FAQs - UticaProud Users

Rewards/Halfmoons

How does the Halfmoons program work?

You earn Halfmoons on qualifying actions as defined in reward offers, which you can spend at local businesses that redeem them through the App. By doing so, you purchase locally and strengthen your community and the businesses in it.

What are Halfmoons?

Utica Proud offers community members the opportunity to get rewarded with Halfmoons, our exclusive local point system, for supporting independent local businesses.

You can earn Halfmoons upon completion of actions included in reward offers in the App, and exchange Halfmoons for goods and services at Redeeming businesses. The redemption value of each Halfmoon  equals one U.S. Dollar ($1.00). 

How do I earn Halfmoons?

You can earn Halfmoons by supporting local businesses and shopping local across town. You can do that by linking your payment card, joining reward offers published on the Utica Proud  app by hitting the “Join reward offer” button for a specific reward offer, and making qualifying purchases at participating businesses, as detailed in the terms of the reward offer in the App and in the Member Terms of Use. Note that the reward offers are time limited, and that each offer has its own terms, which you should carefully read and understand. Visit the app frequently to check the businesses included in a particular reward offer, as the list of participating businesses may change during the time of an offer.  

What are reward offers?

Reward offers encourage community members to shop local and support independent businesses. The reward offers are published in the App from time to time, promoting a theme to support local business and how to be rewarded with Halfmoons. Visit the app often to be sure not to miss any of our special reward offers :) 

What is a qualifying purchase?

A qualifying purchase is a purchase that earns Halfmoons under the terms of a specific reward offer. Generally speaking, a qualifying purchase would be a purchase from a participating business identified in a reward offer through a linked payment card. In addition, each reward offer has its own terms stating what will be considered as a qualifying purchase for that reward offer such as a requirement to make a minimum of a $1 purchase in qualifying businesses. You should always read the “How it works” section of each offer.

Who’s initiating the reward offers/who funds them?

The Utica Proud  app is brought to you by the City of Utica, who is also funding the rewards.

What’s the Halfmoons value?

The redemption value of each Halfmoon equals one U.S. dollar ($1.00). 

Meaning, that if you’d like to purchase something that costs $20 and use only Halfmoons, you will need to redeem 20 Halfmoons through the app. Alternatively, if you only had 5 Halfmoons, you could redeem those points (equal to $5) and pay for the balance of the item ($15 in this instance) with other forms of payment that the business accepts.

When can I get my Halfmoons?

Halfmoons are added to your account balance only after a payment was confirmed through our third-party vendor Plaid, and was approved as a qualifying purchase under a reward offer you joined.

This process can take up to 10 business days before the Halfmoons should appear in your account in the app.

How can I see how many Halfmoons I've earned?

In order to see how many Halfmoons you’ve earned so far, all you need to do is look at the number that appears on the “Redeem” button at the bottom of the main screen of the App.

Other options are: “Redeem screen”, “Me screen” and to see the full history go to Me --> reward history.

Users who enabled notifications will receive a notification once a reward was granted. To make sure you don’t miss out, turn on your notifications :)

I have made a qualifying purchase but I don’t see the Halfmoons in my account. How can that be? 

Halfmoons are added to your balance only after a payment was confirmed through our third-party vendor, Plaid, and was verified as a qualifying purchase under a reward offer you joined. 

This process can take up to 10 business days for Halfmoons to appear in your account in the app.

If after 10 business days you still haven’t received your Halfmoons, please contact uticaproud@colu.com for support.

Are there any Halfmoons balance/redemption limitations?

You can have up to $2,000 worth of Halfmoons in your account, on any given day.  This means that the value that remains in and has been redeemed from your account at the end of one day, combined, may not exceed $2,000. Therefore, for example, if there are 1,500 Halfmoons in your account and you have redeemed 500 Halfmoons that day, you cannot receive more than 500 Halfmoons into your account that day.

Redeeming Halfmoons

What can I do with my Halfmoons?

You can spend them at any of the redeeming businesses in the App - these are businesses marked in the App with the letter “R”. 

How do I redeem my Halfmoons? 

You should inform the redeeming business that you would be paying through redemption of Halfmoons. Then, in the App, locate the business using the search feature on the ‘Discover’ or ‘Redeem’ screens→  go to the business profile→  click redeem →  enter the amount of Halfmoons you wish to redeem and once you see a screen confirming the redemption of the amount you’ve put in, you’re done! Make sure to show the business representative the confirmation screen on your phone. 

How can a business know I've redeemed my Halfmoons?

You should first inform the redeeming business that you would be paying through redemption of Halfmoons. Once you have completed the redemption payment in the App, show the business representative the confirmation screen on your phone. The business will also receive an email with the details of the redemption transaction.

How can I cancel a Halfmoons redemption?

All redemptions of Halfmoons are final and irrevocable - this means that if a transaction that involves the redemption of Halfmoons is canceled, those points will not be refunded back to your account. The exception to this rule is if the redemption transaction is rescinded because of a technical error (for example - you paid the wrong amount) - in such a case, please contact customer support at uticaproud@colu.com within 2 business days from the erroneous redemption transaction.  

What if I want to cancel a purchase that was paid for with redeemed Halfmoons?

All redemptions of Halfmoons are final and irrevocable - this means that if a transaction that involves the redemption of Halfmoons is canceled, those points will not be refunded back to your account. For example, you want to return purchased goods and get a refund from the redeeming business, then the terms of the cancellation of the purchase and any refund will be as agreed directly between you and the business. You may want to confirm with a business how such refunds are handled with items purchased with Halfmoons before buying. The City of Utica will not be responsible for crediting or debiting your account or the businesses with Halfmoons or the business’ accounts in connection with such a cancellation. 

The exception to this rule is if the redemption transaction is canceled because of a technical error (for example - you paid the wrong amount), and you notified customer support at uticaproud@colu.com about this error within 2 business days from the erroneous redemption transaction. 

Can I withdraw my Halfmoons or transfer them?

No. Halfmoons are credited to your account only to be used through the App for purchases at redeeming businesses. They cannot be refunded for cash, exchanged, withdrawn or transferred in any manner.  

Link a card 

Why should I link a card?

When you link your debit or credit card you may join reward offers.

Once you've done that, we can be notified about your qualifying purchases at participating businesses and you can start earning Halfmoons!

You can link as many cards as you wish so you don't miss out on any opportunities to earn rewards.

Read more about what information is transferred from your linked account and how it is used in our Privacy Policy

How do I link a card?

In order to add your payment card to the app, please go to the ‘Me’ screen → Linked Cards and add your card.

You can link more than one card and get rewarded for qualifying Purchases you are making on any of your linked cards!  

What payment cards can I use?

You can use any credit card/debit card issued by a U.S financial institution.

Can I link a non-U.S. issued payment card to the app?

No, only payment cards issued by a U.S financial institution can be linked.  

The Privacy Policy says that my payment card is linked through Plaid. Who is Plaid?

When you link your card to Utica Proud , you do so through our third-party provider, Plaid.

It's likely you've already used their services. Plaid powers many financial apps available on the Google Play and Apple Store, such as Venmo.

For more detailed information about our providers' efforts to secure your data, you can tap here  for Plaid.

Troubleshooting your linked card (Plaid)

1. Invalid Credentials

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message we encourage you to double-check that there weren't any spelling or character mistakes when entering your information. You should be using the same login credentials for online or mobile banking.

2. Invalid multi-factor authentication

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means there was an issue with the answers you provided in the bank authentication process. It might be helpful to log in to your online banking first and make sure you have the right information or try linking a card issued by another bank/financial institution. 

3. Temporarily Locked Account

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means you’ve entered your credentials incorrectly too many times. This triggered the financial institution’s

fraud protection system, resulting in your account being locked. 

We encourage you to get in touch with your bank or log in to their portal to resolve the issue, unlock your account, and get back to us or try linking a card issued by another bank/financial institution.

4. Unable to support account

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means our provider (Plaid) was unable to support your account due to restrictions in place at the financial institution.

In this case, please consider linking a different card issued by another bank/financial institution.

5. Account not authorized

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means you must log in directly to your financial institution and take some action (agree to updated terms and conditions/change your password/etc.) or try linking a card issued by another bank/financial institution.

6. Multi-factor authentication not supported

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means the bank changed their MFA method and it's not supported by our provider (Plaid). In this case, please consider linking a different card issued by another bank/financial institution.

7. No accounts

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means you don’t have a credit card connected to your bank account. In this case, please consider linking a different card issued by another bank/financial institution.

8. Password or MFA information has changed

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means your MFA information has changed.

This can be easily sorted out, we encourage you to get online with your bank or link another card issued by another financial institution.

8. Invalid user name

If you're linking your online banking credentials and get this error message it means the username provided does not match the original username. This can be easily sorted out, we encourage you to re-link your card with the correct user name so you could keep getting the max out of our app and enjoy our rewards.

9. Re-link your card

If your password or MFA information has changed, or if your bank requires new authentication methods, you will receive a notification in the app instructing you to relink your card in the app. Note that, until you do so, we won’t be able to receive information about your purchases and therefore won’t be able to grant you rewards for the qualifying ones under the offers you joined.

Registration/account setup

How do I register? 

In order to register, please download the App and select the “Sign up” button. 

Once you register your email address and phone number, you will receive an SMS verification code, which you will need to put in the app in order to get in for the first time.

I Forgot my password. 

In this case, please go to the login page and press “forgot password”. 

This option will allow you to reset your password by SMS verification code.

The App won’t accept my email address to log in.

In this case, it’s best to check if the email address you’re trying to log in with is the same one you registered to the app with. If you’re not sure, please contact us at uticaproud@colu.com and we’ll be happy to assist. 

How can I update my details?

In Order to update your personal details (email address/phone number/name) please contact us at uticaproud@colu.com and we’ll be happy to do it for you. 

General

What do the symbols next to businesses in the app mean?

Users can use the app to see which merchants are currently participating in one or more reward offers! you should take a dive and join the offer :)

The "R" symbol suggests this is a Redeeming business! - where you can redeem the Halfmoons you've earned so far.

Can I delete my account?

Yes, you can, by contacting uticaproud@colu.com

What happens to my Halfmoons if my account is deleted? 

Your Halfmoons will become void once your account is deleted, as they are designed to be used through the App only.