Earn Discovery Miles when you sign up via the Friend Referral Rewards programme

In the first of its kind among SA banks and financial institutions, Discovery Bank is giving clients the functionality to invite friends and family to sign up to the bank — and for clients and friends to get rewarded in the form of Discovery Miles, creating an ecosystem of shared value.  

“Some of the most successful technology-driven businesses, such as Airbnb and Uber, have reached unprecedented scale from digital word-of-mouth referrals. At Discovery, we believe our clients should be our greatest ambassadors as they experience our products first hand. Our banking platform is designed to offer an exciting user experience and facilitates a digital network where the rewards of shared-value banking can be multiplied across our client base — which is the foundation of Friend Referral Rewards,” says Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner. 

As a shared-value bank, Friend Referral Rewards brings together a number Discovery Bank’s powerful assets: an advanced digital banking capability that enables clients to open an account in minutes; the Discovery Miles rewards currency; and the Discovery Pay platform that allows clients to see which of their contacts have a Discovery Bank account, and invite those who don’t.

Discovery Bank is designed differently through its shared-value model. Clients create value as they manage their money well. Discovery Bank then shares that back with them through better interest rates, deep discounts and Discovery Miles, the rewards currency which is worth more than cash.

The outcome gives banking value for clients and lower risk of defaults for Discovery Bank, making the business more sustainable; it also addresses large-scale challenges, such as the need for increased savings to benefit society. 

Behaviour change and rewards are enabled through Vitality Money, an artificial intelligence-powered programme on the Discovery Bank app. Vitality Money uses data from multiple sources to create a personal profile of a client’s financial position, gives clients an understanding of the behaviours that influence their financial wellbeing, and shows them how to manage their money well. 

“No other financial institution has adopted this referral approach. Enabling clients to gift rewards to their friends and family while they also earn personal rewards, proves we have a powerful technology platform that powers our bank, products and the value it creates for people. Making our clients ambassadors and advocates for our products reflects our belief that they are best placed to tell the story of shared-value banking and its rewards in the most authentic way,” says Kallner. 

The Friend Referral Rewards programme will run until October 31 2021. Through a Discovery Bank app-enabled referral process, Discovery Bank clients with qualifying accounts who invite friends and family who join Discovery Bank will earn up to 5,000 Discovery Miles each. Clients can also bag an additional 2,500 bonus Discovery Miles for referring up to three friends who join and an extra 5,000 bonus Discovery Miles for referring up to 10 friends who activate qualifying accounts. 

Kallner says: “We are also announcing a Discovery Bank Charity Challenge and our entire executive team will take part. In the challenge, our Discovery Bank and Vitality ambassadors will battle it out to see who can raise the most Discovery Miles for their charities. 

The ambassadors are Caster Semenya (Caster Semenya Foundation), Chad le Clos (Chad le Clos Foundation), KG Montjane (Women and Men Against Child Abuse), Lucas Radebe (Gift of the Givers), Wayde van Niekerk (FoodForward SA), Jo-Ann Strauss (Unicef), Riaad Moosa (GiveLight Foundation), David Higgs (Reach for a Dream) and John Sanei (Woodstock Animal Rescue). 

Each ambassador will have a unique referral code. The Discovery Miles that they earn when clients join Discovery Bank using their referral codes will be donated to their respective charities. Discovery Bank will also add an additional R25,000 to the charity of the winning ambassador — another way that our shared-value model is being applied as a force for good in society.” 

This article was paid for by Discovery Bank.