Loyalty and rewards

Air Canada and its banking partners sweetened their bid for Aeroplan, winning over Aimia’s board and an activist shareholder that was seeking a higher price.

Cardlytics has added Wells Fargo to the list of banks using its card-linked offers platform after a successful pilot, joining JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the latter of which has leaned on Cardlytics’ marketing service since 2012. Notably, these rivals aren’t demanding exclusivity.

Tailoring company objectives to customers’ changing expectations is no longer a choice. Customer loyalty programs are not just the source of bringing repeated business but also the determinant of the future key players across all industries, writes Donika Kraeva, Communications Manager at Dentacoin Foundation, Netherlands.

London-based fintech Flux is leveraging open banking and PSD2 to work with U.K. banks and retailers to give their customers paperless receipts, digital loyalty stamps and digital cashback offers.

Visa has partnered with U.S.-based fintech novae to launch an omnichannel digital rewards platform for Visa card-issuing banks in Latin America and the Caribbean. The collaboration with San Francisco-based Novae is an example of the card network's open approach to fintech.

In its push to compete more directly with Amazon, Walmart has partnered with American Express, enabling its customers to earn and burn Amex’s Membership Rewards points for e-commerce purchases on Walmart.com.

American Express' blockchain patent application isn't just about payments: It could also radically change how card-based merchant offers are made and allow them to become much more targeted.

Canadian cardholders are holding back from applying for travel rewards-linked credit cards while they wait for the fallout from Air Canada’s decision to withdraw from the Aeroplan coalition loyalty scheme.

As Amazon Prime Day kicks off, credit unions are looking for ways to entice members to use the CU's card for purchases.

If it seems there's a little bit of Disney magic in Carnival Cruise Lines' Ocean Medallion, it's because the executive overseeing the Carnival project cut his teeth on the Disney Magic Band.