News Topic: Loyalty and rewards

Discovery Bank in South Africa and other overseas financial companies say healthier customers are more profitable. They are giving reward points, gym subsidies and even free Apple Watches to those who meet fitness goals. ... Read full article

In the pandemic age, banks are getting creative in a bid to keep affluent customers. ... Read full article

Synchrony wasn’t unscathed by the pandemic — consumer spending slowed during the first half of the year — but its mix of private-label and cobranded cards for everyday items suffered far less than other issuers' cards that emphasized luxury and ... Read full article

American Express has spent years refining a decision-making engine that can tailor products and services to cardholders' needs in real time. ... Read full article

JPMorgan Chase is buying Stamford, Conn.-based cxLoyalty, a major credit card loyalty platform, in a bid to enrich its own card loyalty programs when travel resumes following the global pandemic. ... Read full article

JPMorgan Chase is partnering with Air Canada, the bank's first new cobranded card partner to be announced in years. ... Read full article

Google has redesigned Google Pay to add new financial management and loyalty features; and to offer consumers checking and savings accounts from partner banks and credit unions in 2021. ... Read full article

Renaud Laplanche's fintech will give borrowers cash back when they lower their loan balances. ... Read full article

Visa and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are in the middle of a 10-year merchant services agreement that gives Chase merchants certain advantages with the expected goal of favoring Visa card volume. But it’s not an exclusive arrangement. ... Read full article

The agency wants more timely information on the banks it supervises; investors filed a criminal complaint against Ernst & Young, calling their work “a disaster” for failing to expose the scandal. ... Read full article

The payments company is buying Finicity, which powers platforms for Rocket Mortgage and others; the small N.J.-based lender to fintechs is the fourth largest PPP provider. ... Read full article

With Americans traveling less due to the pandemic, the card, issued by Synchrony, is tailoring rewards to everyday purchases, such as groceries. It also has a contactless feature that could appeal to shoppers fearful of touching terminals. ... Read full article

Marriott International Inc. raised $920 million in cash through deals with co-branded credit card companies as it rides out the pause in travel due to the coronavirus. ... Read full article

"We're now in a different world," Stephen Squeri, chairman and CEO of Amex, said during the card brand's first-quarter earnings call. ... Read full article

Wells Fargo hopes to anchor its debit card at the top of customers’ digital wallets with a promotion offering users a $5 credit. ... Read full article

Ally Financial's recently announced $2.65 billion cash-and-stock deal for CardWorks, which offers unsecured credit cards among other products, places a high price tag on a traditionally risky product. ... Read full article

Fed proposal is at odds with the one offered by the FDIC and OCC; judge wants to dispel the “myth” that student loans can’t be expunged in bankruptcy. ... Read full article

JPMorgan Chase is boosting the annual fee for customers to $550 from $450 as it adds new perks with partners such as DoorDash and Lyft. ... Read full article