Loyalty programs tied to debit cards look more fragile after a key payments utility, Australian Payments Plus, moves to wind back one of its behind-the-scenes services. The group, which runs eftpos, BPAY and the real-time payments platform, plans to close a card-matching transaction and data service from June 30.
That service helps link specific debit transactions flowing through the eftpos network to loyalty schemes. Banks are already reworking credit card rewards in response to broader payments reforms, so the removal of this plumbing adds another pressure point.
Retailers and technology providers that either rely on or tap into the card-matching capability now face the prospect of retooling their loyalty engines. The service effectively allows them to attach loyalty points or offers to individual purchases made via eftpos, creating targeted rewards without issuing a separate card.
Losing that connection risks blunting the appeal of retailer-led programs that have increasingly leaned on debit card linkage. Some market participants are already frustrated, arguing that their business models assumed this infrastructure would remain available.
Control over payments data and transaction-matching infrastructure shapes the design of loyalty programs. Retail-led schemes that shifted towards debit cards did so to capture everyday spending, not just credit card usage.
That strategy looks harder to execute when a core data feed is switched off. As banks, networks and retailers adapt, the balance of power in loyalty tilts towards players that still have rich transaction visibility across multiple rails.
