Barclaycard and MasterCard Launching Ring
- Barclaycard launches Ring, a transparent community programme and associated new Ring MasterCard social card. The cardholders’ community will be involved in increasing this programme’s profitability through crowdsourcing and transparent communication.
- This programme gathers its members in a virtual community thus enabling them to share information on card features and provide Barclaycard with direct feedbacks for future enhancements.
- The platform also allows them to regularly receive financial data regarding the programme (profits and losses), as is the case with statements sent to shareholders for instance.
- The product is presented as low-cost and easy to use. Alpha tests have started in December 2011, and the programme should be opened to consumers in April 2012.
- Barclaycard’s programme relies on two global trends in this post-crisis era; first, the group’s communication strategy is based on transparency, second, customers are invited to take part in the evolution of the products through crowdsourcing and the use of social media.
- The bank also aims at developing an additional credit card-based offer to impulse this activity currently losing steam in the US, even if this market is one of the most advanced.
- With Ring, Barclaycard bets on strong customer promises, and sees them as shareholders to set up trust on a heavily impacted market considering the current economic context and regulatory evolutions.