Today’s payments industry is ripe with innovation. From burgeoning startup apps and new ways to pay to strong adoption of mobile payments and wallets; the payments landscape is evolving on a daily basis. With mobile devices being such an integral part of the lives of today’s consumers, shoppers have high expectations for mobile brand experiences. They don’t just want to replace the function of a credit or debit card with a mobile wallet; they want to be able to have all of their promotions, rewards, loyalty cards, etc. in one mobile location.
Consumers have been able to use mobile wallets to pay using a stored credit, debit or retailer credit card for some time, but businesses are continuing to push digital wallet innovation. Last year, Blackhawk Network announced its Digital Pass technology that allows the ability to connect loyalty programs, gift cards and other offers to mobile wallets. Leveraging the Digital Pass technology and further helping to advance mobile wallets beyond simple payment tools to platforms for far-reaching customer engagement, Blackhawk’s incentives division, Hawk Incentives, just launched wallet-enabled Mastercard prepaid cards for promotions and incentives.
The first single-load incentive reward card available in digital wallets enables marketers to extend engagement with their mobile-minded consumers and creates the potential for a one-time reward to create a longer-term connection.
By increasing the mobility of rewards, brands can maintain relevance with their consumers and deliver a better overall promotional experience. Integrating rewards and loyalty programs into major mobile wallets also gives brands the opportunity to reach a larger audience of users and promote their own payments or retail apps.
By Theresa McEndree, VP of Marketing, Hawk Incentives, a Blackhawk Network Business delivering incentive programs that build relationships with easy-to-use platforms, global rewards and comprehensive service and support.
