Card-Linked Offers are a proven way to increase user engagement with loyalty and cash back programs. Check out our last post to read more about CLO programs.

What do I need for Card-Linked Offers?
Card-Linked Offers (CLOs) provide rewards for consumers who use their credit or debit card to make purchases at specific places. Once a consumer chooses to link their card(s) and activate a CLO, they automatically can start earning rewards, usually in the form of points or cashback.

If you’re a business interested in starting Card-Linked Offers, or if you’re someone who’s interested in starting a CLO app/platform, you only need a few things to get started: merchants to run offers with, users who are interested in those offers and will link their banking information, and a way to connect the two.

How can APIs be used for Card-Linked Offers?
APIs (application programming interface) are the digital pathways between two separate apps or programs. Think of it like a highway built to connect two cities – if the highway wasn’t there, there would be no way for people to travel between the two cities. APIs work the same way in connecting two digital entities that otherwise wouldn’t be able to interact with each other.

APIs can be used to build and maintain card-linked offers between consumers and merchants. Through open banking APIs, third party programs or applications can connect with consumers’ financial institutions in order to link a consumer’s card with merchants’ offers. Open banking APIs also give the consumer a lot more freedom to be able to securely share their financial data with whoever they want to.

Why use APIs for card-linked offers instead of traditional payment networks?
The most compelling reason for using APIs over traditional payment networks to run Card-Linked Offers is that it saves you time and money. With traditional payment networks, it could take several months to set up offers and onboard new merchants, and it is quite expensive. In addition to the initial costs, fees are paid every single time an offer is redeemed by a customer. If you use payment networks, you’ll be waiting a long time and paying a lot of money.

With APIs, though, you can get started creating offers and onboarding merchants within minutes. And instead of paying fees every time an offer is redeemed (on top of the high initial implementation fees) you only pay a monthly fee for every account that’s linked. You won’t be penalized the more people are redeeming your offers. Over time, this saves you a lot of money.

Lastly, open banking APIs also allow third party entities to access more consumer data, which can help drive future offers and other marketing endeavors. So using APIs for CLOs is a win-win-win.

Pentadata specializes in open banking APIs and can help you get your CLOs up and running in no time. Reach out today to find out more!

Last week we started answering common questions developers and entrepreneurs have about rewards programs, card-linked offers, and the technology to start one. Stay tuned for more.