Spin the wheel
It seems that everything today is gambling in some form or another. The latest entry in the “cross your fingers and hope it hits” game is, perhaps inevitably, a debit card. Last week, a fintech company named Tuyo went viral upon introducing its “buy now, pay maybe” card, bringing gamification mechanics to spending.
It’s a simple concept: use your Tuyo card as you would any other credit or debit card and Tuyo might decide to zero out your charge on a purchase. You still get the product or service like normal, but Tuyo just eats the cost itself. Buy now, pay maybe.
Sounds cool, and it’s something that might work well for people who use the card exactly like they would use any other card, but this looks like yet another way a company is taking advantage of gambling psychology to get people to use their product more, with little regard to the damage it might cause.
With Tuyo, spending money will be just like playing the slots for some consumers. “I shouldn’t really be buying this, I can’t afford it, but maybe this will be my lucky day. Maybe this time, Tuyo will cover my purchase.”
The promo video even makes it look like a slot machine. Just a few seconds in, it shows a closeup of someone scrolling through their purchase history on their phone, each scroll accompanied by a click that brings to mind a roulette wheel, plus the sound of anticipatory cheering, just like when a crowd at the gaming table is rooting for a specific outcome (“Black, black, black!” or “Ten, ten, ten!”). When it gets to the person’s flower purchase, the charge changes to “free,” with yet more cheers.
The video goes on, showing a first-person view of a Tuyo user going around town making purchases, nearly every one made free by Tuyo, an unrealistic scenario. Near the end, Tuyo quite literally mimics a slot machine, as corporate logos (Starbucks, Uber, Amazon, etc.) scroll down the screen (again, with the good old clicking sound) before landing on one that represents a free purchase. They aren’t hiding it.
Financial instruments should not be fun
After receiving criticism on social media, Tuyo tried to defend itself, saying that the card isn’t gambling by the technical definition. And perhaps that’s true, but it plays into the psychology of gambling. It hits that dopamine button that makes people want to spend more in case this is the time they “win.”
If we want to give Tuyo credit for anything, it’s that at least this is a debit card. Users must have funds in their account, so it’s not possible to run up a bunch of credit card debt, overdraft fees, or interest charges. But that doesn’t mean people can’t reload their cards until they go bust.
Some defenders of Tuyo point to credit card companies that offer cash back, saying that Tuyo is just giving cash back in a different and fun way, but it’s a false comparison. With a cash back card, you know when and how much cash back you will receive. The percentages, categories, caps, and other rules are clear and predictable. There is no incentive to spend more than you normally would.
With Tuyo, the company (or its “algorithm”) controls if, when, and what charges get cancelled out. It could be your next one, it could be never, it could be your $5 purchase, it could be your $90 dinner date. You never know, but sure go ahead and spend some more…maybe you won’t have to pay. And using a card should not be fun. Tuyo is encouraging financial irresponsibility while disguising itself as a normal financial instrument.
