Loyalty and rewards

Mastercard plans to acquire loyalty and marketing company SessionM to help its merchant clients build their brands and grow their businesses.

The retailer and credit card giant are rolling out two new card offerings. The move could hit especially close to home for CUs with branches inside Walmart locations.

New technology allows AmEx to see a startup’s bank balance to let fledgling firms qualify for cards, said Anna Marrs, president of global commercial services.

American Express is adding a new dimension to its year-old partnership with PayPal by giving credit card customers more options for splitting a restaurant check and paying with loyalty points.

Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Co. originally sold farming tools by mail, but digital technology has put the expanding 81-year-old company at the forefront of loyalty marketing.

Annual fees for Platinum cards for consumers and small businesses will increase to $250 from $195, while Reserve cards go up by $100 to $550. Gold cards will rise slightly from $95 to $99.

When the payments industry's decision makers gathered in Los Angeles at SourceMedia's annual PayThink conference, certain topics dominated the discussion.

The launch of the products comes more than a year after Capital One wrested the Walmart partnership from Synchrony Financial.

In a sign of how much Walmart Inc. is betting on e-commerce, the retailer’s revamped credit-card program with Capital One Financial Corp. offers better rewards for online shopping and checking out with its mobile app.

Retailers have raised the bar in how they attract customers through rewards and loyalty programs, but not all are well-versed in how their technology also lures fraudsters.