SA Entrepreneurs: you now have your own loyalty rewards programme

The financial institution aimed exclusively at entrepreneurs Mercantile Bank, on Friday announced that it had entered into an agreement with wiGroup to develop a loyalty and rewards programme for its clients.

The app-based reward programme will reportedly enable entrepreneurs to earn and redeem points at till points of most major retailers using QR code technology.

“As a bank that works closely with entrepreneurs, we had numerous discussions with our clients to understand what they wanted from a rewards programme,” says the bank’s head Tom Stilwell. “Two things came out strongly. Rewards must be easy to redeem – many clients complained that they had often struggled to use their rewards with other institutions – and the programme must also offer clients considerable choice in what they can buy with their rewards. With our new loyalty app, redemption could not be easier and we are constantly increasing our list of merchants, giving clients even more choice.”

Read more: WiGroup to catalyse transacting with free open mobile payments

According to a press release sent to Ventureburn, the app is meant to help add to the sense of trust it has with its existing clients. “This app is a step forward in adding value to our clients who, by definition, are enterprising and innovative,” says Stilwell. “We are delighted to have worked with a young, fast-growing, entrepreneurial technology company that is also in the same category as most of our clients.”

According to the release, wiGroup’s proprietary mobile transacting platform, the wiCode platform, currently enables point-of-sale integrated mobile transacting in more than 55 000 point-of-sale lanes nationally.

Read more: From startup to fintech empire: WiGroup sells stake to Investec for ‘R400m’

“Many businesses offer apps that are time consuming and difficult to use, as they are often clouded by what they want in the application, rather than starting with their end users in mind,” says wiGroup founder and CEO Bevan Ducasse. “The trend of market-leading applications is to specific core functionality rather than generic “overcrowded” applications. Mercantile have done well in shaping an applicaion that has specific and valuable functionality for their customers, which is key to success.”

According to Ducasse, it was important for his team to understand the nature of the entrepreneurs’ priorities in developing the app. “We were fortunate in that Mercantile Bank was able to give us their insights into the needs of their particular market, which was a great foundation to base the application on,” he says.

Included in the app is an extensive list of wiCode-integrated merchants where entrepreneurs can earn and redeem points, including major retail chains and popular coffee shops.