Loyalty and rewards

As banks weigh blockchain-powered clearing and settlement solutions, the Royal Bank of Canada is looking at how the technology can bolster its customer loyalty schemes.

Starbucks Corp. fell the most in more than two months after Deutsche Bank AG downgraded the stock, saying that changes to the company’s loyalty program may hurt customer traffic.

Citi has expanded its ThankYou Rewards program to allow its reward points to be used directly for purchases at BestBuy.com.

When Starbucks’ new loyalty program rules go into effect this month, it will set the stage for a wave of new payments innovations with intriguing benefits for the coffee giant and its payments processing partner, JPMorgan Chase.

Starbucks is prepared to launch a new Starbucks Rewards Prepaid Card with partner JPMorgan Chase, further strengthening its ongoing relationship with the bank.

Financial technology and marketing provider Kasasa has launched a Credit Card As A Qualifier option for its community financial institution customers.

The promise of unlocking some of the "big data" within payments is coming nearer, with new technology expanding the way consumer purchase data is used to shape marketing campaigns.

Apple Pay’s struggles to build its user base are nothing compared with the labors of Sionic Mobile, which has been on a six-year odyssey of inventing and reinventing its mobile payments app.

The U.K.'s new MoneyGram Plus card seems at first like a standard loyalty card, but to MoneyGram it is a way to streamline the long and repetitive task of initiating a transfer through an agent.

U.S. consumers remain unimpressed by mobile wallets and annoyed by EMV, so something has to give at the point of sale. That something could be coupons.

Starbucks' loyalty program will soon reward bonus points based on money spent rather than recognizing individual purchases, a change designed to ease workflow and increase participation rather than dilute benefits, company executives said Monday morning.

There is a different feel to the troubles American Express faces today, mainly because its lost Costco relationship represented what might be one of the last of its kind — a deal in which a large retailer gives exclusivity to a certain card brand and tells customers how to pay.

ExxonMobil has expanded the rewards program on its store-branded credit cards, to provide a larger discount on fuel sales.

Consumers may not care much about mobile payments, but many of them care a lot about mobile loyalty.

It may seem tough for a system that limits itself to one retailer per vertical to expand, but Plenti is making it happen.

As Square and PayPal push business financing, American Express is adding extra funding options to give businesses a lifeline when spending needs a spike.

Moscow-based startup Cardberry is planning to launch an app and device to streamline discount and loyalty cards.

The concept of a multi-merchant rewards program appeals to cardholders, but the widely advertised Plenti program managed through American Express has not yet reached its potential, according to new data from Auriemma Consulting Group.

The Internet of Things is ready to take off in modern retail in the coming year, spurred by a growing connection to consumer payments.

Versatile, high-tech digital gift card sales are going strong for this year’s holiday season, but in the latest sign that plastic cards many never die, eBay has partnered with gift card giant InComm to sell traditional gift cards online that will take up to 10 days to arrive by mail.