Debit Is the Most Underbuilt Rewards Surface in Banking

For an industry that talks endlessly about member and customer engagement, banking has spent two decades building rewards infrastructure around the wrong card. Roughly 90% of Americans hold a debit card, and debit drives close to a third of in-store transactions in the US. It is how most people actually pay for groceries, gas, and bills, the everyday spend that makes up the bulk of a household’s financial life. Yet more than 80% of consumers say rewards influence which card they reach for, and when debit offers nothing back, that decision often gets made in credit’s favor, sometimes with a card from an entirely different institution. Every rewards-free swipe on debit is a swipe the primary financial institution is quietly incentivizing its own members to take somewhere else.

Prizeout POV: This reinforces why cash needs to be the default reward on debit, not credit. Points programs were built for aspirational, discretionary spend, and they don’t translate to the groceries and gas that make up everyday debit transactions. By funding cash back through brand partnerships rather than institution budgets, credit unions can reward that everyday spend without absorbing the cost themselves. This makes real, unconditional cash back sustainable at scale, and it closes the gap for the members who rely on debit most and have the least access to rewards today.

Read the full article here: https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/32496/debit-is-the-most-underbuilt-rewards-surface-in-banking