At a glance
Both journeys start from the same platform foundation. The Consumer then opts in to a domain, which determines how they earn and receive value.The platform foundation
Both journeys sit on a shared, service-agnostic foundation. Before a Consumer can use any service, the bank:- Creates the Consumer at the platform level: a unique
consumer_id, the single identifier for that end user across your whole Program (not one per account). A Consumer can link one or several bank accounts under that same identifier. - Manages the Consumer’s transactions at the platform level: typically the last 12 months of history shared at onboarding, then ongoing transactions. They are pushed once and reused by whichever service the Consumer later joins.
The Perks journey
In the Perks domain, every Perk is an Offer: the Consumer realizes a saving by using that Offer. Two things are common to every Perk: the saving for the Consumer, and the targeting on transactional data. Offers are matched and ranked from real spending habits, so each Consumer sees the ones that fit how they actually spend. What changes from one Perk to the next is the Perk type: how the Consumer uses the Offer, and how the saving reaches them:| Perk type | How the Consumer uses the Offer | How the saving is delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Cashback by Paylead | Pays at an eligible Brand (fully automatic: no code, no coupon, no activation, no card) | Cashback credited to the pool (cagnotte), paid out via Ventilation |
| Voucher | Buys a voucher up front, below its face value | Saving built into the purchase price |
| Voucher as a cashback | Buys the voucher at face value | Discount credited to the pool (cagnotte) |
A Gift is the exception: a Reward the Program Manager grants directly, such as a welcome gift, a birthday reward, a special offer, or recognition for an action. It is neither purchase-driven nor targeted, but it is credited and paid out exactly like a Cashback (pool → Ventilation).
Opt in to Perks
On top of the platform foundation (Consumer created, transactions shared), the Consumer opts in to Perks by consenting to Paylead using their banking data to receive matching Offers.Enrolling accepts the Program’s terms and makes matching Offers available. The Consumer can optionally grant the
SMART_RANKING consent to enable Offer Smart Ranking, and the Program can optionally place them in Segments to scope which Offers they see. See the Consumer lifecycle for both flows.Once opted in, the Consumer is eligible to receive Offers, ranked from the platform transaction data via Offer Smart Ranking.Offer discovery
With the Consumer enrolled and their history shared, available Offers are surfaced inside your bank’s loyalty section. Your Program chooses how to render them:
- Native rendering: your app fetches Offers from the API and displays them with your own components.
- Embedded WebApp: you embed Paylead’s white-label WebApp, a Paylead-hosted webview customized to blend into your bank’s UX via webview redirection. Paylead renders Offer discovery, Reward history, and (for the Loyalty domain) the wallet; your app only provides the container and authenticates the Consumer with their
consumer_id.
Offer usage & matching
Once Offers are surfaced, the Consumer uses them, and Paylead detects that usage to trigger the Reward. How usage is captured depends on the Perk type.In every case, a validated usage becomes a Reward.
The Loyalty journey
In the Loyalty domain, Paylead links the Consumer’s bank account to their retailer loyalty accounts inside the banking experience. The Consumer earns Brand benefits automatically when they pay with their bank card. This is Automatic Earn: no loyalty card to present at checkout. Like Perks, Loyalty sits on the platform foundation (Consumer created, transactions shared). Unlike Perks, it does not rely on transaction-analysis consent or segmentation; those are Perks-specific. For the full Loyalty journey, see Loyalty journey.Opt in to the Loyalty service
On top of the platform foundation, the Consumer opts in to the Loyalty service from the bank app. Opting in runs in the Paylead WebApp and is reduced to accepting the Program’s terms; the form is pre-filled from the known banking context.
Create or link a loyalty account
Having joined the service, the Consumer creates or links a retailer loyalty account (one per Brand) from the bank app, binding it to their bank card.
Pay
The Consumer pays with their bank card as their default payment instrument at a Loyalty Program eligible point of sale. No loyalty card or other authentication method is needed at checkout.
Earn
Loyalty benefits accrue automatically to the linked account. This is Automatic Earn.Webhooks are available to the Program to animate and engage Consumers at the right moment, such as when a new Loyalty reward is earned.
Engage
The Consumer manages their loyalty account from the bank app, not from separate merchant apps.Once a Consumer has linked a loyalty account, they gain access to a dedicated Brand Hub within the bank app for each connected Loyalty program. From this space, the Consumer can check their Loyalty balance and access additional services, depending on the Loyalty program’s configuration.Depending on the type of Loyalty program, the Consumer has a Loyalty balance where earned Loyalty rewards accumulate. They can then Burn their Loyalty rewards by converting them into tangible merchandise or gifts. This part of the process also runs in the Paylead WebApp.
Key concepts
Consumer
The end user registered in your Program and eligible to earn Rewards.
Offer
A published promotion tied to a Brand, a Cashback rate, and a validity period.
Reward
What a Consumer earns after a transaction matches an Offer’s terms.
Ventilation
The payout process that distributes Cashback amounts to Consumer accounts.
What’s next
Quickstart
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Authentication
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Releases
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