Loyalty and rewards

The airline wants to capture more benefits from a program that should be worth more than C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) over 15 years.

Seeing the successful “private label” debit programs at Target and Cumberland Farms has inspired more merchants to launch their own initiatives, writes Adam Frisch, CEO of Buy It Mobility Networks.

Credit card benefits aren't worth much to a consumer who has no idea what the card offers, or has forgotten about them over time and simply never uses them.

On the surface, Android Pay may not seem that different from the Google Wallet launched four years before it. Ultimately, it took the failure of multiple mobile wallets for Android Pay to find its own path.

Mobile wallet adoption in the U.S. is slow, and the payments industry has only itself to blame.

Ask any consumer what their most-used mobile wallet is, and you'll get one answer. Ask an issuer or a merchant, and the answer could be vastly different. Here's why.

Some virtual currencies are getting narrower focuses on individual categories such as dentistry, and Burger King will soon find out if the concept is transferrable to Russian fast food.

Mobile wallets and digital payments apps are erasing the distinction between credit and debit, but many issuers still cling to old practices that treat those audiences differently. SunTrust is working to change that.

Mobile wallets and digital payments apps are erasing the distinction between credit and debit, but many issuers still cling to old practices that treat those audiences differently. SunTrust is working to change that.

As marketing becomes more expensive, issuers are under pressure to find new ways to lure merchants, according to Eric Marks and Sean Clark from West Monroe Partners.

Credit card issuers have been trying to outdo each other to offer the best rewards program. And it shows, as customer satisfaction rates with many (but not all) of their banks have never been higher in a yearly J.D. Power study. But they may not last forever.

Credit card issuers are still targeting high-spending customers, who tend to be resilient to economic swings, but competition at the top is brutal and marketing costs are high. At the other end of the credit spectrum, it’s a different story.

Bank of America is readying a premium credit card that boosts the rewards customers may earn based on funds kept in savings and investment accounts at the bank.

Enticements such as rewards, loyalty points and coupons seldom face pushback as a marketing concept, but there's been recent concern that these programs are devouring potential revenue from consumers who would be willing to pay full price.

Toronto-based Glance Technologies has introduced a new version of its Glance Pay mobile payments app that uses micro-location sensing technologies along with image recognition, an approach it says is easier for merchants to adopt than QR codes.

Banks are going to great lengths to sign up the so-called mass affluent for their credit cards. How far is too far?

Starbucks has hit a mobile payments milestone, with 30% of all U.S. transactions now coming through mobile, and to smooth operations surrounding its popular Mobile Order & Pay service, the company is introducing digital-ordering specialists at its busiest stores.

Charging what people are willing to pay is an exact science, claims First Insight's Jim Shea, who contends the loyalty programs and price perks that merchants offer aren't always necessary.

The payments industry has come a long way with how it treats loyalty and rewards. Here are some of the more creative offerings to come about this year.

As contactless payment cards gain more momentum in U.K., supermarket giant Tesco wants to be sure its store loyalty card doesn't get left behind.