Suretap, a virtual wallet service for smartphones, has partnered with the Points loyalty network to bring loyalty card transactions to its users – and drive customer loyalty for brands and retailers.
“The Suretap mobile wallet is all about making it easier, safer and more rewarding for Canadians to transact in every step of the consumer journey, including getting more out of their relationships with local brands and retailers,” said Jeppe Dorff, president of Suretap, in a statement. “By leveraging Points’ loyalty platform in our wallet technology, we’re improving the payment experience for millions of Canadians and providing banks and merchants a more robust way to engage with their customers.”
Just months ago, Suretap partnered with MasterCard to provide a re-loadable digital card that allows users to make payments with their NFC-enabled smartphone.
The new partnership with Points opens up the loyalty section of the mobile wallet system where users can store information for various loyalty cards as well as earn and spend those reward points. The new wallet section, which will be powered by Points, stores more than 100 different loyalty rewards programs and allows users to track their live balances.
Points CEO Rob MacLean said in a statement, “With this partnership, we’re proud to join forces with one of Canada’s leading digital wallet providers. By providing Suretap wallet users with access to loyalty rewards management and transaction capability in one place, we’re excited to open the door to a better consumer experience in the wallet, and for loyalty programs to both better engage their customers and drive attractive incremental economics via this new channel.”
While the Suretap-Points partnerships makes this one of the first virtual wallets to take loyalty transactions mobile, other mobile currency leaders are also working to integrate similar systems into their apps. At the end of October, RBC announced its customer-facing app would support loyalty programs, and the UGO mobile wallet also allows users to store their loyalty card info.
Canadians are resistant to digital wallets, but having loyalty information on their smartphone could be another reason consumers would choose their phone over their wallet.