Pay your loan quicker and get rewarded

Loyalty rewards came under the spotlight again this week when Nedbank launched a programme that incentivises the bank's clients for paying their loans faster.

Dubbed the Greenbacks, the loyalty reward programme will run quarterly competitions that will see the bank's clients  given a chance to win back the amount of their loan every quarter of the year.

A portion of cash that the clients get will also be donated to a cause of their choosing.

The Greenbacks come as 75% of South African consumers are on loyalty rewards programmes, according to the The SA Loyalty Landscape Whitepaper.

The rewards programme could also come in handy as figures from the National Credit Regulator show that the number of consumers deemed to be in good standing decreased by 141,425 to 15.55m consumers in March year-on-year.

The Greenbacks will include card swiper, which allows a consumer to earn rewards when swiping their cards.

Consumers will also be rewarded for heeding the bank's advice on how they could use their money.

"We'd like to think about it not only as a programme that rewards you. It's going to be prompting, nudging, encouraging and rewarding  for you to make better money choices," said Nedbank Retail and Business Chief Client Officer Anton de Wet.

De Wet, who spoke at the Greenbacks media launch in Johannesburg this week, said the rewards will include coupons, points and surprise benefits. "As you manage your money better, Nedbank would be contributing to an affinity of your choice at no cost to you," he said.

He added that the Greenbacks members who stay on track with the changed behaviour of each of the packages they opt into, will qualify to move up to the next level in the programme where they will have even more access to more rewards.

De Wet said the fourth biggest bank in the country will from time-to-time monitor whether the loyalty rewards programme, which is similar to those offered by FNB, ABSA and Standard Bank, changes the behaviour of clients.