MasterCard Expands Suite of Loyalty & Reward Programs

The new programs include a turn-key rewards platform called Preferred Rewards, a direct mail Cash Rewards activation campaign and a sales incentive drive for the employees of MasterCard financial institutions who secure new commercial debit card holders. These programs build on the growing popularity of the Debit MasterCard BusinessCard, which last year experienced a 36 percent increase in issuers, 58 percent increase in cards, 67 percent increase in transaction volume and today includes more than 60 principal issuers. The Debit MasterCard BusinessCard is a part of MasterCard Working(TM) for Small Business, a comprehensive set of solutions designed to give financial institutions the means and support to acquire, serve and satisfy small business customers. Recent MasterCard research identified a clear need for a commercial debit card option for small businesses. According to the study, 99 percent of small businesses report having checking accounts, but only 13 percent today use a debit business card. Moreover, small businesses indicate that 67 percent of their annualized business expenditures are made with checks. However, among small business debit card users, four-out-of-five report being very to extremely satisfied with their commercial debit card, and three-out-four consider themselves frequent users of the card. Program Descriptions Cash Rewards The MasterCard Cash Rewards program for the Debit MasterCard BusinessCard utilizes proven direct mail pieces and cash-back offers to support small business debit cardholder activation efforts, while also providing usage-incentives for infrequent card-users. MasterCard will fund development of customized direct mail packages, handle rewards fulfillment and cover postage costs. The promotional effort also includes targeted discounts at a number of leading business merchandise providers such as Office Depot, Pennywise.com, The New York Times and IBM. Preferred Rewards MasterCard expanded Preferred Rewards, its turn-key loyalty and rewards program introduced in 2003, to enable Debit MasterCard BusinessCard cardholders to earn one reward point for every $2 in small business debit, signature purchase transactions. Cardholders can combine points earned from Debit MasterCard BusinessCard transactions with purchases made with personal MasterCard debit cards. In addition to free air travel on any airline with no blackout dates, points can be redeemed for electronics, hotel stays and travel packages, as well as discounts at Home Depot, Office Max, Best Buy, among others. Through the Preferred Rewards for Business website, cardholders can access their rewards information and redeem points. Preferred Rewards leverages the MasterCard rewards platform for small business, MasterCard Business Bonuses, launched in 1999. Sales Incentive Campaign In addition to loyalty and usage programs, MasterCard launched a series of sweepstake incentive promotions aimed at rewarding the internal personnel of financial institutions for acquiring small business debit cardholders. During scheduled Debit MasterCard BusinessCard sales drive periods, the participating institutions sales-force will have opportunities to win valuable prizes such as a trip for two to the Major League Baseball 2004 World Series or the MasterCard Alamo Bowl, as well as Hollywood and Orlando experiences at Universal Studios Theme Parks. Existing Marketing Support MasterCard offers a host of other marketing programs to help financial institutions build debit BusinessCard portfolios, including Priceless advertising support, brochures, direct mail, statement inserts, merchant discounts from MasterCard Exclusives, customized reward programs through Business Bonuses, in-house and syndicated marketplace research, in-branch training kits, as well as portfolio analysis tools, and product consulting services.