MVNO Giffgaff to reward user base with cash and credit

The community-run UK MVNO Giffgaff believes that around 40 per cent of its user base is in line to be rewarded with cash and credit this month. The company, which has just completed a six-month trial, said that its 6,000 users will earn £4 a month on average, and that rewards would be issued bi-annually.

Giffgaff, which is backed by O2 UK, operates on the basis of a 'community of users' that are rewarded for assisting with other members' questions, introducing friends and commenting on how the network should be run. For this effort members are awarded with points that are redeemable as cash, credit or as charity donations.

Giffgaff CEO, Mike Fairman, said: "Twenty per cent of our users are actively involved in our forums, and 40 per cent are to get something back through the payback scheme. We are happy with the level of engagement."

Fairman, who was reported as saying that the company was able to keep its cost low by stripping out the "usual big mobile company nonsense", added that the first payback was scheduled to happen this month and would reward "super users" with £200 each.

The company, which has not promoted itself yet using advertising, has now launched a media campaign and is set to launch a number of social media tools to get growth via viral marketing.

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