Ernex redeems points instantly at point of sale
The US-based marketing firm Ernex has launched Real-Time Redemption - a new solution which lets credit card holders redeem their card's points instantly for rewards at any participating merchant's point of sale.
The new offering, Real-Time Redemption, gives the cardholder immediate access to their rewards by connecting the point-of-sale device and central database at Ernex. Used in tandem with Ernex's Loyalty Database Hosting service, reward programme operators can experience a reduction in call centre workload, and fulfillment and reconciliation processes are streamlined. The Real-Time Redemption technology is available to those credit card issuers and membership organisations that operate multi-merchant coalition loyalty programmes.
Pilot scheme in Ontario, Canada In February 2002, RBC Royal Bank became the first credit card issuer to pilot this capability for a selected group of Royal Bank Visa Classic II cardholders in four Ontario cities (Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo.) Those RBC cardholders can now redeem their Classic II points at 12 participating Home Hardware locations and at 13 RadioShack Canada locations during the five-month pilot programme. The pilot targets around 5,500 cardholders in the Ontario region through a direct mail campaign. Point-of-purchase materials will be displayed at participating Home Hardware and RadioShack locations to increase market awareness of the new system. Ernex is supporting RBC with ongoing business analytical reports which monitor the success of the pilot programme, ready for a national launch across Canada.
Saving time and effort Usually, credit card holders have to initiate a reward fulfillment process before they can redeem rewards - because there is no link between their points and the merchants that provide the rewards. Typically, the card holder either requests a gift certificate or a specific reward through a call center, which then handles and sends out the reward. In the case of a gift certificate, the card holder has to also visit the merchant to redeem the reward. The new system removes the need for call centres to order, track and manage physical gift certificates and reward merchandise.
For more information about Ernex and Real-Time Redemption, visit the Ernex web site at http://www.ernex.com
