Loyalty and rewards

For Good Causes has emerged from pilot in the U.K. to help consumers and businesses convert loyalty rewards points to digital cash donations for charities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Treasury Department is in talks with some airlines about accepting their loyalty programs as collateral against government loans to help them weather the coronavirus crisis.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is raising cash by selling loyalty points and offering bonds as the company rides out the coronavirus crisis.

While the primary focus for most credit card providers in March was on emphasizing fee forgiveness and payment deferral support, moving forward issuers need to focus on a mix of strategies to retain their cardholders' share of spend, says The Futurist Group's Demitry Estrin.

The benefits of virtual payment cards go beyond replacing physical cards and eliminating social contacts. Payment vendors that manage these virtual cards can also create branded cards and portals for companies, says Berkeley Payments' Jonathan Hamburg.

The mainstream adoption of Bitcoin is getting a boost from credit card giant Visa Inc., which joined startup Fold to offer a card that earns rewards denominated in the cryptocurrency instead of airline miles or cash.

Analytical technology will be key for firms looking to appeal to the next generation of customers. Having come of age in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, secure personal finance is extremely important to this generation, says Axis Communications' Stephen Joseph.

Cobranded travel credit cards — including some of the most popular and profitable in the payment card industry — are looking at darker skies because of COVID-19.

Credit card issuers caught in the trap of chasing new customers with increasingly costly rewards-point programs are trying something new: letting more users redeem rewards directly with merchants instead of acting as the intermediary.

Wells Fargo hopes to anchor its debit card at the top of customers’ digital wallets with a promotion offering users a $5 credit.

Ally Financial's recently announced $2.65 billion cash-and-stock deal for CardWorks, which offers unsecured credit cards among other products, places a high price tag on a traditionally risky product.

The deal to create the nation's second-largest wireless network may lead to a revamp of a discount that reportedly drives 250,000 new Sprint customers annually.

The connection of an advanced loyalty program can woo consumers, even in a case where the merchant's products may cost more, says Clarus Commerce's Tom Caparaso.

Of all of the valuable consumer assets that fraudsters like to steal, loyalty or rewards points or cash is becoming a favorite.

Like its rival Mastercard, payments volume is on the rise at Visa, but the coronavirus complicates the near-term economic outlook and makes China an even tougher market.

Cubic Corp is trying to boost transit ridership by allowing rewards earned via mobile payment usage to offset the cost of fares.

Digital receipts and rewards startup Flux has been gaining ground with retailers and challenger banks, and had continued the momentum by attracting investment from Barclays.

American Express has focused the past few years on overcoming a couple of its stigmas — that not all U.S. merchants accept Amex cards, and that younger cardholders were not intrigued by the status of holding an Amex card.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. sweetened rewards on their credit cards as the companies continue to renegotiate the terms of their longtime partnership.

Even in mature markets, consumers may not feel very connected to their payment cards. This is making issuers more reliant on selling data-driven experiences over simple transaction processing.