While checking out reviews of the United Airlines MileagePlus Go card, YouTube suggested the ORU card. It turns out ORU is a bit similar to Steem, except that there is more to ORU than a blockchain engine. In fact, I’m not sure ORU even uses blockchain. They have their own internal token system called Quantum, which you can only trade within the network. Thus, it is highly centralized.
The similarities are that ORU has a social network built in that rewards you for participating, in cash. Simply logging in once per day is rewarded. Once per week, they deposit your share of the rewards into your account.
ORU offers other features that make it interesting. Some of the videos I have watched say that ORU is an alternative way of getting paid rather than PayPal or Stripe. The videos also claim that there are no merchant or transaction fees. Therefore, if you are receiving $5, you’ll get $5.
Another interesting component of ORU is the marketplace. You can list items and services for sale. No listing fees. No final value fees. Somehow, ORU finances all the member benefits via the monthly membership fee of $5.95.
I will likely subscribe and test the waters. There are some items around the house I should like to sell. Unfortunately, Steem is lacking in any e-commerce functionality.
Signing up with ORU costs more than the monthly membership. I believe signing up costs around $30. Afterwards, it is just the monthly fee.
I did stumble across an add-on subscription of $10/mo to duplicate the website for those really good affiliate marketers. Referrals net you an instant $10 on signup. And then there are monthly residuals for ongoing subscribers.
I find it odd that so much value can come from $5.95/mo. But, then I realize that the Visa card can earn them transaction fees. And there may be advantages to floating money through the network. And, there may be some commission structure for their travel and pharmacy benefits.
The signup cost is low enough that I am willing to lose $30 if I decide not to continue the subscription. In addition, $5.95 does not seem a large hurdle in terms of earning it back in activity rewards. I could be wrong.