Affinity Solutions Launches Android Version of Rewards Finder App, the First-Ever GPS-Based Loyalty App

NEW YORK, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinity Solutions (www.affinitysolutions.com), the leading provider of partner-funded customer loyalty programs in the U.S., launched the Android version of its Rewards Finder app, a mobile application for bank rewards customers, with a BlackBerry version to follow pending approval.  The application uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technologies to tag surrounding participating merchants that offer cash back percentages through the Sovereign Cash Rewards debit card program, and will also allow customers to find nearby Sovereign ATMs.  The Android and BlackBerry versions of the Rewards Finder app will launch with Boston-based Sovereign Bank (www.sovereignbank.com), and is available to all of Affinity Solutions' bank partners.

The Affinity Rewards Finder app, launched in November for iPhone, is now available on the Apple App Store (www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone) and Android Marketplace for free, and is scheduled to be available on BlackBerry App World for free within the next week to ten days. Sovereign Bank customers will be able to log in using their existing Sovereign Cash Rewards user identification and password.  Sovereign Bank customers will be able to earn up to 20% back at retailers like Borders, Ace Hardware, Banana Republic, Avis Car Rental, Duane Reade, and more.

"Like our iPhone app, the Android and BlackBerry versions of the Rewards Finder help banks create new and forward-thinking ways to increase customer engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately retention.  This becomes even more critical as banks respond to the pressures created by recent legislative changes.  Sovereign Bank is an innovator among leading card issuers, and we're very excited to be extending this capability together," said Jonathan Silver, President and CEO of Affinity Solutions.  "Adding the ATM Finder capability to the GPS functionality of the first version of Rewards Finder further enhances our commitment to allow our bank and retail partners to deliver the right offer to the right customer at the right time, while granting greater value and control over rewards redemption to the end user."

The Rewards Finder App constitutes the first phase of the Affinity Wallet program, a comprehensive rewards offering that leverages multi-platform technology and Affinity's national network of over 15,000 retailers and 430 banks to deliver the right offer to the right customer at the right time, based on analytic data compiling the shopping behavior of nearly 70 million customers.

Future additions to the Wallet offering will include point-of-sale receipts pointing shoppers to other local participating retailers, a "Rewards Toolbar" which annotates search results with relevant offers, an online banking portal that connects rewards offers to a user's online statement, and integration with geosocial networks including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Loopt and Gowalla.  

About Affinity Solutions

Founded in 1998, Affinity Solutions has developed hundreds of offline and online relationship marketing and retailer-funded programs. Its innovative programs integrate a rich database of customer information, rebate rewards, experiential benefits, and editorial content, to drive deeper customer relationships for its bank and retailer partners. Affinity Solutions has partnerships with over 430 national and regional banks, including Sovereign Bank, U.S. Bank, and Capital One, and major international transaction processors including First Data and Fiserv.  Affinity's innovative, data-driven programs integrate targeted rebates/rewards, experiential benefits, and editorial content, to drive deeper customer relationships for their partners.  Their proprietary multi-dimensional analytics platform has been proven to predict "readiness to buy," using the entire transaction profile of cardholders, driving incremental purchase behavior. Providing a turnkey solution, the company offers direct marketing, creative and editorial development, partner recruitment, information technology, data analytics, and specialized customer service.

SOURCE Affinity Solutions