Open banking can help a rewards programme understand where an opted-in customer already spends, making offers more relevant. That opportunity only works when consent, data use and customer benefit are clear from the start.
This guide deals with responsible personalisation. For the underlying proposition, explore the customer rewards platform, the Spendstream rewards API and the programme measurement framework.
Traditional rewards often show the same catalogue to everyone. With appropriate consent, account information can help identify spending categories or merchants that are more relevant to an individual customer.
The aim is not to collect more data. It is to reduce irrelevant offers and make the value of connecting an account understandable.
Decide whether the programme will prioritise familiar merchants, surface relevant alternatives or recognise eligible spending. Each use case needs a clear customer explanation and data requirement.
Avoid broad language such as “better personalisation” without showing what will actually change in the experience.
Customers should understand which account information is accessed, for what purpose, for how long and how to withdraw access. Consent for an account-information service is not permission for unrelated marketing use.
The journey should work for customers who choose not to connect an account. Personalisation can be optional without making the standard experience unusable.
Use the least detailed data that can deliver the intended benefit. Category-level insight may be sufficient where raw transaction descriptions are not needed.
Document controller and processor roles, retention, access controls and supplier responsibilities. Security and privacy review should shape the feature, not merely approve it at the end.
A previous purchase does not always mean a customer wants more of the same. Allow users to dismiss or adjust preferences and avoid sensitive inferences that could feel intrusive or harmful.
Explain why a recommendation appears when that explanation helps the customer understand and control the experience.
Compare engagement with relevant recommendations against a suitable baseline, while tracking opt-in, connection drop-off, complaints and withdrawals.
A higher click rate is not enough if customers do not receive meaningful value or lose trust in how their data is used.
| Area | Question | Good outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | What changes for the customer? | A visible, useful benefit |
| Consent | Is the choice informed and optional? | Clear control |
| Data | What is genuinely necessary? | Minimum viable access |
| Recommendation | Could it feel sensitive or intrusive? | Proportionate relevance |
| Measurement | Are trust signals included? | Value without hidden cost |
These independent sources provide useful regulatory and governance context:
It uses customer-permissioned account information to support more relevant rewards or recognise eligible activity.
No. Connection should be an informed choice, and the non-connected experience should remain clear.
Data use must follow the stated purpose, consent and applicable data-protection responsibilities; access does not create blanket marketing permission.
Only data necessary for the defined purpose should be processed and retained, with the approach documented and protected.
Measure useful engagement and customer value alongside opt-in, withdrawal, complaints and trust indicators.
Give customers useful savings across everyday spending through one managed platform.
Offer tracked cashback across thousands of online merchants.
A loyalty programme can generate revenue and influence retention, but neither should be assumed. A useful ROI model separates what the programme directly earns from the customer behaviour it may have helped to change.
We’ll show you both deployment options and talk through the commercial model.
