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The Hidden Economy of Points: How 1.4 Billion Points Were Redeemed

The Hidden Economy of Points: How 1.4 Billion Points Were Redeemed

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 Join us on Friday, November 21st, 2025, at 12 PM EST for a high-impact episode of Tech Behind FinTech featuring Len Covello, CTO at Engage People — a lifelong entrepreneur and payments innovator reshaping how loyalty, rewards, and points function as real currency. In The Hidden Economy of Points: How 1.4 Billion Points Were Redeemed, Len reveals one of the most overlooked engines in modern payments — the loyalty economy driving consumer behavior, merchant strategy, and financial institution growth. From AI-powered personalization to real-time Pay with Points, Len explains how loyalty evolved from punch cards to a digital currency powering 13% of North American e-commerce. With multiple successful startups behind him — including AI company Atomic Reach — and now leading Engage People’s global tech vision, Len has helped build platforms serving 10M+ members and working with 4 of Canada’s top 6 banks. Engage People’s patented tech converts points to currency at checkout, letting customers redeem points anywhere — transforming the economics of payments for merchants and financial institutions. Whether you’re in payments, retail, loyalty, or fintech, this episode breaks down the mechanics, market forces, and trends shaping the next generation of loyalty ecosystems.

** What You’ll Learn
• How 1.4B points were redeemed — and what that says about consumers
• Why emotional connection drives loyalty innovation
• Loyalty’s shift from punch cards to AI-powered personalization
• Why embedding loyalty at checkout is critical
• The true economics of Pay with Points
• How AI is reshaping loyalty through personalization and fraud detection
• Why QSRs rely heavily on loyalty
• Key loyalty trends heading into 2026

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