la Caixa creates the first online community from a financial operator that allows businesses to advertise promotions

PremiaT begins operations in Reus (Tarragona), aimed at 30,000 customers and more than 1,200 establishments

• The bank is pioneering a new model never seen before in the financial sector, which brings together its card customers, merchant customers, online banking and mobile banking services.
• Individuals will be able to use PremiaT to access geolocalized promotions via their mobile devices. Merchants can drive sales by making offers aimed at large numbers of customers.
• The promotion will be automatically validated as customers pay using their "la Caixa" card, with no need to buy anything in advance or print vouchers.

"la Caixa" has launched PremiaT, the first online community from an international financial entity that connects businesses and individual customers. The community is designed to provide businesses and retailers, regardless of their sector or the size of their establishment, with a tool to help generate customer loyalty and drive direct sales.

PremiaT gives consumers immediate access to promotions and offers in their close vicinity at any given time, which is found using geolocation technology. Users thus benefit from offers just at the time when they need to buy.

Meanwhile, the tool allows businesses to circulate offers amongst a large number of potential customers.

To use PremiaT customers (both individuals and businesses) have to register to join the community at www.premiat.es. Registration is free of charge, but users must have a "la Caixa" card (for individuals) or a POS terminal from the bank (for commercial establishments).

A pioneering initiative in the international financial sector

The PremiaT model is brand new for the sector, connecting "la Caixa"'s cards business, merchant banking, online banking and mobile banking services in a tool that makes use the latest eCommerce trends and geolocation technology, compatible with most smartphones. This is the first time that a Spanish bank has offered a discounts service of this kind.

For "la Caixa", PremiaT will shore up customer loyalty among its cardholders and merchant customers, by making the offer subject to payment using one of the bank's cards and POS terminals.

No printing of vouchers or coupons

Customers can locate offers by using geolocation technology and find the closest establishments that offer promotions on a map. They can also use a search tool provided in the virtual community to follow the promotions offered by businesses or by performing a keywords search.

Once users find an offer that interests them there is no need to print vouchers or coupons. They simply go to the establishment and make the purchase using their card. Users are not required to make a reservation or commit to promotions in advance. The offer is simply activated via the point of sale terminal and applied automatically.

Meanwhile, for the business there is no need to individually manage each customer benefiting from the promotion: their "la Caixa" POS terminal does everything for them. The establishment can add as many promotions as it wants and in any format: rewards for first purchase, discounts on subsequent purchases, promotions at particular times or days of the week, etc.

Launch in Reus

As this model has never been seen in the sector before, "la Caixa" will be rolling out PremiaT in stages. The first stage gets underway this December with the launch of the system in Reus (Tarragona), aimed at the bank's 30,000 customers in the city and more than 1,200 retailers, all with "la Caixa" POS terminals.

PremiaT will start out with 233 active promotions. A total of 60 (one in four) are from bars and restaurants. There is also a wide range of promotions available at clothes and accessories shops (53), decoration, computing and household appliance retailers (52), health centres, spas and beauty salons (35) and leisure and travel establishments (33).

In terms of promotion types, there are discounts on fashion items of up to 30%, discounts based on purchase volumes, the number of purchase made by a customer at the store or for going to the establishment at low business hours. There are also offers on individual objects and services, such as sunglasses (up to 50% off) or having new tyres fitted (40% off). Free gifts can also be offered for certain purchases, which might be free nights at a hotel, complementary bottles of wine or cava, driving lessons or Christmas baskets.

Following the launch in Reus, "la Caixa" will begin extending PremiaT to other areas in 2013.

"la Caixa", a leader in innovation

"la Caixa" is currently Spain's leading bank in terms of innovation and technology, and one of the world's leading innovators.

In 2011 "la Caixa" was named the world's most innovative bank at the Global Banking innovation Awards in Chicago (USA), run by the Bank Administration Institute and Finacle, beating 200 other banks from 40 countries to the prize. The jury pointed to "la Caixa"'s strong track record of innovation in financial services for individual customers.

The bank is currently Spain's leader in electronic banking, with more than 12.5 million card customers and more than 200,000 merchant banking customers. It also has the most extensive ATM network in Spain, with more than 10,000 terminals across the country. "la Caixa" is also Spain's leader in online banking, with 8.6 million customers, and mobile banking, with more than 2.8 million users in 2012. In fact, an average of 65,000 new mobile banking users register with "la Caixa" each month, while the number of mobile transactions carried out each month stands at 40 million.

The bank also offers a wide range of applications that feature services for both customers and other users (e.g. geolocation of ATMs and branches or tax and tuition fee payments using credit cards from any bank). "la Caixa" currently offers 65 applications, which have been downloaded 4 million times.