Card-Linking has arrived to put your Loyalty Program on steroids

So you have a Loyalty program, you are pretty happy with it, you reach your pre-set KPI’s year-on-year and the boss is happy. 20% Engaged customer base, increase on incremental spend, customer satisfaction & x amount of new customers month on month.

That is some achievement, the problems alluded to in a previous article regarding the ‘Two-step process’, businesses must constantly battle with customer experience, enticing rewards and improving technology to grow their loyalty programme. However, it is time for a ramp-up in the industry, something to really shake things up.

Card-Linking is now here! Loyalty operators no longer need to accept the status quo. Customers no longer need to be weighed down by numerous plastic cards. Businesses can now streamline the customer experience and customers can now receive their rewards with zero effort!

What is it? The US has been an early adopter of Card-Linking and we have seen some big players take on the challenge themselves, including the likes of AT&T, Macy’s, Enterprise and Whole Foods.

Card-linking enables consumers to link their existing credit or debit cards to digital coupons, loyalty programs or mobile wallets. When consumers pay with their registered card or mobile wallet the discount or loyalty benefit is automatically applied without the consumer having to use a paper coupon, QR code, digital coupon or promotion code.

Is it any good? Data from the 2016 Annual Card Linking Industry Survey showed that 50% of respondent businesses noted that Card-Linking transactions have grown by at-least 50% in the last 12 months. As consumers have become more comfortable with technology and smartphones, their appetite for card-linking offers and loyalty programs has grown.

Empyr CEO Jon Carder said he could see 20 million active consumers building a $10 billion annual business –with $750 million in revenues going to the participating card linked offer companies. “It is a network effect,” he said. “The more participants, the more consumers you have, the more revenue you get.”

Data from the UK Cards Association showed that in 2016, 78% of all retail spending was made via card payment. Industry experts predict that debit cards are on track to become king in 2021 when they will take over from cash to become the UK’s most frequently used payment method, according to a new report from Payments UK, the trade association for the payments industry.

How do I get it? It is time for the UK to embrace card payments and what this can do for the consumer. The good news is that you can. The Fidel API links all payments types to provide instant reward for the consumer.

With no effort at all, businesses can now supercharge their loyalty programs by simply offering the consumer the easiest way to participate. The Fidel API takes just a 15 minute integration with a few lines of code.

The simple SDKs can be embedded onto any website or App to enable a seamless customer experience, tailored to any program/retailer/merchant. Set up an account to see for yourself!