo or upload a digital copy of any purchase receipt from partner merchants. Verification: Our system verifies your receipt with the merchant to ensure accuracy and authenticity. Blockchain Rewards: Once verified, you earn crypto tokens. The earlier the bill date and the higher the bill amount, the more tokens you receive. Redemption & Engagement: You can redeem those tokens for gift cards, coupons, or stake them in fun mini-games within our app creating a gamified experience that keeps you coming back.

How we built it

We used a React front end for a responsive user interface and integrated it with a Node.js/Express back-end to handle user accounts, database interactions, and API endpoints. For secure and transparent rewards, we leveraged blockchain-based token logic (e.g., smart contracts) to issue and track reward tokens. To automatically verify bills, we used Tesseract OCR (Optical Character Recognition), reducing manual input and potential fraud. Finally, we incorporated mini-games built on this infrastructure to keep users engaged and offer new ways to use their tokens.

Challenges we ran into

Data Accuracy: Ensuring the OCR accurately captures crucial details like total amount, date, and merchant name. Scalability: Designing the system to handle a large number of receipts during peak shopping seasons like the start of a semester when students buy everything at once. User Engagement: Striking the perfect balance between simplicity for new users and gamified features for returning users.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Universal Appeal: Creating a loyalty solution that anyone can benefit from—students, working professionals, or families. Seamless Blockchain Adoption: Successfully integrated a decentralized system for rewards without burdening users with the complexities of crypto tech. Engaged Community: Users consistently share feedback and excitement about staking mini-games, driving further innovation.

What we learned

User Experience First: Even groundbreaking tech won’t succeed if the user journey is clunky. Iterating on the interface and listening to user feedback proved critical. Negotiating with Merchants: Different retailers have unique policies for data sharing and reward structures, teaching us the importance of flexible system design. Scalable Architecture: Building for growth from day one helps avoid costly rewrites down the line, especially when dealing with blockchain transactions and high-volume receipt uploads. Community-Driven Growth: A core group of enthusiastic users can guide product features and create a buzz that accelerates adoption.

What's next for BillRewards

Expanded Partnerships: Bring more retailers, local businesses, and online merchants into the fold, making BillRewards the go-to platform for earning universal tokens. Enhanced Gamification: Introduce leaderboards, daily challenges, and social-sharing features to keep users motivated and engaged. Referral Program: Offer bonus tokens for bringing friends on board—turning BillRewards into a community-based reward ecosystem. Academic Collaborations: Partner with student organizations and universities for exclusive campus deals and brand-building opportunities. Data Insights for Merchants: Provide advanced analytics dashboards so businesses can optimize campaigns, driving even stronger loyalty. Through BillRewards, we aim to ensure that every customer can transform every grocery run, coffee break, or back-to-school spree into real-world value—one scanned receipt at a time.