A rewards program funded by participating merchants draws significantly higher consumer spending, according to card processing CUSO PSCU.
The payments CUSO reported that in the first quarter of 2012, members of the 140 credit unions participating in its CURewards Mall program spent on average 49% more with participating retailers, on a monthly basis, than did consumers who did not have the rewards.
The Mall is an online portal where members of participating credit unions can access special retailer offers for which only they are eligible. Participating members are also able to access their rewards at the retailers' offline stores.
Recommended For You
The CUSO reported that credit card holders which participated in the rewards program spent, on average, 1.8 times the amount of card holders who did not participate in the program, $2,767 versus $1,562, while card holders participating had almost double the transactions of non-registered cardholders: 39 versus 22.
Participating debit cardholders spent 71% higher than non-participating cardholders: $3,421 versus $2,005. Participating cardholders had 35 more transactions than non-participating cardholders: 89 versus 53 transactions during the quarter.
"The CURewards Mall creates a higher level of engagement by combining personalized offers with online shopping at big-name national retailers to stimulate usage. It takes expectations for rewards programs to a new level and gives our member-owners a clear point of differentiation for their loyalty program," said Michael Kelly, CEO of PSCU in St. Petersburg, Fla.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
