CUSO launches new partnership to create a buzz for its owners
GRAND RAPIDS, MI (May 20, 2016) — Xtend, Inc., the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based cooperative CUSO, and Austin, Texas-based Buzz Points, Inc. announced a new partnership that brings a creative new loyalty rewards program to the credit union customer-owners of Xtend. By combining Buzz Points’ community-focused rewards and marketing platform with Xtend’s successful member awareness strategies, both companies believe that this partnership will create new opportunity for the CUSO’s mid-market client base.
Xtend President Scott Collins commented: “We are excited to announce that Buzz Points is our CUSO’s newest Premier Partner. More importantly, we are excited to bring the proven Buzz Points value proposition to the 200+ credit unions we work with on a daily basis. Their solution not only fits our strategy to help our customer-owners expand their engagements in their communities and with local merchants, it also delivers a relevant, easy-to-understand rewards program that members will both love and use. We have several early-movers queueing up to deploy the Buzz Points platform, and we look forward to aggressively ramping up our joint marketing efforts over the next several months.”
Buzz Points is the only program of its kind to support the “bank local, buy local” movement, which aligns with Xtend’s dedication to helping credit unions strengthen the communities they serve. The Buzz Points platform will support credit unions’ efforts to boost revenue, loyalty and cardholder engagement by leveraging the local experience and the power of rewards. Furthermore, Buzz Points cardholder transaction data will help participating credit unions create relevant and targeted offers for each membership base.
Buzz Points CEO Dwayne Spradlin added: “Buzz Points is excited to further enhance the product and service offerings that Xtend provides to its credit union clients. Buzz Points’ approach to creating hyper-local rewards programs will deliver growth to the credit unions’ debit card portfolios, enhance their level of engagement with their members, and strengthen their relationships with the independent small businesses in their markets.”
“Together, we offer a powerful toolset that enables credit unions to leverage cutting-edge technologies, powerful data insights and advanced marketing capabilities,” continued Spradlin.
Buzz Points will be a key participant at Xtend’s Annual Stockholder Meeting and accompanying education session in Grand Rapids on June 21st.
About Xtend, Inc.
Xtend, Inc. is a 100% credit union-owned CUSO formed in 2002 with headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Xtend provides a wide array of managerial, operational, marketing, technical planning and consulting services for credit unions of all sizes. In short, Xtend is an aggregation point for shared resources that allows credit unions to deliver products and services more cost-effectively. Their strategic offerings include bookkeeping services, member contact services, back-office mortgage services, partnered liquidity opportunities, shared branching, and payment processing services. Xtend provides services for over 250 credit unions representing more than 1.2 million members and $13B in assets. The CUSO is currently owned by 90 credit union industry partners. For more information, visit www.xtendcu.com.
Buzz Points® is a community-focused rewards and marketing platform that connects community financial institutions, consumers and locally-owned businesses. The Buzz Points platform incentivizes members to shop locally, drives business results for credit unions, and helps local businesses compete against national chains.
