Lansing, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/30/2017 --The crowdfunding campaign for the Hiipe app launched earlier this week on the Indiegogo platform.

Hiipe is a new chat app that allows users to collect rewards for doing everything someone normally does with a smart phone, such as texting, talking on the phone and browsing the Internet.

Hiipe users earn "smartpoints" every time they do simple things like send a text, receive a phone call, share files with other users, and surf the worldwide web. These smartpoints can then be redeemed in exchange for prizes and discounts from participating merchants, just as one would do with credit cards and airlines. In the beta version, prizes are given via a raffle system. Hiipe also ensures privacy and security, and utilizes end-to-end encryption for its chat system.

For participating merchants, Hiipe opens up a new, global customer base without requiring them to remit commission fees for sales; businesses can potentially reach millions of users, free of charge. Many similar services currently deduct service fees or commissions.

Former U.S. Army officer Heine Nzumafo, who currently resides in Lansing, Michigan, created the app as a means for smart phone users who he believes should be able to reap benefits by simply using their devices.

"Hiipe does just that, which is why I describe it simply as WhatsApp meets Groupon," Nzumafo has said.

The idea was conceived in 2001 and Nzumafo received his patent for the technology in 2014. Hiipe has been available in beta version for iOS and Android but is moving towards its next major release.

Hiipe's Indiegogo campaign was launched in order to raise funds to:

- Improve the design of the app interface to ensure it is bug-free, highly functional and user-friendly;

- Introduce new chatting features like group chatting and video calling; and

- Create merchant profiles in the app, improve the merchant portal and acquire additional merchants so users have access to more exciting rewards, such as spa packages, travel discounts, fitness classes, and the latest electronic gadgets.

The campaign offers reward tiers for users and merchants. See the campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hiipe-the-1st-chat-app-to-reward-users-with-points#/

For more information about the Hiipe app, visit http://www.hiipe.me/, or download the beta version from The Apple Store or Google Play. Follow Hiipe on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HiipeApp), Twitter and Instagram (@HiipeApp).

About Heine Nzumafo
Heine Nzumafo was born in Cameroon, West Africa, moving to New York in 1995 where he earned a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering at Stony Brook University. He later completed a Masters in Electrical Engineering from NYU Poly before serving in the US Army as a signal officer for seven years. In 2011, he resigned his commission as a Captain to concentrate on the Hiipe app.