PAYBACK
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PAYBACK (also Payback) is a cashback system by which customers can collect credit points when making a purchase at a cooperating shop. These credit points are worth real money and can be redeemed at cooperating shops. The brand ‘Payback GmbH’ (Ltd.) was established in Germany in 2000, but is now also available in Austria, Italy, Poland, Mexico and India and their service includes a debit card with which customers can collect bonus points at their shop. Since 2010 the credit card company American Express owns the rights of Payback GmbH.
Payback's system differs from other single shop bonus systems in the variety of shops cooperating in the payback system. By collecting data from a great variety of cooperating shops in which the card is used to collect credit points, the clients' purchase habits get analyzed in detail via data mining.
 | |
| GmBH | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Founded 📆 | 2000 |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Munich Germany |
Area served 🗺️ | Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Mexico, India |
Key people | Bernhard Brugger (Executive Vice President) |
| Revenue🤑 | circa €281 million (2017) |
| Members | |
Number of employees | circa 544 (2017) |
| 🌐 Website | payback.net |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Functionality[edit]
How it works from the perspective of a costumer[edit]
The card is presented during the check-out, where the card gets scanned for collecting bonus points. The customer reference number, the date, the shop, the worth of the purchase and sometimes also product group numbers are collected and transferred to Payback for analysis. The amount of collected points depends on the purchase price.
In many online shops, the Payback-option is included on the webstores of the official Payback partners, such as Expedia.de. In other cases, costumers have to sign in on the Payback website first to collect Payback points in online shops whose webstores don't offer a Payback option at their check-out. This is the case at H&M, for instance. Customers can redeem bonus points by using the Payback mobile app, too.
A payback point has a nominal value of one Cent (€0.01). Points worth from 0.5% to 4% of the purchase price are awarded. With coupons or special promotions, the customer is able to multiply the points on a certain product or service, sometimes up to 25% of the purchase price. Once 200 points have been collected on a Payback account, they can be redeemed for rewards, goods vouchers or cash by transfer starting from 2 Euros, used for further discounts, exchanged for Lufthansa status miles (with a ‘Miles & More’ subscription) or donated to various aid projects in the ‘Payback Donation World’. Unredeemed points that are more than 36 months old expire on 30 September of a calendar year on the standard version of the card.
How it works from the perspective of the partner companies[edit]
For retailers there are costs in the form of payments to Payback for the technology for the collection and transmission of data, as well as its integration into their existing checkout systems. Retailers hope for the advantage that customers who have a Payback card would prefer to shop with them in order to collect points, instead of with their competitors. Retailers can also create Payback Coupons in order to support advertising campaigns and draw customers’ attention to certain groups of products or dates. In addition, partner companies are given access to information on customer behaviour that is obtained through data mining, not just from their own customers, but from all the customers of every Payback Partner.
In 2004 the health and beauty retail store chain dm noticed during a systematic evaluation of the data that Payback-members spent about 50 percent more money at dm stores than non-members.
Card issue and partner companies[edit]
Cards[edit]
The cards are usually issued in collaboration with an official partner, but there are also neutral Payback-cards. These cards have an individual design but the same functionality with every partner and all services.
In addition to the "Payback-Bonuscard", the "Visa-card" is available on request (previously "Payback-premium-card"); both work as a prepaid credit card and include an actual credit card function. The “Plus-card” debit card was reissued in 2009 as a free Maestro card in partnership with Mastercard. In autumn 2012, when WestLB was dissolved as the publisher, the Maestro card was taken off the market. These three payment cards have been managed by BW-Bank since the end of 2012. In November 2012, the new owner American Express added the new dark blue “Payback American Express card” to the offer as a permanently free credit card. Something that all customer cards have in common is that there are points from both the partner companies and also from the monthly sales.
Germany[edit]
Partners[edit]
In Germany, there are over 680 partners. Official Payback partners include, among others:
| Company | collecting points possible? | Payback Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Alnatura | yes | |
| Amplifon Hörakustik | yes | |
| Apollo-Optik | yes | |
| Aral | yes | yes |
| Audible | online only | |
| Baur | yes | |
| Burger King | yes | |
| Center Parcs | yes | |
| C&A | online only | |
| Check24 | yes | |
| Dehner Gartencenter | yes | |
| dm-drogerie markt | yes | yes |
| Dänisches Bettenlager | yes | |
| Depot | yes | |
| Deichmann | online only | |
| Deutsche Telekom | yes | |
| EMP Merchandising | online only | |
| Fressnapf | yes | |
| Getränke Ahlers mit Marke HOL'AB | yes | |
| Hannoversche Versicherungen | yes | |
| Hellweg Baumärkte | yes | |
| Linda Apothekengruppe | yes | |
| Lufthansa (including Lufthansa Miles and More) | yes | |
| Otto | yes | |
| Penny | yes | yes |
| Phoenix Pharmahandel | yes | |
| Real | yes | yes |
| Rewe | yes | yes |
| Sixt | yes | |
| Sky | yes | |
| Thalia | yes | yes |
| TeeGschwendner | yes | yes |
| WMF | yes |
In addition, there have been acceptance pharmacies nationwide since 2008 that also take part in the Payback program but do not belong to the Linda pharmacy group. In general, not all branches of a partner automatically take part in the Payback program, but only those that have agreed to bear the costs of the Payback company or are managed independently by their own group. This mainly concerns not only the RTK travel agencies but also, e.g., some Aral gas stations. Online partners include Conrad Electronic, eBay, Rewe, and Zalando. However, regarding the online partners, cardholders can primarily only collect points if they log in to the shops via the official Payback homepage and place their order. The corporation has been offering a mobile app for smartphones since 2010.
At the end of December 2019, Dm-drogerie markt announced that it would halve the distribution of Payback points. From 2020 onwards, dm customers will only receive one Payback point for every 2 euros of purchase. Since March 1, 2021, Nahkauf (Rewe) also has become part of the Payback system. From mid-2021, Payback points can also be collected at the Globus hypermarket chain.
Former Partners[edit]
The jeweler Christ and the shoe retail chain Gebrüder Götz have not extended their contracts with Payback. The hardware store chain Obi and the car rental company Europcar left their partnership with Payback in 2007 and 2011, respectively. Amazon ended its partnership on July 1, 2014.Since May 31, 2017, Denn's Biomarkt is not a Payback-partner anymore since the company introduced its own loyalty program. Auto-Teile-Unger was a Payback-partner from 2014 to 2019. The company introduced its own loyalty card. Galeria Kaufhof ended its partnership with Payback on December 31, 2019. Since January 2020, there is a joint loyalty program with Karstadt. When Kaufland took over the online marketplace real.de, real online shops stopped supporting Payback in mid-2020. Since that, Nordsee has been using the bonus program Fish&Friends again, which they used before Payback.
Austria[edit]
After the bonus program was initiated in Mai 2018,dm as well as pet shop Fressnapf have been official partners, since August 2018, gas station chain BP, fast food restaurant chains Nordsee and Burger King, and airline Austrian Airlines, too. Car rental Sixt, the McFit gyms, Sehen!Wutscher and Unimarkt are further partners.
Payback Pay[edit]
In June 2016, Payback launched the mobile payment function "Payback Pay" within the app. Initially, Payback Pay could only be used at dm. The business week made critical points about Payback Pay shortly after its launch. For using Payback Pay, users have to enter their banking information and address on the app or the website. In contrast to other cashless methods of payment, Payback Pay does not require a credit card.The UMT AG provides the technology for Payback Pay, which allows customers cashless payment by means of a QR code. The payment codes are being regenerated in every payment process and are temporally limited in their usability. Alternatively, NFC can be used instead of QR codes. It depends on the cash register system which one of them comes into use.
A survey in 2020 identified that Payback Pay is one of the most well-known cashless payment methods in Germany [1] and was, according to heise online, also the most used cashless payment system at German tills in 2020 [2].
Company and business figures[edit]
Payback started out their program with the help of the Metro Group in March 2000. Payback is based in Munich and occupied up to 500 employees worldwide in 2013. The Payback GmBH (Ltd.) forms part of the Loyalty Partner Group. In 2011, American Express took over Loyalty Partner for about €500 million (£432 million; $607 million).
Since September 2009, Payback has also been active in Poland. In June 2010, Loyalty Partner had taken a controlling interest in the Indian market leader “i-mint” before it became “PAYBACK India” one year later. In February 2011, it was promulgated that the company would develop the business areas "Online" and "Couponing". This strategic decision has set Payback in direct competition with other popular voucher platforms like Groupon, DailyDeal and kaufDA. In 2011, 150 employees were engaged in German company locations. One of Payback's competitors in the market place of costumer loyalty programs is DeutschlandCard.
The turnover of Payback's partners transacted via Payback cards in 2013 amounts about €15.2 billion ($18.4 billion; £13 billion). More than 21 million costumers actively use Payback in Germany. According to the company's own information, they send out 1.5 billion coupons by mail (newsletters) yearly. The mobile Payback app is regularly used by 10 million customers.
In 2013, Payback Mexico started an exclusively digital-working program. Since 2014, Payback has been active in Italy and finally launched their service in Austria in 2018.
In the fiscal year of 2017, Payback transacted a revenue of approximately €281 million (£242 million; $342 million) with 544 employees. By March 2020, Payback has credited points worth €3.5 billion ($4.2 billion; £3 billion) to its customers.
Criticism[edit]
Data protection[edit]
The card is especially controversial concerning data protection policy among Consumer Protection Services, as it enables mass surveillance allowing collected data to draw conclusions about a customer's lifestyle and measure the success of advertisements. In 2000, Payback was awarded the mock prize “Big Brother Award”.
In 2001, the District Court I of Munich forbade further usage of the central consent clauses contained in Payback application forms under threat of fines up to 500,000 DM or an imprisonment up to six months, after a complaint from the Customer Protection Association of Berlin. As a result, Payback recreated all of the participation forms.
In 2008, the Federal Court of Justice prohibited a clause in Payback application forms which allowed that advertisements could be sent via SMS and email, following a complaint from the Federal Association of Consumer Centres. The reason was that the company was missing the legally required explicit consent of the customers. The clauses on data usage for advertisements by mail, market research and usage of birth dates and discount dates were considered to be permissible by the court.
Customer registration forms were partially collected by the Company GHP Far East in Vietnam.
In May 2012, the company was examined by TÜV. It was confirmed that Payback has a “TÜV-certified data protection” and that it deals with data collected by participation in a responsible manner and according to obligations of the German Federal Data Protection Act.
little benefit for costumers[edit]
According to the Consumer Advice Service of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, the possible savings are minimal, often less than 1% and frequently only 0.5%. Often, the supplementary payment on several rewards is more expensive than the product's initial prize when acquired at other providers. The German customer magazine 'Test' conducted a comparative test in 2015 in which it was ascertained that so-called cashback portals offer higher online discounts than Payback and similar bonus cards.
Phishing[edit]
In 2020, the credit of many members was stolen. With these stolen Payback points, the fraudsters bought vouchers of cash value at retail. Subsequently, consumer protectors questioned the safety of data again. Meanwhile, Payback warns against phishing and provides essential information for inexperienced internet users on its homepage.
External links[edit]
Website: https://www.payback.group/de/en/
References[edit]
The article was translated from the German Wikipedia page: Payback (Bonusprogramm). References are copied from the German article and may only be available in German.
- Payback: Management. Abgerufen am 1. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Maximilian von Demandowsky: Data-Mining: Firmen sagen Ehescheidungen voraus. In: Zeit online. Abgerufen am 19. Juni 2014.
- ↑ American Express kauft Payback. In: Spiegel Online. 16. Dezember 2010,abgerufen am 28. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ Payback Meilen-Abo
- ↑ • PAYBACK FAQ Suche • Fragen & Hilfe bei PAYBACK. Abgerufen am 28. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ Kundenkarte, warum? Lebensmittel Praxis, abgerufen am 8. Juli 2020.
- ↑ Loyalty Partner: Pressemeldung zur WestLB (Memento vom 15. Dezember 2013 im Internet Archive)
- ↑ Loyalty Partner: Pressemeldung zur Payback American Express (Mementovom 15. Dezember 2013 im Internet Archive)
- ↑ PAYBACK Partner. In: www.payback.de. Abgerufen am 8. Januar 2020.
- ↑ Die App zum Bezahlen, Punktesammeln und Coupon-Einlösen. Aral,abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Gleichzeitig punkten & bezahlen. DM, abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Payback bei Penny. Penny, abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Mit PAYBACK PAY jetzt bei REWE mobil bezahlen. Rewe, abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Mobil bezahlen und punkten. Thalia, abgerufen am 18. Juni 2015.
- ↑ Aral: Fragen und Antworten zu Payback
- ↑ Payback – Die wichtigsten Fakten über das Bonussystem. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. 1. März 2018, abgerufen am 13. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ Konstantinos Mitsis: Große Änderung bei dm ab 2020: Drogerie-Riese startet bisher ungenutzte Rabatt-Aktion. Abgerufen am 28. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ LOYALTY-PROGRAMME: Bonuskarten werden neu gemischt Der Handel, 29. Juli 2009
- ↑ Obi steigt aus Rückschlag für Payback, Handelsblatt, 29. Januar 2007
- ↑ Payback verliert Europcar / Deutschlandcard gewinnt Schülerhilfe Horizont.at, 3. März 2011
- ↑ Kann ich bei Amazon PAYBACK Punkte sammeln? Abgerufen am 8. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Treueprogramm von Denn's. Abgerufen am 23. August 2020.
- ↑ A.T.U-Card. Abgerufen am 30. September 2019.
- ↑ Keine Payback-Punkte mehr bei Kaufhof - auch nicht in Pforzheim - Wirtschaft. In: Pforzheimer Zeitung. 3. Januar 2020, abgerufen am 3. Januar 2020.
- ↑ Payback. Abgerufen am 26. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ Unsere PAYBACK Partner. Abgerufen am 26. April 2020.
- ↑ Das ist die Antwort der Sparkassen auf Google Pay. Handelsblatt, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Sicherheitsbedenken und Datenschutz halten viele vom mobilen Bezahlen ab.Verbraucherzentrale, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Sicher bezahlen online wie offline. Check24, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Bezahlen mit dem Handy – so klappt's. Wirtschaftswoche, abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ Mobile Payment: Die Anbieter im Überblick. Chip, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Payback Pay: Bezahlen mit dem Handy ohne Kreditkarte. inside-dgital.de,abgerufen am 29. Mai 2020.
- ↑ PAYBACK App gewinnt Preis „Goldene Transaktion“ – Mobile Payment Technologie kommt von UMT - UMT AG. Abgerufen am 28. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ So zahlen Sie sicher und bequem mit Ihrem Smartphone. merkur.de,abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Mobile Payment: Schnelles mobiles Bezahlen ohne Portemonnaie und Karte.Ingenico, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Mobile Payment und die Sache mit dem Durchbruch. it-finanzmagazin,abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Unser Alltag wird kontaktlos. deutschland-kreditkarte.de, abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Bundesbank: Kontaktloses Bezahlen ist im Alltag angekommen. heise.de,abgerufen am 5. Juni 2020.
- ↑ Alexander Rittweger, Joachim Bellinghoven, Martin Hollenhorst, Burkhard Graßmann, Steve Gray: Payback GmbH (vormals: Loyalty Partner GmbH). München. Jahresabschluss zum 31. Dezember 2007. Stand: 14. Mai 2008. URL: https://www.ebundesanzeiger.de/ (abgerufen am 25. April 2009)
- ↑ Claus-Peter Schrack, Nina Purtscher: Payback GmbH – Daten & Fakten(Memento vom 14. März 2009 im Internet Archive) Abgerufen am 4. Oktober 2015.
- ↑ :LP Holding GmbH. München. Konzernabschluss zum 31. Dezember 2007. Stand: 14. Mai 2008. URL: https://www.ebundesanzeiger.de/ (abgerufen am 25. April 2009)
- ↑ Loyalty Partner: Pressemitteilung zum Kauf durch American Express(Memento vom 19. Dezember 2010 im Internet Archive) (englisch)
- ↑ Reuters: American Express übernimmt Payback-Betreiber Loyality(herausgegeben am 17. Dezember 2010)
- ↑ Von Georg Etscheit: Payback-Gründer Rittweger: Der Jäger der Sammler.Abgerufen am 11. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ Redaktion Internet World Business: Payback baut das mobile Couponing-Geschäft aus. 23. Februar 2011, abgerufen am 24. Februar 2011.
- ↑ n-tv Nachrichten: Die Mutter aller Bonuskarten wird 15. Abgerufen am 11. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ PAYBACK set to conquer Mexico (englisch). (Nicht mehr online verfügbar.) 12. September 2012, archiviert vom Original am 5. November 2014; abgerufen am 27. Juni 2014.
- ↑ Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart Germany: Payback & Co.: Punkt für Punkt zur Datenmacht. Abgerufen am 11. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ Payback jetzt auch in Österreich. Abgerufen am 11. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ Payback Jahresabschluss zum Geschäftsjahr 2017. In: Bundesanzeiger.Abgerufen am 11. Dezember 2018.
- ↑ Georg Giersberg: Welche Vorteile hat Payback für Händler und Kunden? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 9. März 2020, abgerufen am 12. März 2020.
- ↑ Bigbrother Awards 2000: Preisträger der Kategorie „Business und Finanzen“
- ↑ LG München I, Urteil vom 1. Februar 2001, 12 O 13009/00
- ↑ Bundesgerichtshof, Urteil vom 16. Juli 2008, VIII ZR 348/06
- ↑ FR-Interview mit Claus-Peter Schrack vom 16. Juli 2008
- ↑ Selbstaussage des Unternehmens, abgerufen am 10. März 2014[1]
- ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Einkaufen mit Rabatt - Cashback schlägt Payback - Stiftung Warentest. Abgerufen am 28. Dezember 2019.
- ↑ Konstantinos Mitsis: Achtung, Payback-Kunden: Diebe plündern Ihr Konto - so schützen Sie sich. In: Chip. 8. August 2020, abgerufen am 19. August 2020.
- ↑ verbraucherschutz.com: Payback Phishing: Diese E-Mails sind eine Fälschung. Abgerufen am 19. August 2020.
- ↑ Payback: Woran erkenne ich Phishing-Mails? Abgerufen am 19. August 2020.
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