Loyalty and rewards

The question isn't whether things will magically return to the 2019 status quo, but where is there still pent-up demand among consumers and merchants?

In the pandemic age, banks are getting creative in a bid to keep affluent customers.

Walgreens is collaborating with Synchrony to roll out a cobranded credit card with an eye on the convergence of digital tools for spending and health care.

Synchrony wasn’t unscathed by the pandemic — consumer spending slowed during the first half of the year — but its mix of private-label and cobranded cards for everyday items suffered far less than other issuers' cards that emphasized luxury and travel.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 saw some businesses become big winners — such as Zoom, Home Depot and payments companies like PayPal — while other businesses suffered heavily, most notably the travel and hospitality industries. Credit card issuers also suffered, as demand lagged heavily for new cards and their overall spending dropped considerably during the year.

American Express has spent years refining a decision-making engine that can tailor products and services to cardholders' needs in real time.

The motivation behind JPMorgan Chase's purchase of rewards company cxLoyalty is clear — travel spending and rewards have suffered greatly during the pandemic — but another problem Chase is tackling with this acquisition is the need to wean people off cash rewards.

Michael Moeser, senior analyst at PaymentsSource, talks to Jennifer Philo, group vice president of U.S. commerce at Blackhawk Network, about the ways the global pandemic has transformed the use cases for gift cards, prepaid cards and loyalty products the company supports.

JPMorgan Chase is buying cxLoyalty, a major credit card loyalty platform, in a bid to enrich its own card loyalty programs when travel resumes after the global pandemic.

JPMorgan Chase is partnering with Air Canada, the bank's first new cobranded card partner to be announced in years.

How do you connect with the customer in today’s environment? Citi's new head of branded cards, Pam Habner, sits down with PaymentsSource's Daniel Wolfe to talk about purpose-driven leadership and how companies can take a stand on issues that matter.

Viva Wallet is offering London’s 20,000 black taxis a Mastercard-branded business debit card whose cashback is meant to be offset against card acceptance fees at the acquirer’s in-taxi terminals.

Google has redesigned Google Pay to add new financial management and loyalty features; and to offer consumers checking and savings accounts from partner banks and credit unions in 2021.

Ahead of a holiday shopping season that should focus heavily on e-commerce, Amazon is updating its rewards program to keep delivery drivers interested in handling its packages.

Renaud Laplanche's fintech will give borrowers cash back when they lower their loan balances.

Expect to see other credit card companies join the race to customize rewards to customers to maximize appeal and customer lifetime value, says RevTrax's Jonathan Treiber.

FIS has added Walgreens as a rewards partner in Premium Payback, its payment card loyalty program for financial institutions using its banking services platform.

Daniel Wolfe, Editor-in-Chief of PaymentsSource, talks with Jay Klauminzer, CEO of Raise, to talk about how the company adapted to abrupt, long-term change in consumer payments.

Walmart is expanding the contactless payment options in its stores as part of a new design that aims to blur the online and in-store shopping experience.