Retributio

Inspiration

Have you noticed that the couriers are working harder than before AND risking their health, but they get rewarded less? That’s because everybody stays away from cash during these times.

What it does

Retributio is the perfect app to use when you want to reward couriers, without using cash, no matter the app you used to bring them to your door. There are 2 types of users: couriers and clients. They both install our app and they register as couriers or clients. When a courier delivers you something and is near you, you can see her picture in the app and you can choose to transfer a small amount of money as a token of gratitude.

Impact to the crisis

Couriers are now an essential part of our lives, but they are also very exposed. Retributio helps in 2 ways:

It offers direct financial support to couriers.
It keeps couriers and clients safe by limiting the distance and the physical interaction.

Necessities in order to continue

We need at least 3 more developers working on this (iOS, backend, web).
We have to initiate a collaboration with digital payment providers.
Find one or two delivery companies to pilot this approach.

Value after the crisis

The value of this approach will not diminish after the crisis. In fact, it is very likely that card and online payments, that had a serious bump in this period, will continue to increase even after the crisis, so the probability that you will find yourself in the situation where you want to give a small token of appreciation, but will not have cash at hand or would rather not use it, will increase.

The same problems will exist, except now are more pressing. The focus might change a bit in order to accommodate more companies and their needs.

How I built it

I've built a native Java Android app, with Cloud Firestore from Firebase as database. I used the Nearby Messages API from Google to detect when users are in close proximity.

Challenges I ran into

Implementing the navigation flows.
Coming up and implementing a decent UI design.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Creating a fully functional app in almost 2 days.
Preparing a pitch, I've never done this before.
Recording and editing a pitch video, again: never done it before.

What's next for Retributio

Build this as SaaS for companies that deliver physical goods to their clients.
Implement API for companies to register their couriers and get analytics for their couriers.
Partner with payment providers such that the paying experience is seamless and without transaction fees.
Implement reviews functionality, clients should be able to offer reviews.
Build an iOS version.
Instead of having a mobile app, the service providers could register a beacon that identifies them uniquely and just carry the beacon.
Potentially this service can be extended to other service providers that come in direct contact with their clients, like waiters or serving staff.