Banking integrates more and more companies –among them, for example, fintech companies–, which are struggling to build a strong client portfolio.
Within this framework and with the aim of maintaining a good level of operations, Some of the most prominent players are committed to various formulas that allow them to maintain – and retain – their customers as well as attract those who are looking for a positive user experience.
By the way, for a while now some have chosen to include reward programs in their proposals for users which are becoming more popular every day.
Through these, those who use a credit or debit card obtain a remuneration that is reflected in their bank account and that they can later use to exchange certain products in certain companies, for example, gastronomy or fashion.
In Uruguay, there are three financial entities that stand out for the application of a reward program: Itaú, through miles; Oca, through the meters and Santander, through the points.
In order to know how this program works in the country and the appraisal that customers make of the application, Coffee & Business He spoke with representatives of the three aforementioned banking players.
Miles
Flying is Itaú’s rewards program, which was born in 2013: when the bank had grown in the number of clients who – according to what Itaú said – required a much more complete proposal than the traditional one offered at that time.
Since then, the program has been growing in all customer segments. So much so that the bank is currently breaking the record for exchanges constantly, reaching more than 25,000 per month.
Regarding the future of the Volar program, Itaú said: “We want to take advantage of it as a platform through which we can speak to all customers.” For this reason, the bank is already thinking of more strategic alliances, betting on innovative exchanges.
In addition, they highlighted that the bank is committed to continuing to improve the customer experience in terms of redeeming miles in physical stores through QR.
Flying is a fundamental part of Itaú’s value proposition, because through this program customers can find exchanges to enjoy different experiences: from trips to dinners in restaurants or vouchers to consume in fashion companies, among others. In fact, Volar has 150 providers.
To conclude, from Itaú they maintained that it is a program that –since it is typical of Itaú– allows the bank the necessary flexibility to respond to customer requests.
“It is a program that gives us the possibility of expanding the offer and innovating with products and services to surprise customers,” they said from the bank. “Flying is a dynamic, living program that makes us constantly adapt,” they concluded.
meters
Oca is committed to building customer loyalty through its metro program, in which all those people who have Oca, OcaBlue and Visa de Oca cards with enabled accounts through which they can make purchases and/or debit payments participate.
In this sense, it should be noted that the meters accumulate for purchases and debits that are made with the cardholder’s card or any of its additional ones.
The footage has already completed 25 years of activity, and according to Oca it is more current than ever in the market with more than 80 brands available to the company’s customers who want to use its meters: a vast majority.
In this sense, it seems essential to point out that, according to the head of Oca’s product, Ignacio Mariño: “More than 50% of customers make at least one exchange per year and almost all clients exchange after two years.”
And it is because of this use by customers that the company will exceed one million exchanges of products or services this year.
Referring to the success of this reward program, Mariño highlighted that customers value the footage system above all for the phigital model (a hybrid between physical and digital) that it offers: “Customers can redeem 100% digitally, or go through footage stores”, explained Oca’s head of product.
Finally –and thinking about the future of the footage–, Mariño stated: “We want to be the most relevant financial platform in Uruguay, and to achieve this, the footage is a differential that we will continue to promote”.
Points
Soy Santander is a customer loyalty platform –since they obtain benefits for belonging to the bank–, which innovates in the mechanisms for accumulating points because, as Santander’s personal banking manager, Juan Manuel Gasparri, explained: “Santander rewards all interactions and not just the use of cards”.
This means that it gives prizes, for example, for the collection of salary, among other options.
The program arose in the pandemic, and from the bank they always trusted its success because it was born focused on the client: “We knew what to offer,” said Gasparri.
In this sense, he explained that, in the first instance, the bank chose to offer specialized exchanges in different categories and products. And in a second instance, it incorporated the exchange of points via QR payment in different commercial partners through a digital wallet of the program. Regarding the implementation of payment with QR, the company’s personal banking manager said that thanks to this the number of brands associated with Soy Santander –currently, more than 50– is constantly growing.
Lastly, Gasparri pointed out that the program generates added value for clients since by the simple fact of transacting with the bank they acquire points that are equivalent to money —a point like a peso— to buy. In this sense, he added: “We see that our program is accepted, since the percentage of actively participating clients is in line with the rest of the programs on the market that are older.”
In conclusion, Santander’s personal banking manager said that in the future the bank hopes to continue adding business partners to expand the program’s offer, and generate even more acceptance by customers.
