With just one snap and a quick upload, that grocery receipt can turn into an gift card, thanks to what are known as receipt scanning apps.
"You're not going to be able to retire on this money, but it gives you a little bit of extra cash for that spending that you're already doing," said James Royal, a principal writer at Bankrate.
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WATCH HEREApps like Fetch Rewards, CoinOut and Frisbee allow users to earn cash back and other rewards for purchases, just by uploading a picture of a receipt. It could be from groceries, gas stations, online shopping or even restaurants. These apps are typically free to download and easy to use.
"It can be particularly attractive for consumers who want to track their spending and see where their money is going, help budget and earn that extra money for free as part of that," Royal said.
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SIGN UP Users will need to upload a handful of receipts before rewards can be claimed. To increase earnings, it's recommended to use more than one receipt-scanning app. Users will have the opportunity to redeem different deals and get cash back and rewards points from each platform.
"These receipts may be valuable to specific merchants, to specific marketers, and so you may get different rewards based on the type of spending that you're doing," Royal explained.
These apps make their money by promoting specific products, brands and retailers. Others profit from advertisements and selling users' shopping data to market research companies.
"You want to understand who might be using that data, who might be accessing that data and then any of the potential drawbacks that come from that access to that data," Royal said. "You really want to be comfortable with those potential downsides for the benefits of using the app."
