Westpac launches ATM rewards platform

Westpac has launched a new initiative that enables its customers to take up offers from local businesses, via the bank's ATM machines.

Rewarded is an ATM coupon rewards platform developed by Hypermedia. The initiative provides Westpac customers with exclusive offers from local businesses similar to outlets customers have previously purchased goods and services from. Up to four offers can be made available at any given time, the bank says in a statement.

The platform will be available on the majority of Westpac's ATMs across the country from mid September.

The concept was trialled for eight weeks at two Westpac ATMs in downtown Auckland. Some local businesses who participated reported redemption rates of around 20% during the trial, which Westpac says is 'very high' for coupon redemption advertising.

Simon Pomeroy, Westpac chief digital officer, says ATMs are an important component of Westpac's channel mix and the programme is a way of rewarding customer loyalty with relevant offers.

"For decades banks have been able to identify a customer's spend and now we are able to use that information to benefit the customer," Pomeroy says. "ATMs have the broadest reach, with more than 70% of Westpac customers using them each year.

"Now we can enhance their experience with relevant offers that might be of interest to them," he says.

Hypermedia managing director Chris Jones says the concept for Rewarded was born out of the reality that Kiwis are more open to advertising content when it is relevant to them.

"Rewarded evolves the ATM experience from transactional to rewarding because we are able to deliver relevant rewards to the customer," explains Jones. "This is the future of one-to-one advertising and the first phase in a bigger innovation story.