Loyalty and rewards

Every year, payments experts gather at SourceMedia's Card Forum to discuss the trends shaping our industry. Here are some of the major topics discussed at this year's event in Austin, Texas.

In banking, as in any other industry, a company's brand is a precious commodity. But as the digital economy matures, card issuers are finding a greater need to hand the reins over to their partners.

An upcoming release of Android Pay may have a biometric facial recognition component named “Visual ID," according to a recent teardown of the app. This functionality could open up numerous possibilities for merchants.

At noon on Monday, May 1, reservations will open for the EMP Summer House in East Hampton, N.Y. But only American Express cardholders can reserve a table.

Despite the best intentions of Apple and Google to ignite contactless, the QR Code persists as a tenacious legacy technology providing the connective tissue between physical and digital domains. Further evidence of its persistence comes from Facebook.

Facebook is reportedly rolling out a feature that allows users to scan QR codes to earn incentives to shop at nearby stores.

The North American subsidiary of Germany’s Wirecard AG is providing the technology behind a prepaid Visa card that distributes cash rewards to blood donors.

In the past, card issuers could lure new customers by offering a low promotional rate. But regulations in the wake of the financial crisis don't allow rate adjustments, and issuers also can't increase credit lines as they did in the past.

Loyalty programs are getting more sophisticated, but they still typically boil down to a game of collecting and redeeming points.

Mobile apps still account for only about one percent of transactions. There are a few ways to increase adoption, such as targeting payment types that are already tough to make with cash.