When you shop, you can build wealth. That’s the thesis behind it stock levelsa startup specializing in stock awards and loyalty programs.

The company, supported by Sharp ventures and Yellow, the in-house accelerator program from snap SNAPrecently partnered with another fintech Ionia Inc. The partnership will provide Ionia with access to Bits of Stock’s technology and brokerage services to integrate stock rewards into their existing loyalty programs.

Benzinga succeeded the CEO of Bits of Stock Arash Asady, a former Marine and Wall Street dealer-turned-entrepreneur, to learn more about the deal and how it worked. Here’s what he said:

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BZ: How can stock awards be integrated into loyalty programs?

Nice: Any business or financial institution that offers a rewards program may offer stock rewards as an alternative to a points program or as an option to redeem points. When a customer swipes a credit or debit card or makes a purchase from a participating brand, they get a percentage back in fractions of shares. This can be stocks from the brand they are buying from, a favorite stock of theirs, or even an ETF.

Is there data that shows this is something that can boost business?

We tested a stock rewards program in our own consumer app and partnered with a team of researchers from New York University’s Stern School of Business to analyze the data. In the app, users would get a percentage back in fractional shares when they made a purchase from participating brands using a registered card.

The paper, which was presented at academic conferences late last year, found that every $1 in shares rewards over $16 in increases in customer spending. Customers who received stock rewards increased their monthly spend at rewarding merchants by 51%.

Meanwhile, stock award recipients increased monthly transactions from award-eligible accounts by over 19%. We already knew that creating new ways to get more Americans investing would be good for…