A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. Under this definition, the British Pound sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies.
A loyalty program or a rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program.
Seigniorage, also spelled seignorage or seigneurage, is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be applied in two ways:
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire, Mark's, FGL Sports, PartSource, and the Canadian operations of Party City. Canadian Tire acquired the Norwegian clothing and textile company Helly Hansen from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in 2018.
A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Trading stamps were small paper stamps given to customers by merchants in loyalty programs in the United States, Canada and the U.K. which predated the modern loyalty card-based and online programs. Like the similarly-issued retailer coupons, these stamps only had a minimal cash value of a few mils individually, but when a customer accumulated a number of them, they could be exchanged with the trading stamp company for premiums, such as toys, personal items, housewares, furniture and appliances. In trading stamp programs in Hong Kong continued to operate.
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.
A scrip is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitative payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local commerce at times when regular currency was unavailable, for example in remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long voyages, or occupied countries in wartime. Besides company scrip, other forms of scrip include land scrip, vouchers, token coins such as subway tokens, IOUs, arcade tokens and tickets, and points on some credit cards.
Aeroplan is the frequent-flyer program owned by Air Canada, Canada's flag carrier. The Aeroplan program was created in July 1984 by Air Canada as an incentive program for its frequent flyer customers. In 2002 it was spun off as a separate corporate entity and eventually sold to Aimia. On May 11, 2017, Air Canada announced it plans to launch a new loyalty program to replace the Aeroplan program in 2020. On August 21, 2018, Air Canada, along with TD, CIBC and Visa, agreed to acquire Aeroplan from Aimia for CA$450 million in cash. There are approximately 5 million active members in the program. On August 11, 2020, Air Canada released details about its new loyalty program, which was a relaunch of Aeroplan. They launched their new Loyalty platform on November 08, 2020.
Flybuys is an Australian customer loyalty program equally owned by the Coles Group and Wesfarmers through joint venture Loyalty Pacific. Members can accrue points by shopping at Coles Group brands, certain Wesfarmers brands, and some third-party partners like HCF Insurance, Coles Express and Optus. Points can then be redeemed for money off purchases at Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express, Liquorland, Kmart, Officeworks, Target and mycar, as well as holidays and household goods.
Air Miles is a group of loyalty programs operated by different companies in each region where the brand operates - the programs are available in Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Points are earned on purchases at participating merchants and can be redeemed against flights with specific airlines.
Canadian Tire Services Ltd. (CTSL), doing business as Canadian Tire Bank, is the financial services subsidiary of the Canadian Tire retail chain. The bank is based in Oakville, Ontario, and has additional business operations in St. Catharines and Welland, Ontario. Between 1968 and 2016, Canadian Tire Services Ltd. was known as Canadian Tire Financial Services Ltd..
PC Optimum is a single loyalty program operated by Canadian retail conglomerate Loblaw Companies; it was created through the merger of Loblaws' PC Plus and Shoppers Drug Mart's Shoppers Optimum programs.
A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also a synonym for receipt and is often used to refer to receipts used as evidence of, for example, the declaration that a service has been performed or that an expenditure has been made. Voucher is a tourist guide for using services with a guarantee of payment by the agency.
Hudson's Bay Rewards is a loyalty program where customers earn points for purchases at Hudson's Bay stores and thebay.com in Canada.
A private currency is a currency issued by a private entity, be it an individual, a commercial business, a nonprofit or decentralized common enterprise. It is often contrasted with fiat currency issued by governments or central banks. In many countries, the issuance of private paper currencies and/or the minting of metal coins intended to be used as currency may even be a criminal act such as in the United States. Digital cryptocurrency is sometimes treated as an asset instead of a currency. Cryptocurrency is illegal as a currency in a few countries.
Company scrip is scrip issued by a company to pay its employees. It can only be exchanged in company stores owned by the employers. In the United Kingdom, such truck systems have long been formally outlawed under the Truck Acts. In the United States, payment in scrip became illegal in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Loyalty marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing, and loyalty marketing all form part of the customer proposition – the subjective assessment by the customer of whether to purchase a brand or not based on the integrated combination of the value they receive from each of these marketing disciplines.
Everyday Rewards, known as Woolworths Rewards between 2015 and 2020, is a customer loyalty program owned and operated in Australia and New Zealand by Woolworths Group. Members can earn points in the program from Woolworths Group companies, as well as partner brands like Ampol, Bupa and Origin Energy. Qantas Frequent Flyer program members can convert 2,000 Everyday Rewards points to 1,000 Frequent Flyer points as part of a partnership between the two companies.
Scene+ is a Canadian loyalty program established in 2007. It is owned by Scene LP, which is jointly owned by Galaxy Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cineplex Inc., Scotiabank, and Empire Company.
