Munich, Dusseldorf – In cooperation with WestLB, Germany’s largest bonus programme has launched a free PAYBACK Maestro card on the market. At the request of customers, the conventional PAYBACK card has been equipped with a payment function that can be used with immediate effect worldwide to make cashless payments and collect points. "We have succeeded in combining the best features of PAYBACK and the EC payment card", explains Burkhard Grassmann, spokesman for the PAYBACK Board of Management. "The new PAYBACK Maestro card enables our customers to collect more points than ever before and it is also equipped with state-of-the-art functions." In addition to the traditional payment options, owners of the PAYBACK Maestro card can also make online and contact-free payments. "All these benefits combine to make the PAYBACK Maestro card one of the most innovative cards on the European market. Customers can now use this card to make cashless payments and collect points at eleven million outlets where Maestro is accepted worldwide. The various elements of the card – a combination of customer card, bonus programme and a means of making payments both at home and abroad – fit together seamlessly", says Steffen Kowalski, member of the Board of Management responsible for Transaction Banking at WestLB AG. What really sets this card apart is that customers do not need to switch bank accounts in order to use it, because payments are charged directly to the customer’s current account. "For us as a company, the card is a strategically important building block in strengthening customer loyalty. PAYBACK will gain even greater appeal, because customers can accumulate points even faster and thus obtain the rewards they want, benefit from additional advantages and coupons, and the points are now also valid for an unlimited period of time", explains Manfred Mandel, CMO International of the real,- hypermarket chain. The PAYBACK Maestro card is offered by PAYBACK and its partners Apollo-Optik, Aral, Dänisches Bettenlager, dm-drogerie markt, Europcar, Galeria Kaufhof, LINDA pharmacies, real,- and WMF. Application forms for the card are available from branches of these partners and from <link www.payback.de/>www.payback.de</link>. WestLB is responsible for all the payment-card-specific processes, from processing the application to issuing the statement. The bank notifies PAYBACK of the number of points to be awarded each month. Features of the new PAYBACK Maestro card at a glance:
1. The card is free
2. Points can be collected from PAYBACK partners
3. Points can be collected when making payments at approximately 11 million outlets where Maestro is accepted (1 point for every 10 euros spent, with the exception of purchases made at service stations and cash withdrawals)
4. PAYBACK points are valid for an unlimited period
5. Online payments via SecureCode
6. Contact-free payments via paypass
7. New card holders can collect ten-fold points once and are sent attractive welcome coupons
8. Additional promotions
9. Withdraw money from ATMs (for a fee)
10. Available in ten co-branding designs from partners About WestLB:
WestLB AG is a European commercial bank based in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous federal state. With total assets of EUR 254.5 billion (as at June 30, 2009), it is one of Germany’s leading financial services providers. It is the central institution for the Sparkasse banks in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg and acts as a link to the global financial markets. Working in close partnership with the Sparkasse banks, WestLB offers a range of banking products and services, focusing on lending, project finance, capital market and private equity products, asset management, transaction services and real estate finance. As at June 30, 2009, WestLB employed a workforce of 5,208 in full-time positions.