M&S and HSBC UK have signed a new financial services agreement, focused on enhancing its credit and payment offering through M&S Bank.
The seven-year agreement will enable the high street retailer to bring together rewards, Sparks, digital payments and credit to create an easier to access and more personalised in-app experience for customers where they can shop, pay, earn and redeem rewards all in one place.
The move extends on the work already done including the launch of a credit card rewards membership (M&S Club Rewards) with members earning extra loyalty points, treat vouchers, and more under the scheme, for a fee.
Over the last 18 months, the partnership has digitised M&S rewards vouchers and launched Sparks Pay – a digital payment solution, with in-store QR payment technology.
The retailer said its 2 million credit card users are some of its most loyal customers, spending more than non-cardholders – accounting for 16% of M&S’s turnover.
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Over recent years, the business has focused on transforming its financial services offering to deliver what it called “a better, more relevant, and modernised experience” for its customers.
It called the new agreement “the next stage in the transformation to drive loyalty and offer a more connected digital shopping experience”.
M&S Bank currently has over three million customers and includes services such as personal loans, travel insurance, store payment cards and a buy now pay later credit product.
M&S Director of Financial Services Katherine Carlson said: “Over recent years, we’ve been working with HSBC UK to focus our offer so we can bring our customers the very best products, services, and rewards every time they shop with us. The new agreement will enable us to build on the work already done by bringing together loyalty and digital payments, and more seamlessly rewarding our M&S Financial Services customers.”
M&S Bank CEO Paul Spencer said: “Our customers’ shopping and payment needs have continued to evolve in recent years, and offering more digital solutions and greater integration is key to meeting these needs. To support this, over the past year we have launched the digital payment solution, Sparks Pay, for use across all M&S stores, in addition to shopping via M&S.com and the app.
“It has been fantastic working with our M&S retail partners to ensure our customers get the best and most integrated customer experience and we’re excited about the potential of what’s to come, as we work together even more closely to make it even easier for our customers to shop, pay, earn and redeem rewards with M&S, all in one place.”
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