Shop ’til the Prices Drop with Earny

It all started when my roommate Dori bought a blazer for $129 and I bought the same one for $65 less. I had to rub it in, wouldn’t you? Being a fierce competitor, Dori remembered that many credit cards offer price protection insurance, and a week after that, he proudly bragged he’d gotten $65 back. After all this, my roommates (our startup’s co-founders), and I  decided to compete in the MasterCard Masters of Code hackathon in San Francisco and build a product for smart and thrifty shoppers like ourselves.

Our concept – an app that earns money back on purchases made through the price protection policy offered by credit card providers – won first place –. But for us, the greatest prize was a napkin from Les Matthews, SVP at MasterCard, with his phone number and a note saying to call him to talk about our solution. Priceless.

Each year, in the U.S. more than $50 billion dollars from price drops go unclaimed because of lack of consumer awareness and time to spot the better deals. Also, many retailers require that consumers “apply” for refunds— involving so much paperwork and follow up, that many lose interest.

That’s where Earny, a personal assistant that automatically gets you money back on almost every purchase you make, is helpful. Earny does all the work – tracking purchases, finding better prices and filing claims.

Since the hackathon, MasterCard has supported us in turning our concept into a company. We’ve discovered that behind the ubiquitous Mastercard brand is a team committed to connecting to developers and their innovation. Part of that effort is evangelizing and educating the possible builders of the next big thing to leverage MasterCard’s APIs. Earny is currently using MasterCard’s Simplify Commerce API.

Chances are you’ve already bought a few items this year that are eligible for price protection. It’s time to get you your money back. Let Earny make it easy to buy whatever and whenever you want, knowing you’ll receive the best price in the market.