Hytch Rewards, a technology solution that encourages smarter mobility decisions, introduced a new feature for its mobile app, Shelter in Place. The feature is designed to promote actions that will restrict COVID-19 spread. It will daily reward the self-quarantined US residents to encourage safe behavior.

Employers are offering Shelter in Place rewards to:

  • Encourage employees to engage in safe and healthy habits that benefit themselves, their family, their team, and community
  • Ease the monetary burden of being furloughed or having to telework
  • Ensure that work-from-home team members are at home

The Hytch platform would give employers and governments greater capacity to validate and monitor enforcement in a proactive way, as an increasing number of states issued guidelines or legal orders for people to “shelter in place.” The cash incentives offered by the app, which monitors the position of a user, are sponsored by companies, governments, and brands that care about the well-being of their employees and communities.

“What America needs right now is to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infection,” said Mark A. Cleveland, co-founder and CEO of Hytch Rewards. “National smartphone data tells us some regions are doing better than others at social distancing, and we at Hytch believe rewards can be a highly effective tool for influencing human behavior. Our partners decide what those cash rewards will be, and even if they’re minimal, they still have a positive impact.”

The Hytch Rewards app has been mainly used to reward commuter activity that decreases traffic congestion and pollution or promotes carpooling in areas where public transportation is minimal. With the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, many commuters have been housebound.