Citigroup Inc. is testing a payment card that lets consumers redeem rewards points at the point of sale, according to Dynamics Inc., which makes the cards.
Dynamics, of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday at the Finovate conference in New York that Citi has been trying out its Redemption card since May, and plans to expand the program next month. Citi is calling it the Citi 2G card.
The card can function as a standard, magnetic stripe credit card, but has built-in electronics that can rewrite the stripe as needed; users can choose to charge purchases to the credit account, or push a button to change the data on the stripe and make purchases by redeeming points from a linked rewards account. "Never before has an issuer brought this type of capability to market, one that allows consumers to choose at the point of sale to use points that they've earned," Jeff Mullen, Dynamics' chief executive, said in a press release Tuesday.
