FAQ

The questions everyone asks first.

Short answers. Each one describes what Bullmark does today, not what we plan to do later. If your question is not here, write to us.

The basics

What is Bullmark?

Bullmark lets you create vouchers and a referral system for free. You issue your own points, called Brand Credit, and vouchers. When someone's referral goes through, you automatically thank them in Brand Credit, so you never have to pay cash first.

How are coupons and vouchers different?

Bullmark has both coupons and vouchers. A coupon takes money off the price. You usually get it for free, and you pay the rest yourself when you use it. A voucher holds value in itself, so it can be bought, sold and passed on to someone else. On Bullmark, a coupon is given away for free, and a voucher is bought with Brand Credit and can be traded on the Voucher Market.

What kinds of voucher are there?

Depending on the option, you issue it as public, bearer or personal. A public voucher is a code you post openly, and anyone who registers it before the deadline gets the reward. A bearer voucher is used by whoever holds it. A personal voucher can be used only by the named person, confirmed by phone number. In every case, double spending is prevented.

Is it only for apps?

No. A startup can list anything it sells: an app, a SaaS plan, a service or a physical product. The only condition is that it has a real price on your own site, so a voucher can refer to that price.

Can it be used in a game?

Yes, through the API (an API is how your system talks to ours). You pay points for set conditions such as finishing a quest or reaching a level. Points and vouchers may not be used for rewards decided by chance, and the rules of the app store are the responsibility of the company that distributes the game. See the use cases and Compliance.

Is it really free to start?

Yes. Listing is free, and the first time your brand issues Brand Credit is also free, up to 10,000 credits, with no card needed. After that, issuing costs 1.5% of the amount, or up to 4.5% at most if your credit has little backing. Also, one voucher in every ten of each batch goes to Bullmark, as vouchers and not as cash. The full list is on Fees & money flow.

Do my customers need a Bullmark account?

Not to look around, or to scan a voucher and check that it is real. They do need one to hold a voucher. Getting, buying, handing over and reserving a voucher all require signing in, because every voucher is recorded under the account that holds it.

Payments

Do I have to use Bullmark's (or Axowl's) payment system in my app?

No. Keep the checkout you already use, such as your own Stripe or in-app purchase. When a customer brings a voucher, you look it up, charge the voucher's price in your checkout, and tell Bullmark the voucher was used. Bullmark moves no money at that step. It only marks the voucher as used. The setup is on the API page (an API is how your system talks to ours). There is also a no-code option: we send the customer to your pricing page with the price attached.

When do I need a payout account with Bullmark?

Only when Bullmark takes a payment for you. That happens in three cases: you sell vouchers on the Voucher Market, you sell a product through a Bullmark checkout, or customers top up your Brand Credit by card. Those payments go straight to your own Stripe account, so you connect one first. If you never sell through Bullmark, you never need it.

Why does an app need a points system?

For three reasons. First, lower running costs: the customer pays a card fee once when loading points, and not on every sale. Second, small payments become possible: with no fee on each payment, you can sell things for $1 or less. Third, stronger customer loyalty: a customer who still has points comes back, and points help with customer service and marketing too.

Why should I issue Brand Credit?

To stop losing money on small payments. A card payment costs 2.9% + $0.30 every time, so on a $1 sale you lose 33¢, a third of the price. Brand Credit works like a café prepaid card: the customer tops up once, pays that fee once, and then pays with credit as often as they like with no card fee per purchase. Twenty $1 card sales cost $6.58 in fees. One $20 top-up costs 88¢. More on Brand Credit.

What is the difference between Brand Credit and Bullmark Point?

Brand Credit is points issued by one brand and can be spent only at that brand. Each brand sets the value of its own points, for example $1 = 1, 10 or 100 credits. Bullmark Point is issued by the platform, each point is worth $1, and it can be spent on vouchers from any brand. It is what you receive when you sell a voucher on to someone else. Both are written with capital letters because they are the names of these two kinds of points, not the everyday word "credit".

Can credit or a voucher be refunded as cash?

No. Credit and vouchers can only be exchanged for goods and services at the brand. They never turn back into money, for the holder, for the brand or for anyone else. Please read the refund policy before you pay. It is short.

How are referrers paid?

In Brand Credit, automatically, when their referral goes through. A click pays nothing, because clicks are easy to fake. For each new user who signs in to the brand's app for the first time through the referrer's link or banner, the reward the brand set is paid from the brand's credit balance, until the budget (if the brand set one) runs out. Referrers cannot be paid in cash.

When is a referrer paid?

When someone who came through the referrer's link signs in for the first time. The brand can set the reward to pay after sign-up, after a sale, or on a custom condition.

Safety

Can someone forge a voucher?

No. A Bullmark voucher is not just a number or a picture. Each one is an instance of its own, kept as a numbered record on our side. The QR code only points to that record, so a made-up QR points to nothing. The record also cannot be changed quietly. Its fingerprint (a hash, a short code calculated from the contents) is also kept at Axowl, outside our database. If anyone edits the voucher's price, expiry, holder or used status, the two no longer match.

What if someone photographs the QR on my screen?

They can scan it and see that the voucher is real, that it has not been used, and what it is worth. A scan is meant to show exactly that. They cannot see the redeem code, which is shown only to the signed-in holder and to the brand that issued the voucher. Even so, treat a redeem code like a gift-card number and do not post it anywhere.

Can the same voucher be used twice?

No. The first use is recorded on the voucher and cannot be changed afterwards. Every later attempt, from a copy or from the original, gets the answer that the voucher has already been used. Ten screenshots are still one voucher.

If I give a voucher to a friend, do they have to sign in?

Yes. You create a hand-over link, and the voucher is locked so it cannot be used in the meantime. Your friend opens the link, signs in and accepts. Your copy is closed and your friend gets a new one with the same serial number, price and expiry but a new code and QR, so an old screenshot stops working. If nobody accepts the link within 7 days it expires and the voucher comes back to you. You can also cancel it sooner. The first person who opens the link and accepts gets the voucher, so send it privately.

How do I use a voucher?

While signed in, you press "use this voucher". The voucher is held for you for 15 minutes and you are taken to the brand. The brand charges you the voucher's price and confirms that it was used. Only the brand can confirm. A holder cannot mark their own voucher as used.

Can everything be traced afterwards?

Yes. Issuing, handing over, reserving and using a voucher are each written as a record that cannot be changed afterwards, and each record is linked to the one before it. A brand can get the full history of any of its own vouchers and re-check every fingerprint itself, without asking us. The details are on Why it's safe.

What do you not promise?

We check an email address. We do not check a passport or ID. Our records prove that an entry has not been changed since it was written. They do not prove who is behind an email address. We also do not get involved between a brand and its customer. What a brand sells and how it handles a complaint is up to the brand.