Lloyds Group signs targeted ad deal

Lloyds Banking Group customers will soon find their bank statements – both online and print versions – peppered with ads from third-party companies, linked to purchases they have made.
The targeted advertising platform is being provided by US firm Cardlytics, which is using the deal as a springboard to the European market.
Customers of Halifax, Lloyds, TSB and Bank of Scotland will be included in the programme, which Lloyds Group managing director for digital Ashley Machin, claimed “is going to help our customers save on purchases they make every day”.
A card payment to Tesco, for instance, could be used by the retail giant or one of its competitors to run a discount or promotion alongside it.
Cardlytics is already providing the technology behind the Halifax Cashback Extras initiative, which gives customers up to 15% cashback on high street purchases made using their debit or credit cards.
The domestic market is being seen as new opportunity in card-linked marketing, which allows advertisers to create purchase-targeted marketing through online and mobile banking applications. According to official figures, 50% of all UK adults access their bank accounts online, and 76% of adults aged 25 to 34 use Internet banking.
The UK’s cutting-edge retail market appears to have played a part in Cardlytics plans to target British consumers first, before expanding into the rest of Europe, as well as Latin America and Asia.
The company’s managing director, Charlie Humphreys, explained: “The UK is one of the most advanced retail banking and retail markets, so launching our platform here makes absolute sense. We look forward to working with banks, retailers and consumers to extend the benefits of card-linked marketing to all,”
In the US, the company has partnerships with nearly 400 financial institutions, including Bank of America, PNC Bank and Regions Bank, along with insight into consumer purchase behaviour for 70% of US households.
The banking sector is increasingly waking up to the use of customer data to drive loyalty. Last month, RBS Group rolled out the UK’s first debit-card linked loyalty scheme, enabling more than 12 million existing RBS and NatWest customers to be rewarded simply for doing their everyday shopping.