Day: December 31, 2018

Reading Time: 4 minutes2018 was a great year. We’ve accomplished a lot: re-branded and rebuilt RateX from scratch, added new sites, improved coupon technologies, joined PayPal Labs. Here’s a trip down memory lane.We rebranded RateX in 2018…Old RateX logo and design in 2017: However, this old RateX design has some issues: the slanted RateX logo does not signify stability and trust. For a startup that deals with shoppers’ finances, we need a new visual system.New RateX design philosophy:We created an entirely new design system for RateX based on the key principles of honesty, credibility and transparency.The True MarkIn ancient times, Roman merchants used to check off lists with the letter V, a shorthand for the word “veritas,” signifying the items in the list were present in their stated quantities and quality. Over time, it evolved into the check mark that we know today.The check mark is used as an acknowledgement, affirmation and a symbol of trust. The true mark not only represents all of that, but reminds us of our very own brand values — staying true to ourselves and only creating products that we ourselves would use.Over-guiding design for RateSome examples of the new design in action The True Mark is versatile. It allows us to create visual stories for each of our working products. Paired up with our base design for “Rate,” the Mark becomes dynamic across different products. The true mark is not simply a promise that we will deliver reliable and secure services to you. It constantly reminds us of our brand values: Honesty, Credibility and Transparency. When we are true to ourselves, we stay true to Rate and our users. Read more here about how and why we did the re-design.… and rebuilt RateX from scratch。The old RateX in 2017:The old RateX was primarily created for cross-border payment transactions with a secondary function of helping shoppers find coupon codes. However, we believe that RateX can help you even more in your shopping experience.We want RateX to be a true shopping assistant but the current RateX design has its limitations to accommodate new features. The new RateX in 2018:Browsing different merchants on RateX Your Account pageUsing RateX to pay on AmazonWe also added new features:(1) Clovers (It’s like Cashback, but better!)When you shop with RateX, you automatically earn reward points (in our case, Clovers). Clovers are like cashback reward points, but even better! You choose when, where and what to redeem your Clovers on. Currently, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, crypto-currencies and miles. Read more on Clovers.Read more about the new RateX experience: Bigger, Better, Bolder.We added 50 new shops…Adding new shops and merchants continually is our priority. More shops means that RateX is more available to help shoppers save money. Some of our new sites: Pomelo, Love Bonito, Sephora, kkday, Klook, Zenroomsebay, GuardianFortyTwo, Rakuten, Courts, ReebonzFor a complete list of new shops added: Travel: Kiwi, Traveloka, Travelocity, Emirates, Trip GuruFashion: Crocs, Hermo, Yoox, Asiayo, Photobook SG, Axtrosports, Hebeloft, Colourpop, Dressabelle, Reebonz, Style Tribute, ZafulOthers: Deliveroo, Groupon, eBay, Guardian, Chope, Guavapass, Rakuten, Fairprice, Fory Two… but removed Taobao.This important decision did not come easy. We understand how much Taobao means to all of you, but it is too operationally challenging for us. After many rounds of meetings and discussions, we conclude that the payment feature of RateX on Taobao would have to be discontinued.It is tough for us. Taobao is as important to us as it is to you. However, we have bigger plans and better deals in store for our loyal RateX supporters! Therefore, we are channeling our resources and efforts to make it a HUGE success!Read more about why we had to remove Taobao.We also improved RateX’s coupon technologies…Finding valid promo codes and coupons helps the overall shopping experience. We cracked our brains and worked hard to introduce various new features: You can see a list of all coupons and their last success dates on RateXSee number of valid coupons on your Google searches See no. of available coupons on your Google searchesApart from these new features, we also improved our partnerships with merchants so they will be providing more exclusive codes for us to try. This way, you’ll be able to try and use more codes with RateX.… and joined PayPal Innovation Lab.Excerpt of Rate and RateX on TIA coverage For startups to succeed, they need a community in which they can thrive. Located within PayPal’s Singapore Technology Center, PayPal Incubator endeavours to nurture and support the creation of a new generation of technology companies. It provides an initial infrastructure, structured curriculum with access to FinTech domain experts, mentoring and guidance by business leaders, and access to a network of investors. We’re proud to be accepted into a program with only ~5% acceptance rate. As one of the largest payments giant and renowned tech company globally, PayPal will provide mentorship and strategic guidance for RateX.Read more about RateX and PayPal here on Tech in Asia.In 2019…We have even greater and grander plans for RateX. We envision RateX to be a true smart shopping assistant that works quietly in the background for you. It’s your everyday companion. RateX will be more intelligent, reliable and available.Here are some upcoming new features: Price watch and drop listsRecommended deals and credit cardsImproved coupon code functionalities: More coupon codes, automated testing We will use artificial intelligence to do more predictive analytics to make RateX more intelligent in recommending personalized deals. We will also continue to make RateX work on more merchants so it’d be more available.RateX will be more delightful.A more guided and gamified onboarding experienceBetter payment flows on RateXUsing automation to catch more bugsA delightful product doesn’t happen overnight. It’s created over countless late nights, sweat and tears, and many sessions of user testing. We will continue to do more surveys to ask for user feedback and work on small delight features to make RateX more delightful for users.RateX will be more social. Building a stronger communityUsers can submit coupon codes and websites they want RateX to be onRateX isn’t just a shopping assistant – it is also a shopping community. If the shopping community is strong, we can help one another find the best deals, discounts and promo codes.RateX is yours as much as ours. Let’s improve RateX together!

Day: December 31, 2018

Product News

2018 in Review: What We’ve Accomplished and What’s Next