Absa Rewards Reaches 1 Million Customers

More than R300 million in Cash Rewards paid out to Absa customers

Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank by customer numbers today announced that it has clocked 1 million registered rewards customers and paid out over R300 million in cash rewards to customers since the introduction of Absa rewards in 2009.

This year the bank’s rewards programme has had an impressive 64% year-on-year growth rate in membership acquisition, largely achieved through the efforts of the Absa branch network and the affinity all Absa employees have with the Rewards offering.

According to Absa Head of Retail Markets, Arrie Rautenbach this milestone is particularly significant because the popularity of the young rewards programme had risen sharply in a short period of time where the bank is optimistic that if such momentum is maintained Absa Rewards shows great potential to achieve new records.

Rautenbach said the loyalty programme had not only been key to retaining and signing up new customers, but provided a vehicle for Absa business units to effectively co-campaign with more than 60 retail partners on the programme to unlock mutual value and delight customers, while further distinguishing Absa as being one of the only banks in South Africa to introduce a cash rewards banking programme.

“That’s what makes it unique – you earn real cash, not points and can therefore choose exactly how you would like to reward yourself. Putting cash back in customer’s pockets will provide a much needed reprieve for many households, especially at a time when many people are looking for ways to save,” says Rautenbach.

Since October this year Absa Internet banking customers are also able to seamlessly redeem their cash rewards balances online into Absa investment products, Absa transactional accounts, charities, shopping mall vouchers and airtime vouchers.

The bank’s rewards programme enables people the ability to transact safely through the promotion of the convenience of card usage. It rewards customers for doing nothing more than shopping using their Absa debit, cheque or credit card to earn up to 1% of total purchases back in cash rewards. The 1% cash back on total purchases is applied to all spend (regardless of where customers shop), while it also builds a healthy cash rewards balance that can be significantly more beneficial than what other programmes offer, for example, on, fuel purchases. Additional cash rewards are earned when shopping at the bank’s retail partners and customers also benefit from a range of free value added services that form part of the holistic Rewards offer.

Says Rautenbach: “Our rewards programme has proven to motivate cardholders to activate their cards and use them frequently. In response to the lure of accumulating cash rewards, loyalty-driven cardholders use their cards almost twice as often as non-participating cardholders.”

Absa makes clear that winning customer loyalty is valuable “as customers are more inclined to value banks that value them.”

In this regard, Absa offers a number of economic rewards to build organic growth rooted in strong customer relationships. The bank’s latest transactional offering, Value Bundles, is an affordable banking fee bundle that rewards customers with cash back and discounts on monthly bank charges the more products and services clients take up with Absa.

Absa also offers an automatic 1% cash-back deal on personal loans for personal and micro-loan customers who maintain good payments records. In its latest and most unique customer incentive campaigns called the Greatest Ticket of all campaign, by simply doing everyday banking across Absa’s digital channels, transactional accounts and personal loans offering, Absa will reward customers with cash prizes, tickets and all expense paid trips to some of its biggest sponsorship properties, ranging from the Barclays Premiership to the Absa Cape Epic or the Absa Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees.

“In our journey to become more client focused we have put customer loyalty at the heart of our growth strategies. We believe this will be the best path forward for retail banks in the years ahead,” concludes Rautenbach.