Oman's new loyalty coalition issues smart cards
BankMuscat, Oman Oil Marketing Company, Oman Mobile and Lulu Hypermarkets have joined forces to launch a multi-partner smart card-enabled loyalty scheme in the Sultanate of Oman.
Positioned as a programme that helps shoppers save as they spend, the basmaRewards programme rewards regular shoppers with benefits and privileges from the four founding partners.
According to AbdulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive for BankMuscat, "We are happy to be part of this initiative... The basmaRewards programme, we believe, has the potential to change the way people shop in the Sultanate."
More partners coming Additional partners and merchants will join the programme in early 2006, including car sales and service companies, jewellery stores, fashion outlets, electronic showrooms, restaurants, travel agents, and hotels.
The programme allows cardholders to earn basmaPoints for each Rial Omani spent at any of the merchant outlets. If a cardholder is a BankMuscat credit card holder, they can earn additional points by paying with their BankMuscat credit cards.
Instant cash redemption The basmaPoints can be used in place of cash payments, with each point being equal to 1 baiza. Instant redemptions are possible because the basmaCards are smart cards with the points balance stored on the chip. Full or part payments can be made in this way at all omanoil Filling Stations, Lulu Hypermarkets and Department stores and selected Oman Mobile outlets throughout the country.
Mike Wilson, managing director for Oman Oil Marketing Company, said: "It has always been our aim to provide value-added services to customers in the Sultanate... We are sure that the basmaRewards programme will go down well with motorists and shoppers."
Prepaid fuel card The basmaCard also acts as a pre-paid fuel card, allowing customers to budget their fuel spending while collecting basmaPoints at the same time. The basmaCards use a secure PIN to prevent unauthorised usage in case of loss or theft.
Initially, basmaCards will be issued by BankMuscat to privileged credit card holders and by Oman Mobile to a select few of its customers. The cards will be available at all omanoil Filling Stations for motorists that load RO20 onto the pre-paid facility on the basmaCard.
All basmaCards sent to BankMusat credit cardholders will be sent in a pre-activated form, while those issued at omanoil Filling Stations will need to be activated before use (by inserting the card into the POS terminal and selecting the 'activate' option).
More Info: