Scotiabank has unveiled its new Scotiabank Passport Debit Card, allowing Canadians to use their debit cards to earn travel rewards. As the only Canadian financial institution to offer entertainment, cash back and now travel rewards on debit, Scotiabank says that the new card initiative gives it a competitive advantage writes Douglas Blakey
Eighty per cent of consumers want to be rewarded for their business (Financial Consumer Survey 2015) and debit rewards are a unique feature of the Canadian market.
Go deeper with GlobalData
So any big debit card launch by one of the Canadian major retail banks is significant.
Canadian debit cardholders can now maximise the rewards they earn on everyday purchases according to Scotiabank via its new Scotiabank Passport Debit Card.
In a May 2017 survey ‘The Battle for Love and Loyalty’ sponsored by Visa and published by Bond Brand Loyalty, Scotiabank was ranked first by customers on all rewards metrics, including ‘Programme Satisfaction’ and ‘Likelihood to Recommend’
“We know that Canadians are increasingly looking to be rewarded for their business in a meaningful way,” said Mike Henry, executive vice president, retail payments, deposits and unsecured lending, Scotiabank.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData“Our new Passport Debit Card strengthens our travel rewards offering to one of the best in the industry. By offering a variety of reward options on both debit and credit cards, and with new cards added to our portfolio, we are providing customers more flexibility in the way they earn and more choice in how they can redeem their rewards.”
According to Scotiabank, the keyword is ‘choice’: choice in rewards and choice in how customers want to be rewarded. T
The products launching or re-launching this quarter include:
- Scotiabank Passport Debit Card– Use debit to earn travel rewards on your everyday debit purchases. Every debit card purchase offers 1 Scotia Rewards point for every $5 spent. The card features a bonus introductory offer of up to 10,000 points;
- Scotiabank GM Visa Business Card – Business owners can now separate their business and personal expenses while earning GM Earnings towards the purchase price or lease of a new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac. Business owners earn 5% in GM Earnings on the first $10,000 spent annually on their card, and 2% on everyday purchases thereafter, with no earning or redemption caps;
- Scotia Momentum Mastercard This Mastercard credit card launches this quarter and is designed to cement Scotiabank’s position as the first financial institution in Canada to offer customers the choice of rewards cards from all three credit card providers: American Express, Visa and Mastercard. The Scotia Momentum Mastercard®* Card earns 1% cash back on gas, grocery, drug store purchases and recurring payments plus 0.5% on everyday purchases thereafter, with no annual fee and no limit on cash back, and
- Scotiabank has updated its credit travel offering with another no annual fee card option: The Scotiabank American Express Card has been relaunched as a no annual fee travel credit card that enables customers to earn Scotia Rewards on every dollar spent on everyday purchases.
The Canadian Battle for Love and Loyalty
The Canadian love of rewards programmes is evidenced by a rise of 25% in total programme enrolment over the past four years to 12.2 programmes per member
The cumulative points liability for all programmes in Canada is estimated to be valued at roughly C$16bn, according to Bond Brand Loyalty.
This value represents both risk and opportunity for loyalty operators – redeeming for even a small portion of these points would likely create many great member experiences, however the sheer value of this unredeemed currency highlights the importance for loyalty operators to off er cost-eff ective redemption options.
The fact that Canadians have collected and not redeemed such a high level of points suggests Programs could be doing a much more effective job of engaging members and driving redemption behaviour.
Around 40% of Members do not have a redemption goal. In other words, they do not have an intended use for their accumulating points. Members without a goal are 10% less satisfied, suggesting that simply encouraging members to set a redemption objective can drive up member satisfaction.
But the number of programmes in which members are active, meaning they have earned or burned programme benefits or rewards, is virtually unchanged at just under 7.2 (60%). The Bond report suggests that this means that reward programme members have an interest in continuing to enroll in additional programmes, yet their capacity to engage has reached a threshold.
The Bond report surveyed over 28,000 consumers earlier this year. In the best Canadian co-branded debit card survey, PC Financial’s debit card ranked first ahead of Scotiabank’s Scene debit card and Bank of Montreal’s BMO Air Miles debit card.
