# For reward partners

A Reward partner is an organisation that funds or fulfils the rewards players
spend their Points on. Reward partners are part of the PlayerPal network
design, but nothing for them is built yet. This page describes the intended
role so you can see where it fits. Everything here is **Planned** and may
change.

## Where things stand

| Part | Status |
|---|---|
| Reward partner as a party type in the network model | [Available] |
| Players earning Points | [Available] |
| Spending Points: shop, redemption and fulfilment | [Planned] |
| Reward partner portal or API | [Planned] |
| Reward partner player Aliases | [Planned] |

Today, players can earn Points but cannot spend them. A shop and redemption
flow have been designed and prototyped, but are not part of the platform yet.

## The intended role

In the shop design, every reward sits behind a fulfilment step. When a player
redeems, PlayerPal debits the Points and hands the order to the reward's
fulfilment partner, which delivers a code or a claim link. If fulfilment
fails, the Points are returned.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  P[Player] -->|redeems Points| PP[PlayerPal]
  PP -->|order, scoped Alias| RP[Reward partner]
  RP -->|code or claim link| PP
  PP -->|reveal| P
  RP -.->|fulfilment fails| PP
  PP -.->|Points returned| P
```

## Privacy by design

The same rules that protect players elsewhere are designed to apply to reward
partners:

- **No personal data from PlayerPal.** Fulfilment requests carry no email,
  name or phone number. Where a reward needs delivery details, the partner
  collects them directly from the player.
- **A scoped handle, not the player's ID.** A partner would receive its own
  scoped Alias, never the player's private PlayerPal ID. A reward-partner
  Alias format is reserved, but how that Audience is scoped has not been
  decided.
- **One order, once.** Each redemption carries a unique reference, so a
  resent request cannot create a second order.

## Not decided

Commercial terms, how rewards are funded, which kinds of reward partner will
take part and how they will integrate have not been decided. Contact
PlayerPal if you would like to be part of those conversations.

## Related

  - [Points and rewards](../rewards/points-and-rewards.mdx): 
    How Points are earned today and what is planned.
  
  - [Capabilities](./capabilities.mdx): 
    Status of every PlayerPal capability.
  
  - [Privacy](../trust/privacy.mdx): 
    What PlayerPal holds and who can see it.