PURCHASE, N.Y. — MasterCard International has rolled out a rewards program that will allow credit unions to offer rewards that span a cardholder's entire relationship with the credit union.
"Financial institutions are looking for ways to enhance cross-sell and retention efforts, and an innovative loyalty program like MasterCard's relationship rewards is a critical element of this strategy," said Patricia Preston, an executive with MasterCard.
Preston said the company's internal research shows that consumers prefer to be recognized and rewarded for their entire relationship with a financial institution, and that MasterCard is working to help financial institutions broaden the entire banking relationship.
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Rewards programs that offer financial institutions an opportunity to offer various rewards for different activities have been around for a while, but MasterCard may be the first major card brand to incorporate that ability into its own rewards program. Credit unions will have the ability to customize programs to any degree desired. Rewards can be earned on deposit or investment balances, the number of products held, transactional elements such as card purchases, online bill payment, direct deposit, as well as one-time promotional events such as a mortgage or HELOC application/approval, the card brand said. The new program will be available to financial institutions beginning early next year, MasterCard added. Additionally, the brand explained that rewards from personal and small business products can be commingled, allowing customers to have a consolidated rewards "bank" from which they can take advantage of everything from cash-back, travel and gift certificates to matching contributions and experiential rewards.
Financial institutions needing to build a business case for relationship rewards can take advantage of best practices financial modeling, competitive analysis, cross-sell and product suite diagnostic tools as the front end to the program, the brand said. Program design, marketing campaign planning, ongoing program management, results tracking and analysis are other components of the MasterCard relationship rewards offering.
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