Bank Statements to Include Offers Based on Spending Habits

Good Deal or Invasion of Privacy?

It looks like your bank may soon be sending you offers along with your monthly online bank statement. BillShrink, a company that offers an online consumer comparison shopping guide, will be teaming up with over 2000 banks to provide a service called Statement Rewards that is being described as part loyalty card, part daily deal. The program will offer targeted discounts based on a bank customer’s recent purchases.

According to The New York Times’ Tanzina Vega here’s how it works:

If, for example, a customer spent more than $100 at Starbucks in a month, Starbucks could offer a $5 coupon, complete with a small corporate logo, right under the statement’s listing for the last Starbucks purchase.

The same deals could appear on a smartphone so a customer walking near a Starbucks could see how close they were geographically — and financially — to getting a discount at the nearest store.

In the process, marketers gain access to preferred customers, while the banks and BillShrink get a small piece of each transaction. And the consumer now receives a bank statement, which most people regard as confidential and private, that is loaded with advertising.

Customers will be able to use their debit cards to redeem their rewards, eliminating the need to carry multiple loyalty cards.

Vega adds that this new program may make some consumers think more favorably about their bank while others may see it as just another form of intrusive and aggressive marketing.

Director of public affairs at the Consumer Federation of America, Jack Gillis seems to think that because consumers are so accustomed to such an overwhelming amount of advertising in their lives that they’ll simply accept it as the norm.

“Is there an advertising-free space we can live in?” Mr. Gillis asked. But given the ubiquitous nature of advertising, consumers have become increasingly accustomed to highly tailored ads. “If in fact you are purchasing things from a retail establishment, you are probably going to appreciate a discount,” Mr. Gillis said.

Fortunately for consumers that still value their privacy, there is the option to opt-out of these “special offers”.

You can read Tanzina Vega’s article in its entirety at The New York Times.