Barclays Announces Strategic Partnership With Payment Linked Loyalty Technology Business Bink

LONDON, England, Feb. 7 -- Barclays issued the following news release:

Barclays has today announced that it is partnering with the transformational payment and loyalty platform company Bink, in a deal that is set to digitalise the way customers engage with loyalty programmes.

The bank has committed to a significant investment and will take a minority stake in the firm. Barclays and Bink will work in collaboration to deliver a ground-breaking experience for customers.

The new partnership is a key part of Barclays' plans to invest in new business models for growth.

Founded in 2015, Bink's Payment Linked Loyalty platform uses unique technology to allow customers to link payment cards to loyalty programmes, enabling them to automatically collect loyalty points when they make a purchase with their linked payment card.

Ruchir Rodrigues, Head of Digital and Open Banking at Barclays said: "Bink has created a practical and innovative solution to an everyday problem and we're excited to support them in the next stage of their growth.

"Over six million of our customers use our mobile banking app to manage their day-to-day finances, and we strive to make that experience as easy, intuitive and secure as possible. Bink's seamless Payment Linked Loyalty technology will help customers avoid missing out on valuable loyalty benefits in all areas of their spending."

Mike Jordan, CEO of Bink said: "We are thrilled that Barclays has chosen to invest in and partner with us at such an exciting time of Bink's growth. Our platform simplifies how customers collect loyalty points and can transform how businesses connect with their customers.

"It's clear that Barclays and Bink share a common goal of driving innovation in app-based experiences, and this partnership will help deliver the benefits to Bink and Barclays customers alike."

Barclays has a rich history of investing in innovative technology that enables customers to securely manage their money including:

* View current accounts in one place - Barclays was the first high street bank, that is a member of the CMA9, to allow customers to view their current accounts from other banks in their Barclays Mobile Banking app

* Spending - Customers can keep on top of their day-to-day finances in-app with Spending, where transactions are automatically bucketed into 12 main categories and over 70 sub-categories

* Merchant Control - Customers have the control to turn off spending in five merchant categories including gambling and premium rate phone numbers

* Temporary Freeze - BMB customers can temporarily freeze their cards from within their app if they think it's lost or stolen.