CAMBIO OPERATOR, FX Trader, yesterday launched a loyalty programme that will offer participating customers double rewards in the form of preferential foreign exchange rates and Magna points.
Through an exclusive partnership with Magna Rewards, FX Trader will reward its customers every time they use their Magna card when buying or selling foreign exchange at any of its 26 locations island wide.
Magna Rewards is a free card-based loyalty membership programme that rewards customers every time they spend at a Magna partner. Customers are rewarded with Magna points which have a dollar value that is then converted into a cheque. Cheques can be redeemed for their cash value at most Magna retail partners.
Now, with FX Trader's new 'Get Smart Rates and Money Back' programme, customers who use their Magna card at FX Trader, will not only receive Magna points, but will also receive an even better rate than displayed on the rate board, when buying or selling any foreign currency.
'BONUS RATE'
At present, customers will get an instant discount of five cents when they buy foreign exchange and gain an extra 15 cents when they sell. Customers who are not yet Magna card holders can claim even better rates if they sign up for a Magna card at an FX Trader location and do a foreign exchange transaction at the same time.
On their first transaction, they will enjoy a 'bonus rate' of 20 cents more than the board rate when they sell and a discount of 10 cents when they buy.
Sheila Segree-White, general manager for GraceKennedy Currency Trading Services Limited, operators of FX Trader said, "In addition to earning Magna points, the preferential rates that will be offered to Magna card-holders when they change money at FX Trader, will serve as an instant reward. We are the only Magna partner to offer this double benefit."
Segree White also noted that the programme is "simple and straightforward" as customers can easily calculate the number of points they have earned.
"It's one seamless transaction where you simultaneously earn your Magna points and receive a special rate on your foreign currency transaction."
Jamaica's foreign exchange market is dynamic and competitive with the Bank of Jamaica listing 80 companies including cambios, banks and building societies authorised to trade foreign exchange.
In 2004, a total of US$5.2 billion in terms of all currencies traded, was purchased by these entities combined, with cambios accounting for 32 per cent of total volumes.
HIGH SALES
Since 1995, cambios have grown dramatically in terms of money traded, moving from an average of US$37 million purchased each month to four times that amount this year.
Cambio sales reflect an even higher increase, moving from a monthly average of US$12 million in 1995 to US$87 million in 2005.
FX Trader began operations in Jamaica in 1996 and quickly grew to become Jamaica's leading cambio, now trading over US$500 million annually.
