Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Loyalty programs have been challenged by the pandemic
1.2 Key findings
1.3 Critical success factors
2. Loyalty is Key for the Entire Market
2.1 All aspects of financial services use rewards and loyalty
2.2 There are seven types of payment reward program, each with its own variants
3. Loyalty Programs in 2020 Face Multiple Challenges
3.1 Loyalty schemes have grown from simple stamps into complex, personalized programs
3.2 Loyalty schemes have faced regulatory and legal scrutiny along with consumer dissatisfaction
3.3 In 2020 loyalty programs have adapted and evolved, keeping pace with unprecedented global change
4. Mobile Wallets are a Key Emerging Trend
4.1 Plastic cards dominate, but digital solutions are on the rise
4.2 Mobile wallets are favored by younger customers
4.3 Mobile wallets are a developing trend, but are already widespread in key markets
4.4 Despite high penetration levels, mobile wallets are still some way off being the preferred payment method
5. Rewards, Loyalty, and Customer Acquisition
5.1 The expectation of rewards is an entrenched part of consumers’ purchasing process
5.2 Age plays a role, but income has a greater impact on perception of rewards
5.3 Rewards are a valued element of the POS retail experience, but not the most important factor
5.4 Rewards are a key component of the mobile wallet experience
6. Loyalty Program Best Practice
6.1 Case study: M&S reworks longstanding loyalty program
6.2 Case study: yuu bundles existing schemes into a single customer contact point to compete with mobile
6.3 Case study: MoneyBack and adapting to COVID-19
7. Neobanks and Loyalty
7.1 Neobanks have considerable appeal to the important millennial market
7.2 Case study: Loyalty schemes linked to brand and consumer values
8. Traditional Banks and Loyalty
8.1 Traditional banks are using loyalty programs to incentivize ongoing digital channel use
9. Appendix
9.1 Abbreviations and acronyms
9.2 Methodology
9.3 Secondary sources

List of Tables
Table 1: Consumers in India are most likely to have used a mobile wallet in the past month
Table 2: Top 10 reasons for choosing a financial services provider
Table 3: Top reasons for choosing a provider by region
Table 4: Secondary reasons for choosing a provider by region
Table 5: For around one in six consumers, earning rewards is the most valued part of purchasing in-store
Table 6: Select rankings of importance of earning rewards to consumers by market
Table 7: Factors encouraging mobile wallet use by region
Table 8: Neobanks enjoy greater switching gains and higher customer advocacy levels than traditional banks
Table 9: Santander offer up to 3% cashback on regular household bills

List of Figures
Figure 1: Loyalty programs create a mutually beneficial loop of information and incentivization
Figure 2: Payment reward schemes differ in complexity and scope, but fall into seven broad categories
Figure 3: Simple stamps have evolved into an abundance of complex digital programs
Figure 4: The range of payment solutions has increased, decreasing bank visibility at the POS
Figure 5: There is a stark age divide in mobile wallet uptake
Figure 6: Mobile wallet penetration and regular usage is highest in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa
Figure 7: Cards and cash are favored payment mechanisms, but mobile wallets are notably more popular with younger consumers
Figure 8: Plastic cards dominate in-store, while mobile wallets are most popular with younger groups when purchasing content
Figure 9: Rewards are most frequently cited as most important by respondents in Asia Pacific
Figure 10: Priorities are broadly consistent by age
Figure 11: The importance of rewards increases in line with household income
Figure 12: Household income is strongly linked to the importance of earning rewards at the POS
Figure 13: Young individuals are most likely to use mobile wallets but less likely to value rewards as part of the process
Figure 14: A relaunch of a well-established scheme breathed new life into loyalty during the pandemic
Figure 15: M&S’s revised loyalty scheme is digital first
Figure 16: M&S clients are older and value rewards much more than the average UK consumer
Figure 17: Multiple brands are available from one portal to drive customer utility
Figure 18: yuu merchant partners cover multiple sectors across over 2,000 outlets
Figure 19: yuu’s promotional materials emphasize savings, treats, and sharing
Figure 20: Hang Seng has been making headway with millennials
Figure 21: MoneyBack is Hong Kong’s largest retail loyalty membership program, partnered with HSBC
Figure 22: Watson’s group includes 20 brands covering a broad range of sectors
Figure 23: Facemasks are offered as an incentive to shop with multiple merchants
Figure 24: MoneyBack’s partnerships give its loyalty points additional versatility
Figure 25: Neobanks are rewarding debit card spending with cashback and points
Figure 26: Flowe combines loyalty and environmental causes to generate engagement with the brand
Figure 27: Flowe promises to offset customers’ expenses to achieve zero carbon impact
Figure 28: Gems are collected in Flowe’s Arcadia loyalty program
Figure 29: MyRewards works with a range of the bank’s products
Figure 30: Accounts with fees are likely to attract a lower NPS
Figure 31: Blue Rewards are earned by holding various products alongside a Barclays account
Figure 32: Citi is a major credit card issuer with multiple products offering variants of its core loyalty program
Figure 33: Having a banking relationship with Citi increases ThankYou earning potential
Figure 34: Owning Citi’s financial products can earn customers an additional 1,600 ThankYou points per month, which can be redeemed against Citi’s own products
Figure 35: CommBank app users receive personalized cashback rewards to incentivize spending
Figure 36: Rewards for using foreign exchange services allows Axis to compete with the growing fintech presence in a key fee-earning segment
Figure 37: Axis customers are avid users of mobile wallets who prioritize rewards and digital service more than most