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80 Key Customer Loyalty Stats & Trends to Watch in 2026 | Perx

Azmeen Ansar

Azmeen Ansar

Head of Marketing | Feb 12, 2026

80 Key Customer Loyalty Stats and Trends to Watch as You Enter 2026

By Perx Technologies Editorial Team

In 2026, “static” loyalty is a relic of the past. As we move into an era of Lifestyle-first ecosystems, brands are no longer just competing on price—they are competing for a permanent place in the customer’s daily digital routine.

This definitive guide breaks down 80 essential statistics and trends across eight critical pillars, helping you move from transactional points to meaningful, real-time engagement.

I. The 2026 Macro Loyalty Landscape

The loyalty market has evolved into a $20B+ industry where utility is the primary driver of retention.
  1. Global Market Value: The customer loyalty management market is projected to reach $18.5 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of over 20%. (Source: MarketsandMarkets / Allied Market Research)
  2. Investment Growth: 68% of C-suite executives plan to increase their loyalty and engagement budgets by at least 15% in 2026. (Source: PwC)
  3. The Retention Advantage: Increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. (Source: Bain & Company)
  4. Program Saturation: The average consumer is now enrolled in 16+ loyalty programs but only actively engages with 3. (Source: Bond Brand Loyalty)
  5. Zero-Party Data Reliance: With 100% of third-party cookies deprecated, 90% of marketers cite loyalty programs as their https://www.google.com/search?q=%231 source of zero-party data. (Source: Forrester)

II. The Power of Gamification (The Perx Edge)

Gamification is no longer a “nice-to-have”, it is the core architecture of 2026 engagement.

  1. Engagement Lift: Gamified loyalty mechanics (challenges, streaks, mystery boxes) increase Daily Active Users (DAU) by 47%. (Source: Perx Technologies Internal Data)
  2. The “Dopamine” Effect: 60% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if they can enjoy a “game-like” experience during the process. (Source: Snipp Interactive)
  3. Redemption Velocity: Rewards earned through gamified interactions are redeemed 3x faster than traditional points-based rewards. (Source: Gartner)
  4. Social Sharing: Gamified achievements are 5.5x more likely to be shared on social media than standard point balances.
  5. Tiered Progress: 72% of users say they are more likely to stay with a brand if they can “level up” through visible progress bars.

Struggling to move beyond basic points? Check out our guide on How to Gamify Your Loyalty Program to start building your own ‘sticky’ ecosystem.

III. AI, AEO, and the Search Revolution

In 2026, loyalty programs must be “crawlable” by AI agents.

  1. Predictive Churn: AI-driven loyalty platforms now predict customer churn with 92% accuracy before it happens. (Source: McKinsey)
  2. Hyper-Personalization: AI-driven personalization can deliver up to 40% more revenue from loyalty members than static, one-size-fits-all campaigns. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
  3. GEO & AEO: 50% of loyalty-related searches now happen via AI agents like ChatGPT or Perplexity; brands must optimize for Generative Engine Optimization.
  4. Voice Commerce: 35% of loyalty redemptions in 2026 are expected to occur via voice-activated smart home devices.
  5. Real-time Orchestration: 85% of consumers expect rewards to be triggered instantly upon a behavioral action, managed by AI. (Source: Perx Research)

IV. Emotional Loyalty: The New Competitive Moat

Moving beyond “bribing” customers with points to building genuine affinity.

  1. Emotional Value: Emotionally connected customers are 52% more valuable to a brand than those who are just “highly satisfied.” (Source: Harvard Business Review)
  2. Surprise & Delight: 64% of shoppers say “unearned” rewards (surprise gifts) are the https://www.google.com/search?q=%231 driver of emotional attachment. (Source: Forrester)
  3. Trust Factor: 81% of consumers say they must “trust the brand to do what is right” before they join a loyalty program. (Source: Edelman Trust Barometer)
  4. Shared Values: 73% of Gen Z will leave a loyalty program if the brand’s values do not align with their own regarding sustainability or social justice. (Source: Deloitte)
  5. Human-Centric AI: 55% of consumers feel a stronger bond when AI is used to remember personal milestones like “Brand Anniversaries.”

V. Financial Inclusion: Loyalty as a Currency

In 2026, loyalty programs are bridging the economic gap in emerging markets.
  1. Alternative Currency: In Southeast Asia, 40% of unbanked users use loyalty points to pay for essential services like mobile data and electricity. (Source: World Bank / Google-Temasek Report)
  2. Micro-Investing: 25% of loyalty programs now offer “Fractional Stock” or “Crypto-Back” as a reward option.
  3. Financial Literacy: 1 in 5 Gen Z users say they learned “basic budgeting” through managing their digital reward wallets.
  4. Cross-Border Utility: 30% of travelers prioritize programs where points can be used at local merchants in different countries.
  5. Lending Data: Loyalty data is being used to provide “Alternative Credit Scores” for 15% more low-income applicants. (Source: McKinsey)
As loyalty becomes a tool for economic empowerment, the stakes for brands have never been higher. Read our deep dive into Why Financial Wellness Is the Game-Changer.

VI. Brand Experience (BX) & Omnichannel Strategy

Loyalty is no longer a department; it is the entire customer journey.

  1. Unified Experience: Brands with strong omnichannel engagement retain 89% of their customers on average. (Source: Aberdeen Group)
  2. Phygital Integration: 50% of consumers expect their mobile loyalty app to “wake up” and provide relevant offers when they enter a physical store. (Source: Oracle)
  3. Customer Service Impact: A single poor experience can undo 5 years of loyalty for 32% of consumers. (Source: PwC)
  4. Frictionless Redemption: 70% of users abandon programs where the redemption process takes more than 3 clicks.
  5. Ecosystem Loyalty: 60% of consumers prefer “Coalition” rewards that can be used across multiple brands.

VII. Generational Trends: Gen Alpha & Gen Z

The digital-native generations expect “Invisible Loyalty.”
  1. Gen Alpha Arrival: By 2026, Gen Alpha (born 2010+) will influence $500B in annual spending; they expect gamified, TikTok-style engagement.
  2. Sustainability Rewards: 75% of Millennials will pay more for a product if it’s tied to a “Carbon-Neutral” loyalty reward. (Source: Deloitte)
  3. Social Proof: 68% of Gen Z members join a loyalty program because they saw an influencer “unlocking” a rare tier.
  4. Instant Access: Gen Z has an 8-second attention span; if a loyalty benefit isn’t clear immediately, they will opt out.
  5. Community-led Growth: 45% of young consumers want to earn rewards for “referring a friend” or “creating a video review.”

VIII. The Profit Power of "Living Loyalty"

Why the bottom line loves 2026-style engagement.
  1. AOV Lift: Members of high-engagement loyalty programs spend 37% more per transaction than non-members. (Source: Bond)
  2. LTV Acceleration: A “Living Loyalty” ecosystem (Real-time + Gamified) can increase Lifetime Value by 2.2x. (Source: Perx Technologies)
  3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): It is now 7x cheaper to upsell an existing loyalty member than to acquire a new lead through social ads.
  4. Churn Reduction: Gamified streaks can reduce monthly churn by as much as 20% in high-frequency industries like F&B and Telco.
  5. Brand Equity: High-loyalty brands command a 20% price premium over competitors in the same category. (Source: BrandZ)

Theoretical gains are good, but real-world results are better. See the data in action: Case Study: How a Leading Bank Boosted Engagement by 40% with Perx.

Conclusion: The Roadmap for 2026

The data is clear: 2026 will separate the incremental optimizers from the experience leaders. The brands that will win are those that treat loyalty not as a “side project,” but as the operating system for their entire brand experience.

Key Takeaways for your 2026 Strategy:

  • Move to Real-Time: Static rewards are dead. Use an API-led engine to trigger rewards the second a behavior happens.
  • Gamify Everything: Use psychological triggers (scarcity, progress, competition) to keep the app “sticky.”

Optimize for AI: Make sure your program’s benefits are easily readable by AI search engines to capture the AEO/GEO market.

Ready to build the future of loyalty?

At Perx Technologies, we help global enterprises transform transactional customers into lifestyle fans. Schedule a Strategy Call with a Loyalty Expert

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Digital Banking Loyalty: Case Study on Data-Driven Engagement

Amrith G

SVP, Customer Relationships & Performance

Fireside Chat: UOB × Perx – From Delight to Data-Driven Engagement

As digital banking competition intensifies across Singapore and Southeast Asia, loyalty programs built on points and cashback alone are struggling to drive meaningful engagement. Customers expect real-time relevance, seamless mobile experiences, and rewards that recognise behaviour, not just spend. 

In this interview, I speak with Corinna Au, SVP Digital Engagement, UOB, about how the bank is evolving loyalty into a behaviour-led engagement engine – using game mechanics, real-time personalisation, and mobile-first journeys to increase participation, deepen customer relationships, and link engagement directly to revenue outcomes.

Amrith: Corinna, UOB has been a Perx partner right from the early days, and over the years, you’ve created some truly memorable customer moments in-app. Can you take us through that evolution?

Corinna: Absolutely. Our engagement journey has always been about connecting emotionally with customers – and having fun while doing it.

The first gamification collaboration was the eHongbao Lunar New Year 2025 Campaign – a festive game bursting with luck and Lunar New Year cheer. Dressed in traditional symbolism but powered by modern gamification magic, it turned everyday banking into a delightful celebration. Who said finance can’t be fun? Customers loved it – it wasn’t just a game, it was a celebration of culture, color, and community right inside their banking app.

Each of these moments reinforced one thing: people don’t engage with banking features – they engage with stories.

Amrith: And that led naturally to StarRush, your most recent in-app experience. Tell us about that.

Corinna: StarRush was designed as a joyful, gamified campaign to reward customers instantly, no friction, no forms, just play and win. Over 49 days, 350,000 gameplays were clocked, and we issued over 68,000 rewards.

The best part? A 69% earn-to-burn rate, which tells us customers weren’t just playing; they were fully engaged, redeeming, and enjoying the experience. And based on sentiment analysis, the campaign scored around 7 to 8 out of 10 on customer delight –  pretty encouraging for a first-of-its-kind banking game at this scale.

Amrith: Those are strong numbers. But engagement curves often flatten after a while. What patterns did you observe?

Corinna: That’s right. We saw incredible traction in the first six weeks, and then a natural plateau,  which actually taught us something important. Gamification isn’t static. Customers evolve quickly; they crave freshness, challenge, and personalization.

We learned that instant rewards are great for initial excitement, but to sustain engagement, we needed progression mechanics –  levels, milestones, and personalised challenges. That’s what we’re focusing on next.

Amrith: So it’s time to move from “surprise and delight” to “influence and action.” What does that next phase look like for UOB?

Corinna: We’re now exploring how to use data science and behavioral triggers to nudge positive customer actions –  whether that’s higher credit-card spend, increased deposits, or referrals.

We want to reward customers for the right behaviours. It’s about turning engagement into measurable business outcomes, and that’s where Perx’s advanced rules engine comes in. 

Amrith: Corinna, you’ve been at the heart of this journey, from a themed game that blended luck and fun and perfectly captured the festive spirit, to the starlit universe of StarRush. Now with the latest eHongBao 2026 experience designed to shape real customer behaviour through purposeful play, what’s your vision for 2026?

Corinna: Our vision is to build a connected, intelligent, and rewarding ecosystem – one where every UOB customer interaction has purpose. The new eHongBao 2026 game is a good example: by encouraging simple actions like using PayNow or Scan to Pay, we’re helping customers build healthy, everyday digital habits while rewarding them with moments of joy. That’s where banking is headed. We want to inspire good financial behaviour through play, data, and delight. The bank of the future isn’t just where you transact; it’s where you enjoy and grow.

Amrith: That’s beautifully put. Thank you, Corinna, for your vision, partnership, and for redefining what engagement in banking can mean.

Corinna: Thank you, Amrith. It’s been an incredible partnership with Perx, and we’re just getting started.

As digital banking competition intensifies across Singapore and Southeast Asia, loyalty programs built on points and cashback alone are struggling to drive meaningful engagement. Customers expect real-time relevance, seamless mobile experiences, and rewards that recognise behaviour, not just spend. 

In this interview, I speak with Corinna Au, SVP Digital Engagement, UOB, about how the bank is evolving loyalty into a behaviour-led engagement engine – using game mechanics, real-time personalisation, and mobile-first journeys to increase participation, deepen customer relationships, and link engagement directly to revenue outcomes.

Amrith: Corinna, UOB has been a Perx partner right from the early days, and over the years, you’ve created some truly memorable customer moments in-app. Can you take us through that evolution?

Corinna: Absolutely. Our engagement journey has always been about connecting emotionally with customers – and having fun while doing it.

The first gamification collaboration was the eHongbao Lunar New Year 2025 Campaign – a festive game bursting with luck and Lunar New Year cheer. Dressed in traditional symbolism but powered by modern gamification magic, it turned everyday banking into a delightful celebration. Who said finance can’t be fun? Customers loved it – it wasn’t just a game, it was a celebration of culture, color, and community right inside their banking app.

Each of these moments reinforced one thing: people don’t engage with banking features – they engage with stories.

Amrith: And that led naturally to StarRush, your most recent in-app experience. Tell us about that.

Corinna: StarRush was designed as a joyful, gamified campaign to reward customers instantly, no friction, no forms, just play and win. Over 49 days, 350,000 gameplays were clocked, and we issued over 68,000 rewards.

The best part? A 69% earn-to-burn rate, which tells us customers weren’t just playing; they were fully engaged, redeeming, and enjoying the experience. And based on sentiment analysis, the campaign scored around 7 to 8 out of 10 on customer delight –  pretty encouraging for a first-of-its-kind banking game at this scale.

Amrith: Those are strong numbers. But engagement curves often flatten after a while. What patterns did you observe?

Corinna: That’s right. We saw incredible traction in the first six weeks, and then a natural plateau,  which actually taught us something important. Gamification isn’t static. Customers evolve quickly; they crave freshness, challenge, and personalization.

We learned that instant rewards are great for initial excitement, but to sustain engagement, we needed progression mechanics –  levels, milestones, and personalised challenges. That’s what we’re focusing on next.

Amrith: So it’s time to move from “surprise and delight” to “influence and action.” What does that next phase look like for UOB?

Corinna: We’re now exploring how to use data science and behavioral triggers to nudge positive customer actions –  whether that’s higher credit-card spend, increased deposits, or referrals.

We want to reward customers for the right behaviours. It’s about turning engagement into measurable business outcomes, and that’s where Perx’s advanced rules engine comes in. 

Amrith: Corinna, you’ve been at the heart of this journey, from a themed game that blended luck and fun and perfectly captured the festive spirit, to the starlit universe of StarRush. Now with the latest eHongBao 2026 experience designed to shape real customer behaviour through purposeful play, what’s your vision for 2026?

Corinna: Our vision is to build a connected, intelligent, and rewarding ecosystem – one where every UOB customer interaction has purpose. The new eHongBao 2026 game is a good example: by encouraging simple actions like using PayNow or Scan to Pay, we’re helping customers build healthy, everyday digital habits while rewarding them with moments of joy. That’s where banking is headed. We want to inspire good financial behaviour through play, data, and delight. The bank of the future isn’t just where you transact; it’s where you enjoy and grow.

Amrith: That’s beautifully put. Thank you, Corinna, for your vision, partnership, and for redefining what engagement in banking can mean.

Corinna: Thank you, Amrith. It’s been an incredible partnership with Perx, and we’re just getting started.

Frequently Asked Questions: Digital Loyalty in BFSI

What is the most effective way to increase active users in a banking app?What is the most effective way to increase active users in a banking app?

According to the UOB and Perx partnership, moving from functional features to emotional storytelling is key. By using “modern gamification magic” and cultural celebrations, banks can turn everyday transactions into community-focused experiences that customers enjoy, rather than just a utility they use.

Success is measured by moving beyond “gameplay” counts to “value” metrics. A key KPI is the earn-to-burn rate—the percentage of earned rewards that are actually redeemed. For example, a 69% earn-to-burn rate indicates that rewards are relevant to the user’s lifestyle and are driving actual value for the customer.

‘Purposeful play’ is a strategy that uses gamification to nudge customers toward specific financial habits. Instead of rewarding random activity, it rewards “the right behaviors,” such as digital payment adoption (PayNow/Scan to Pay), increased deposits, or referrals. This transforms engagement into measurable business outcomes.

‘Purposeful play’ is a strategy that uses gamification to nudge customers toward specific financial habits. Instead of rewarding random activity, it rewards “the right behaviors,” such as digital payment adoption (PayNow/Scan to Pay), increased deposits, or referrals. This transforms engagement into measurable business outcomes.

Featured Experts

Corinna Au Senior Vice President, Digital Engagement, UOB Corinna is a leader in digital banking transformation at UOB, specializing in humanizing the customer experience. She focuses on using storytelling, gamification, and data science to drive emotional connection and “purposeful play” within the UOB app. Her work has successfully scaled major campaigns like StarRush and eHongbao, turning digital banking into a platform for both transaction and growth.

Amrith G Senior Vice President, Customer Relationships & Performance, Perx Technologies Amrith is an expert in marketing analytics and customer performance at Perx Technologies. He partners with global financial institutions to bridge the gap between customer delight and measurable business outcomes. By leveraging advanced rules engines and behavioral triggers, Amrith helps brands transition from simple loyalty rewards to sophisticated, data-driven engagement ecosystems.

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Why Building a Loyalty Engine is a $10M Distraction for Banks

Build vs. Buy: The Winning “Build + Buy” Loyalty Strategy for 2026

Azmeen Ansar

Azmeen Ansar

Head of Marketing | Jan 27, 2026

The Definitive Guide to Loyalty Infrastructure: Why "Build + Buy" Wins in 2026

Executive Summary: For 2026, the traditional binary choice of building vs. buying a loyalty platform is obsolete; elite digital banks now adopt a “Build + Buy” strategy to decouple high-frequency engagement logic from stable core systems. This hybrid approach enables a 90-day time-to-market and a 33x reduction in CAC by leveraging Perx as an “Above-Core” engagement layer while maintaining internal ownership of proprietary customer experiences.
The debate over whether to build a proprietary loyalty engine or buy a specialized platform typically surfaces during a Digital Transformation or an App Revamp. Most financial institutions find themselves at a crossroads where two internal priorities collide:
  • The IT Mandate (The “Build” Logic): Internal teams often favor building to ensure total data sovereignty, deep integration with legacy core banking systems, and the elimination of long-term licensing fees.
  • The Marketing Mandate (The “Buy” Logic): Growth and CX teams need velocity. They require a loyalty platform that allows them to launch campaigns in hours, not months, without waiting for the next engineering sprint.
In 2026, the dilemma is no longer about which side is “right,” but about opportunity cost. Every month spent building basic “points plumbing” internally is a month where your competitors are using behavioral science and real-time nudges to capture your market share.
According to Accenture’s Banking Trends 2026, leading institutions are shifting from “keeping systems alive” to “powering growth” via composable architectures. By leveraging Perx as an “Above-Core” engagement layer, institutions can achieve a 90-day time-to-market and a 33x reduction in CAC while maintaining internal ownership of proprietary customer experiences.

Table of Contents

The Engagement Blackout: Why Internal Builds Stagnate

Most enterprises realize too late that building a loyalty engine internally creates a 12–24 month engagement blackout. During this period, marketing teams remain stagnant while competitors launch dynamic, habit-forming missions.

Internal builds often result in “Static Loyalty,” where features cannot pivot without expensive engineering sprints. Using pre-built gamification modules allows banks to eliminate this delay, providing a behavioral lab for immediate experimentation.

The TCO Reality Check: True Costs of Building

Building the system is only the beginning. The real cost is the “Jira Tax”—the time and money wasted every time marketing needs a small change. LoyaltyLion’s research on 2026 benchmarks suggests that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of internal tools often eclipses specialized platforms within just 18 months.

At Perx, we estimate each of these “minor” tweaks costs a bank roughly $10,000 in lost productivity and delay. Don’t believe us? Here are the actual figures. 

On that note, find out how we helped SMBC Bank Indonesia (Jenius Bank) convert their New-to-Bank customers into high-value customers within 90-days. Read the story here. 

Why do internal loyalty-building efforts fail in 2026? The Strategic Opportunity Cost

The Short Answer: Internal loyalty fails because they trap elite engineering teams in a cycle of “Static Loyalty,” where the cost of maintaining commodity points engines outweighs the ability to innovate. In 2026, banks win by decoupling high-frequency engagement logic from their core systems, allowing them to iterate in days rather than months.

Pillar 1: Velocity is Your Only Real Moat

In a hyper-competitive market, the winner is the institution that learns the fastest. When you build an online loyalty program internally, you are often stuck with “Static Loyalty”—a system that requires a full engineering sprint just to change a reward threshold.
  • The Perx Difference: We provide a “Behavioral Lab” where marketing teams can launch, test, and pivot ten different missions in the time it takes an internal IT team to simply draft the technical requirements.Success stories from leading digital banks show that this speed is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Pillar 2: Maintenance is the "Scentless" Tax on Growth

Enterprises often forget that “shipping the code” is only 20% of the journey. The remaining 80% is the Maintenance Tax—a constant drain on resources spent on security patches, API updates, and compliance audits.
  • The Perx Difference: By using an above-core engagement layer, you isolate your loyalty logic from your regulated banking code. This means you can iterate your customer experience every week without triggering a million-dollar audit of your Core Banking System every time you want to add a new gamified “streak.”

Pillar 3: Points are Commodities; Behavioral Design is your "Alpha"

Building a basic rules engine to “calculate points” is a “Beta” utility—it’s the table stakes of banking. Your developers’ time is a finite, high-value asset that should be focused on “Alpha” innovations, such as proprietary credit scoring or unique lending models.
  • The Perx Difference: We provide customer loyalty software that functions as “Behavioral Science as a Service.” Instead of your team building the “plumbing” of a points engine, they can leverage pre-built quests, nudges, and habit-forming loops that are scientifically proven to increase Daily Active Users (DAU).

Pillar 4: Closing the Operational "Gap"

A loyalty platform is only as strong as its ecosystem. Internal builds almost always focus on the “code” and ignore the manual operational burden of managing hundreds of third-party merchants and voucher reconciliations.
  • The Perx Difference: The Perx Merchant Management Framework solves the “last mile” of loyalty. It provides a secure portal where partners like Grab, Starbucks, or local retailers manage their own inventory. This removes your IT and Ops teams from the daily manual loop of uploading CSV files, preventing human error and scaling your partnership program overnight.

The Hidden Architecture of Failure: Security Risks and Operational Debt

The true cost of building a loyalty engine isn’t just the initial salary of the engineering squad; it’s the invisible friction that builds up in the gaps between your core systems and your merchant partners. Internal builds often fail because they underestimate two critical “Above-Core” complexities:

1. The CTO’s "Regulated Code" Dilemma

Most internal builds attempt to bake loyalty logic directly into or near the Core Banking System. This creates a massive bottleneck.

  • Technical Risk: Every time Marketing wants to tweak a reward, you risk touching regulated banking code, necessitating rigorous, expensive audits.
  • The “Above-Core” Solution: Perx acts as a separate engagement layer that connects via APIs. It provides the power of modern behavioral science without changing a single line of your core code, effectively “future-proofing” your CTO’s roadmap – following the trends highlighted in Capgemini’s Banking Top Trends 2026.

2. The Merchant Management "Manual Trap"

Enterprises often build a points engine but forget the logistics of fulfillment. Without a dedicated framework, your “digital transformation” ends up relying on manual labor.

  • The CSV Burden: Internal tools frequently require IT staff to manually upload CSV files of voucher codes every week. This is a recipe for human error and high operational overhead.
  • Self-Service Ecosystems: The Perx Merchant Management Framework provides a secure “front door” for partners like Starbucks or Grab. Partners manage their own inventory and rewards directly, removing IT from the loop and allowing your team to focus on high-level strategy rather than data entry.

3. The Integration & Maintenance "Scentless Tax."

Beyond the initial build, maintenance consumes 80% of the total lifetime cost.

  • Security Compliance: Maintaining ISO-certified security and data sovereignty in-house requires constant updates that provide zero “Alpha” value to the customer.
  • API Debt: As your app evolves, keeping an internal loyalty engine synced with evolving mobile OS requirements and security patches becomes a permanent drain on your best architects.

The 2026 Mandate: Build for Difference, Buy for Scale

The choice to “Build vs. Buy” is ultimately a choice of where you want your bank to be in two years.

If you choose to build the plumbing from scratch, you are choosing a two-year “engagement blackout.” You are choosing to let your competitors own the habit-forming micro-moments that keep customers loyal.

The most successful digital banks in the world have realized that they don’t need to own the code for a “Spin-the-Wheel” mechanic to own the customer’s heart. They use a hybrid Build + Buy strategy. They buy the sophisticated behavioral engine to ensure they can launch in 90 days, and they build the proprietary front-end experience that makes their brand unique.

FAQs: Solving the Build vs. Buy Dilemma

Is it cheaper to build our own loyalty system?
Initially, it might look cheaper. However, once you add the costs of a 20-person engineering squad and years of maintenance, building is usually 3x more expensive than using Perx.
Yes. Perx is an ISO-certified, enterprise-grade platform. Because it sits “Above-Core,” you only share the data needed for engagement, keeping your sensitive core data locked away.

An internal build takes 12–24 months. Perx typically gets your first engagement missions live in under 90 days.

Absolutely. You “Buy” the engine (the logic) from Perx, but you “Build” the UI (the look). This gives you total brand control with none of the technical headaches. For more on this, see our Complete Guide to Building a Loyalty Program.
Perx is a no-code platform. Your marketing team can change rules, rewards, and missions in minutes without asking IT for help.

Stop the Blackout. Start Building Habits. Don’t let your digital roadmap be held hostage by the “Jira Tax.” Reclaim your engineering resources for the “Alpha” innovations that define your bank. Book a demo with Perx to see how we can launch your engagement layer in 90 days.

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Why Loyalty Programs Fail: The Hidden Cost of Internal Politics

Azmeen Ansar

Azmeen Ansar

Head of Marketing | Jan 19, 2026

Loyalty: The Urgency Nobody Owns (And Why Internal Politics Kill ROI)

Executive Summary: Simply too many companies are still dragging their feet on state-of-the-art loyalty and engagement programs because accountability, ownership, and a clear return on investment (ROI) are muddled in internal politics rather than anchored in revenue and profit and loss (P&L) responsibility.

The Strategic Importance of Modern Loyalty

It is universally accepted that customers are the lifeblood of any business. Loyal customers buy more, stay longer, and cost far less to retain than winning new ones. In a world where digital engagement is table stakes, companies that cannot serve their customers seamlessly and intelligently through digital channels will simply be left behind.

And yet, many organisations drag their feet when it comes to building sound, efficient, and effective loyalty and engagement programs.

Table of Contents

Why is the Loyalty Budget an Orphan in Most Companies?

In many companies, loyalty and engagement spend has no clear home. Budgets are scattered across marketing, various customer-facing business units, or even IT, with no single accountable owner for outcomes.

When no one in the organisation truly owns the profit and loss account impact, loyalty spend becomes a discretionary marketing line item to be trimmed, fudged, or stuffed with vanity metrics instead of a strategic revenue engine to be optimized.

In an environment where every board is scrutinising return on investment and budget spend, loyalty platforms are one of the few investments that both protect existing revenue and create upside through better activation, cross-sell, and retention. The longer organisations wait, the more value they quietly leave on the table—and the harder it becomes to catch up once customers have re-anchored their habits and trust elsewhere.

Moving Beyond Gimmicks

Simply copying a competitor’s loyalty program or bombarding customers with gimmicky “games” is no longer good enough in a world of hyper-personalised experiences. Companies that hide behind generic mechanics and clunky IT are sending a clear signal that they value short-term gimmicks over genuine relationships.

The real differentiator now is creativity: designing intelligent, relevant, and emotionally resonant engagement that treats technology as an enabler, not a crutch.

ROI Without Accountability

The absence of clear accountability makes proper return calculations almost impossible. Marketing or IT teams are often placed nominally “in charge” of loyalty investments, even though they typically do not carry direct revenue or profit responsibility.

This misalignment turns a commercially critical capability into an internal power play: projects are justified to please hierarchies, not to drive measurable customer and revenue outcomes.

You may find it interesting: Read more about how Your Engagement Strategy is Ghosting Your Revenue and Your CFO Hates It — Here’s how to fix it.

Power Politics Over Customers

Too often, vital investments in loyalty and engagement platforms become collateral damage in internal budget battles. Projects are stalled or diluted not because the customer case is weak, but because the internal politics are strong.

In some organisations, opaque teams or gatekeeping functions can block or delay urgent investments in or upgrades to existing loyalty infrastructure, even when the commercial logic is crystal clear. When enterprise architecture or central IT can quietly or arrogantly veto change, customer-centricity becomes a slogan rather than an operating principle.

Loyalty Urgency

Where Are the Alarm Bells?

If sales and meaningful customer engagement are the lifeblood of the company, why is there not far greater urgency around modern loyalty and engagement platforms? At a time when every investment is scrutinised for return, it is remarkable how quietly underinvested this area remains.

Alarm bells should be ringing because customer patience is finite and switching costs have never been lower in a digital-first world. When a company delays modern loyalty and engagement capabilities, it is effectively giving competitors permission to build deeper data-driven relationships, personalise offers more intelligently, and capture greater share of wallet from the same customers.

AI and Customer Behavior: AI is already showing how powerful it is to understand, predict, and influence customer behaviour—yet many organisations still hesitate to invest in the very platforms that operationalise this intelligence at scale. Are some CEOs and CFOs simply too far removed in their ivory towers, or has the topic become so abstract, complex, and buried in middle-management power struggles that it never reaches the top of their agenda?

Strategy: Why Not Establish a "Creativity Budget"?

Any company, big or small, can easily create a budget for creativity in customer engagement by treating it as a defined investment portfolio with ringfenced funds and clear ROI expectations, not as merely ad‑hoc leftover spend or limbo budgets sitting in marketing.

Why not carve out a fixed percentage of the customer experience/marketing/loyalty budget (for example 10% to 15%) specifically for creative experimentation in engagement and loyalty, separate from BAU (Business As Usual) campaigns and IT run costs. This fund should be protected from usual in-year cuts by having C-level sponsorship and positioning it as an “innovation and differentiation” line linked to growth, not a discretionary cost.

Such creative concepts should be treated like research and development (R&D)—an innovation portfolio with stage gates, where small initial tickets can be scaled up only when tests show uplift in engagement, retention, or revenue.

From Abstract Concept to Board-Level Priority

Loyalty and engagement are not “nice-to-have marketing projects.” They are core commercial infrastructure which cannot be messed with. The companies that treat them as such—anchoring them in P&L ownership, clear accountability, and measurable ROI—will be the ones that turn customer relationships into a durable competitive advantage.

Smart companies that cut through internal power plays and put loyalty platforms under true P&L accountability will be the ones still standing when customer patience, and attention, finally runs out. The rest will keep postponing, debating, and rearranging budgets while their customers quietly move to brands that know how to recognise, reward, and truly engage them.

Loyalty isn’t a marketing experiment; it is the most resilient commercial infrastructure a company can own. Stop treating it as a discretionary expense and start treating it as the strategic revenue engine it is, before your competitors do it for you.

The Question for the Board:Who in your organization currently owns the P&L impact of a departing customer? If the answer isn’t clear, your loyalty strategy is already at risk. Let’s talk today to fix that.

FAQs: Solving the Build vs. Buy Dilemma

Is it cheaper to build our own loyalty system?
Initially, it might look cheaper. However, once you add the costs of a 20-person engineering squad and years of maintenance, building is usually 3x more expensive than using Perx.
Yes. Perx is an ISO-certified, enterprise-grade platform. Because it sits “Above-Core,” you only share the data needed for engagement, keeping your sensitive core data locked away.

An internal build takes 12–24 months. Perx typically gets your first engagement missions live in under 90 days.

Absolutely. You “Buy” the engine (the logic) from Perx, but you “Build” the UI (the look). This gives you total brand control with none of the technical headaches. For more on this, see our Complete Guide to Building a Loyalty Program.
Perx is a no-code platform. Your marketing team can change rules, rewards, and missions in minutes without asking IT for help.

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80 Key Customer Loyalty Stats & Trends to Watch in 2026 | Perx
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Why Your Fast PostgreSQL Query Suddenly Became Slow A Deep Dive into MVCC and Index Bloat

Why Your Fast PostgreSQL Query Suddenly Became Slow: A Deep Dive into MVCC and Index Bloat

Why Your Fast PostgreSQL Query Suddenly Became Slow A Deep Dive into MVCC and Index Bloat

Prabhu Srinivasan

Software Architect | Jan 6, 2026

Why Your Fast PostgreSQL Query Suddenly Became Slow: A Deep Dive into MVCC and Index Bloat

Ever noticed a query using an index correctly that’s blazing fast, then suddenly slows down – especially on tables with high write volume? We recently experienced this exact issue in production. Here’s what we learned.

Our Setup

We have an event_logs table with the following structure: 
				
					CREATE TABLE event_logs (
  id BIGINT PRIMARY KEY,
  state VARCHAR,
  last_requeued_at TIMESTAMP,
  params JSON
);

A cron job runs every few minutes to pick up pending event logs and queue them for processing in batches:

Batch 1:

				
					SELECT "event_logs".*
FROM "event_logs"
WHERE "event_logs"."state" = 'initial'
  AND "event_logs"."last_requeued_at" <= '2025-12-15 10:34:32.473436'
ORDER BY "event_logs"."id" ASC
LIMIT 1000;

Batch 2:

				
					SELECT "event_logs".*
FROM "event_logs"
WHERE "event_logs"."state" = 'initial'
  AND "event_logs"."last_requeued_at" <= '2025-12-15 10:34:32.473436'
  AND "event_logs"."id" > 1000
ORDER BY "event_logs"."id" ASC
LIMIT 1000;
To optimize this query, we created a partial index that only indexes records in the ‘initial’ state: 
				
					CREATE INDEX index_event_logs_on_initial_id_last_requeued_at 
ON event_logs USING btree (id, last_requeued_at) 
WHERE state = 'initial';

The Problem

In production, we were processing around 900 writes/second on the event_logs table:

Private Offers let you:

  • 300 new inserts/second (state = ‘initial’)
  • 300 updates/second (state from initial → processing)
  • 300 updates/second (state from processing → processed)

The table had around 1 billion rows.

Initially, query latency was around 3 milliseconds—excellent performance.

However, after a few hours, the batching query started experiencing high latency. Running EXPLAIN ANALYZE showed the query was taking several seconds, even with the index in place.

Our first instinct was to suspect the index. We ran REINDEX, which rebuilt the index from scratch. Immediately after, the query was blazing fast again. But within hours, the problem returned.

Something deeper was going on.

Understanding PostgreSQL's MVCC (Multi-Version Concurrency Control)

PostgreSQL uses MVCC to handle concurrent transactions. Instead of modifying rows in place, PostgreSQL keeps multiple versions of the same row

  • When a row is updated, PostgreSQL marks the old version as dead and creates a new version
  • When a row is deleted, PostgreSQL marks it as dead but doesn’t physically remove it
  • The original row remains on disk until cleanup occurs (we’ll read about the cleanup later in our blog)

Let’s trace what happens to our event logs and how this affects our partial index as they move through states:

Initial Insert 

				
					INSERT INTO event_logs (id, state, last_requeued_at, params) 
VALUES (1, 'initial', '2024-01-01 10:00:00', '{"key": "value"}');
Physical storage:
  • Row version 1: id=1, state=’initial’, last_requeued_at=’2024-01-01 10:00:00′
  • Partial index: Entry for (id=1, last_requeued_at) → row version 1

Update 1: 'initial' → 'processing' 

				
					UPDATE event_logs SET state='processing' WHERE id=1;
Physical storage:
  • Row version 1: state=’initial’ (dead tuple)
  • Row version 2: state=’processing’ (current)
  • Partial index: The previous entry pointing to the ‘initial’ row version is marked dead. The dead entry stays in the partial index until VACUUM runs (We’ll see later on what VACUUM is). No new entry is added since state=’processing’ doesn’t match the index’s WHERE clause.

Hence, each event log that transitions from initial to processing state creates a dead entry in the partial index.

Update 2: 'processing' → 'processed' 

				
					UPDATE event_logs SET state='processed' WHERE id=1;
Physical storage:
  • Row version 1: state=’initial’ (dead)
  • Row version 2: state=’processing’ (dead)
  • Row version 3: state=’processed’ (current)
  • Partial index: Still has 1 dead entry from the original ‘initial’ state

Result: 3 physical row copies on disk, with accumulated dead entries in the partial index.

(Update from processing to processed state doesn’t affect the partial index since the partial index is only on the rows with ‘initial’ state)

How PostgreSQL Cleans Up Dead Tuples

VACUUM

When VACUUM runs, it processes both the table and its indexes, physically removing dead entries and marking space as reusable.

Important: Regular VACUUM doesn’t compact indexes or shrink files—it only marks space as reusable. For true compaction, you need VACUUM FULL, REINDEX, or pg_repack.

AUTOVACUUM

PostgreSQL’s automatic background process that runs VACUUM periodically. It’s enabled by default, so why did we still have problems?

The Root Cause: Default Autovacuum Settings

PostgreSQL’s default autovacuum settings aren’t aggressive enough for high-write tables, especially large ones.

Default settings:
  • autovacuum_vacuum_threshold = 50 rows
  • autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor = 0.2 (20%)
  • autovacuum_vacuum_cost_limit = 200 (Number of vacuum cost units an autovacuum worker can accumulate before it must sleep)
  • autovacuum_vacuum_cost_delay = 2ms

Result: 3 physical row copies on disk, with accumulated dead entries in the partial index.

(Update from processing to processed state doesn’t affect the partial index since the partial index is only on the rows with ‘initial’ state)

Autovacuum triggers when: 

				
					dead_tuples > autovacuum_vacuum_threshold + (autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor × total_rows)

For our event_logs table with 1 billion rows, autovacuum would only trigger after: 

				
					50 + (0.2 × 1,000,000,000) = ~200 million dead tuples

With 600 dead tuples/second being generated: (roughly one per update, so 600/s from the two updates)

				
					600 dead tuples/sec × 86,400 seconds/day = ~51.8 million dead tuples/day

It would take nearly 4 days to hit the autovacuum threshold, during which our index would accumulate millions of dead entries, causing severe query degradation.

The Solution

We made autovacuum much more aggressive for this specific table: 

				
					ALTER TABLE test_schema.event_logs SET (
  autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor = 0.005,
  autovacuum_analyze_scale_factor = 0.01 -- Keeps table stats fresh
);

This sets the scale factor to 0.5% instead of 20%.

New trigger threshold for 1 billion rows: 

				
					50 + (0.005 × 1,000,000,000) = ~5 million dead tuples

This means autovacuum now runs approximately every 2.3 hours instead of every 4 days, keeping dead tuple accumulation under control and maintaining fast query performance.

To make the autovacuum process faster, you could set autovacuum_vacuum_cost_delay to zero.

Monitoring Autovacuum Activity

You can check dead tuple counts and autovacuum statistics with this query: 

				
					SELECT
  schemaname,
  relname AS table_name,
  n_live_tup,
  n_dead_tup,
  last_autovacuum,
  last_vacuum,
  autovacuum_count,
  vacuum_count
FROM pg_stat_user_tables
WHERE relname = 'event_logs' 
  AND schemaname = 'your_schema';

Key Takeaways

  • MVCC creates dead tuples – Every update creates a new row version and leaves the old one as a dead tuple
  • Indexes accumulate dead entries – Including partial indexes, which must be cleaned by VACUUM
  • Dead entries slow down queries – PostgreSQL must check visibility and skip dead entries during index scans
  • Default autovacuum settings don’t scale – The 20% threshold is too high for large, high-write tables
  • Tune per-table settings – Aggressive autovacuum settings on hot tables prevent bloat-related performance issues

Reference Resources

FAQs

How do I buy Perx on AWS Marketplace?

Log in with your AWS account, find Perx Technologies on AWS Marketplace, and check out our solution on the AWS Marketplace. Then reach out to us to request a Private Offer for custom pricing.

Yes. Perx supports Private Offers through AWS Marketplace. This means you can work directly with us to define custom pricing, term lengths, or payment schedules while keeping AWS billing and procurement.

Yes – Perx is accessible to AWS customers across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and other supported regions. Reach out to know more.

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The Dopamine Domino Effect: How Small Wins Spark Big Loyalty

Prabhnoor Bagri

Marketing Intern | Dec 23, 2025

The Dopamine Domino Effect: How Small Wins Spark Big Loyalty

Picture This

You close your Apple Watch fitness ring. Ding!
Your Duolingo streak hits ten days. Confetti explosion!
You level up in your favorite game. Cue the dopamine fireworks.

That little rush you feel is not random — it’s your brain saying, “Nice job, do it again.”

Welcome to the world of micro-rewards: those tiny moments that keep you tapping, swiping, earning, and coming back for more.

When brands understand how to create this Dopamine Domino Effect, loyalty stops being a marketing goal; it becomes instinctive.

The Spark: What Happens in Your Brain During a Micro-Reward

Every time you win, whether it’s big or small, your brain releases dopamine, the chemical that makes you feel good.

Think of dopamine as the first domino. Once it tips, it triggers a chain of emotion → memory → motivation.

Surprisingly, your brain doesn’t need huge rewards to react. It lights up just as easily for small wins like:

  • Checking a task off your list
  • Earning a badge
  • Seeing a cashback notification
  • Getting a “you’re on track” message

Even the smallest success can lift your mood — and make you want to do it again.

The Habit Loop: Why Customers Keep Coming Back

Dopamine doesn’t just make us feel good — it makes us crave that feeling again.

Each micro-reward fuels a habit loop:

  1. Cue: You see a trigger (progress bar, streak counter, or notification).
  2. Craving: Your brain anticipates that next happy moment.
  3. Response: You act — open an app, complete a challenge, or make a purchase.
  4. Reward: You get that satisfying sense of progress.

That’s why streaks, milestones, and progress bars are irresistible. It’s not obsession — it’s dopamine design. Brands that understand this psychology don’t build loyalty programs. They build loyalty habits.

The Perx Effect: Turning Transactions into Emotional Triggers

Now imagine bringing that same feeling into banking or retail, where every swipe or payment sparks a sense of achievement.

That’s what Perx Technologies does – turning everyday transactions into emotionally rewarding experiences.

  • Pay a bill? Instant celebration.
  • Hit a savings goal? Reward unlocked.
  • Complete a task? Cue the confetti.

This isn’t just gamification – it’s behavioral design for customer motivation. When customers feel good while engaging with your brand, they don’t just return, they stay connected.

Want proof? Here are a few:

1. Leading Bank in South Africa

Challenge: Modernize loyalty beyond transactional cashback.
Solution: Introduced gamified missions and micro-rewards for financial wellness actions.
 Impact:

  • 70% engagement rate per user
  • Millions of in-app interactions within 60 days
  • New habit loops formed around savings and product usage

Each small win — whether “Save R100” or “Complete a financial goal” — triggered a dopamine hit that kept users coming back daily.

2. Leading Telecom in Philippines 

Challenge: Reignite engagement in a mature rewards program.
Solution: Introduced “GoKen” gamification powered by Perx — small challenges with immediate gratification.
 Impact:

  • 1.24 M shoppers reactivated
  • Sharp rise in daily reward redemptions
  • Increased ARPU and retention

Micro-rewards transformed routine telco actions (like topping up or paying bills) into emotionally rewarding experiences — each small win leading to the next.

Why Micro-Rewards Make Macro Impact

Micro-rewards may be small in form, but they’re massive in effect. They’re the bridge between neuroscience and brand strategy, activating the same reward pathways that drive learning, growth, and motivation.

When brands harness this natural wiring, they don’t just reward behavior, they shape it. That’s the Dopamine Domino Effect: One spark → one smile → one loyal customer → one unstoppable habit.

Want This for Yourself?

Request a Demo to see how Perx helps leading banks, telcos, and retailers build loyalty programs that deliver measurable business outcomes.

Welcome to Hot Takes with Perx 

This isn’t your average loyalty lecture. It’s Hot Ones meets engagement marketing, where every opinion gets spicier, every insight leaves a little burn, and every brand leader walks away rethinking what “loyalty” really means. We’re here to turn up the heat on what’s next in engagement. So grab your digital milk, settle in, and let’s get started with our first hot take.

🌶️ Level 1: The Mild Truth — Loyalty Isn’t Loyalty Anymore

Let’s be honest. Most loyalty programs are background noise. Points pile up, rewards expire, and customers forget they even joined. That’s not loyalty. That’s latency. In 2025, true loyalty isn’t a program; it’s a pattern. The brands that win aren’t focused on sign-ups or points tallies. They’re focused on showing up where customers already are and creating interactions that matter. Because in the attention economy, loyalty isn’t a membership tier anymore. It’s a habit loop. Every click, tap, and trigger is part of a rhythm. And once your customers learn that rhythm, they’ll keep dancing to it.

🌶️🌶️ Level 2: Medium Heat — Addiction Beats Affection

The most successful brands don’t beg for loyalty. They engineer anticipation. They understand that every interaction is an opportunity to create a micro-dose of satisfaction. The tiny dopamine hit when you open an app, check your streak, or spin a wheel, that’s not a chance. Its design. We call it motivational design: creating rewarding loops that make customers come back again and again, not because they have to, but because they want to. It’s the same science behind why you binge one more episode, scroll one more video, or complete one more daily challenge. When done right, loyalty feels the same way: exciting, immersive, and a little bit addictive. And when engagement becomes emotional, your customers don’t need a discount to care. They just show up.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Level 3: Extra Hot — Proof That It Works

Addiction sounds dramatic, but the results are real. Perx-powered brands across Asia have already mastered this art. A leading digital bank in Indonesia turned everyday spending into a game of progress. Customers were rewarded not for what they bought, but for how consistently they engaged – activating over 13.4 million behavioral triggers and driving a 67% lift in average spend. Meanwhile, a top Singapore telco made paying bills feel like a game night. Over 19 million games played. 85% of users returned. 100% of campaigns completed. These brands didn’t buy loyalty. They built behavior. That’s the real difference between a points program and a performance.

🥵 Level 4: The Final Dab — Loyalty That Hits Different

Here’s the hottest truth: You can’t buy devotion with discounts. You have to earn it through experience. Behavioral loyalty isn’t about promotions or freebies. It thrives on progress. When every customer action feels rewarding, when there’s movement, emotion, and momentum, engagement becomes entertainment. The brands that nail this don’t just attract customers. They create fans. Their secret sauce? Emotion + Automation + Experience = Addiction (the good kind). This isn’t manipulation. It’s memory-making.

What Loyalty Leaders Can Learn

  • Make it fun. If engagement isn’t entertaining, it’s forgettable.
  • Reward often. Micro-wins drive more value than big, delayed payoffs.
  • Design for emotion. Dopamine lasts longer than discounts.
  • Close the loop. Build continuous journeys, not one-time campaigns.
Because at Perx, we don’t just measure engagement. We ignite it. https://www.perxtech.com/success-stories/ 
How does Perx keep gamified elements fresh and engaging for users over time?
Perx’s product team actively follows trends, especially beyond the banking sector, to introduce innovative game types regularly—sometimes bi-weekly or monthly. This frequent release schedule is designed to keep users engaged. Additionally, Perx’s gamification tools are highly customizable, allowing teams to modify game visuals, themes, or assets to align with specific events, seasons, or holidays, adding a fresh appeal to campaigns.
The bank is central to managing and issuing loyalty points in collaboration with merchants. Through a network of merchant partners, the bank creates a merchant catalog and loyalty schemes tailored to each partner. The Perx platform supports the bank in defining and setting up these loyalty points, allowing easy configuration of rewards, discounts, and multipliers as part of a cohesive loyalty ecosystem involving both the bank and its merchant partners.
Gamification can enhance various PFM features, such as tracking carbon footprint, budgeting, and savings goals. As long as there’s a relevant audience and a concept of measurable progress, Perx can gamify the feature, allowing users to interact in a way that aligns with their goals (like saving or reducing their carbon footprint). This flexibility makes gamification adaptable across different personal finance areas.
Data analytics enables hyper-segmentation, identifying unique customer needs and preferences. This information fuels experimentation, allowing for A/B testing and optimized gamified journeys. Predictive insights from analytics can tailor the gamification experience, helping users feel engaged in ways that are personally relevant, enhancing both customer satisfaction and merchant outcomes.
Loyalty points on the Perx platform offer flexibility, enabling customers to redeem points across various merchants or for specific rewards. Points can be applied for cash back, in-house product discounts, or transferred to other programs like frequent flyer miles. Perx supports point-of-sale (POS) integration, allowing customers to redeem points seamlessly at checkout, enhancing convenience and incentivizing loyalty across different participating merchants.

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Perx Technologies now live on AWS Marketplace – simplifying procurement and scaling engagement.

Perx is Now Live on AWS Marketplace

Perx Technologies now live on AWS Marketplace – simplifying procurement and scaling engagement.
Azmeen Ansar

Azmeen Ansar

Head of Marketing | Nov 03, 2025

Perx is Now Live on AWS Marketplace

Simplify Procurement. Amplify Engagement.

We’ve officially joined the AWS Marketplace ecosystem – a curated catalog trusted by over 300,000 organizations worldwide.

Now, enterprises can procure and deploy Perx Technologies directly through AWS Marketplace, simplifying how you buy, bill, and scale customer engagement.

If you’re already running your infrastructure on AWS, this means zero procurement friction and instant access to Perx’s gamified engagement engine – all under your existing AWS agreement.

Why AWS Marketplace Matters

Enterprise procurement is notoriously slow — long vendor approvals, compliance checks, and billing back-and-forths. AWS Marketplace changes that by letting organizations:

  • Purchase Perx directly through AWS: no new vendor setup required.
  • Consolidate billing: pay for Perx via your AWS invoice.
  • Leverage committed AWS spend (EDP): apply existing budgets to engagement innovation.
  • Stay compliant: rely on AWS’s enterprise-grade governance and data security.

In short,launch behavioral loyalty faster and at lower operational cost.

Private Offers for Enterprise Buyers

Custom Pricing. Flexible Terms. Same Seamless Procurement.

For larger enterprises looking for tailored terms, Perx now supports Private Offers on AWS Marketplace.

Private Offers let you:

  • Negotiate custom pricing or volume-based discounts.
  • Define specific contract durations and payment schedules.
  • Retain AWS billing and security benefits under your existing agreement.

Private Offers allow enterprise customers to purchase Perx with the flexibility they need – all within AWS’s secure, auditable workflow.

To request one, simply contact us at contact@perxtech.com.

How Teams Across Your Organization Benefit from Perx on AWS Marketplace

From procurement to marketing, every team gains from Perx’s AWS Marketplace availability. Procurement and legal teams benefit from pre-approved AWS contracts and the ability to negotiate private offers. IT teams enjoy seamless integration with existing AWS stacks. Marketing and growth teams can launch campaigns faster, while finance and operations teams gain the simplicity of a single AWS invoice.

Team What It Gets
Procurement & Legal Streamlined approvals + Private Offer negotiation in AWS
CIO & IT Teams Secure integration with AWS stack
Marketing & Growth Faster campaign deployment
Finance & Ops Consolidated billing and predictable cloud spend

Perx on AWS Marketplace unites compliance, speed, and scalability — empowering procurement, IT, finance, and marketing teams across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and rest of the world.

Get started with Perx on AWS Marketplace.

We’re thrilled to mark this next step with AWS. Perx on AWS Marketplace means faster buying, easier scaling, and deeper partnership opportunities.

And with Private Offers, enterprise customers can tailor engagement solutions to their needs – without the procurement headaches. Discover how to leverage your existing AWS spend and procurement processes to launch gamified, data-driven customer engagement – faster and more securely.

Contact usfor a personalized walkthrough or a Private Offer tailored to your organization’s needs.

FAQs

How do I buy Perx on AWS Marketplace?

Log in with your AWS account, find Perx Technologies on AWS Marketplace, and check out our solution on the AWS Marketplace. Then reach out to us to request a Private Offer for custom pricing.

Yes. Perx supports Private Offers through AWS Marketplace. This means you can work directly with us to define custom pricing, term lengths, or payment schedules while keeping AWS billing and procurement.

Yes – Perx is accessible to AWS customers across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and other supported regions. Reach out to know more.

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Beyond the Points: How Gamified Banking Loyalty is Rewriting the Rules

Beyond the Points: How Gamified Banking Loyalty Wins

Beyond the Points: How Gamified Banking Loyalty is Rewriting the Rules

At The Loyalty Roundtable, hosted by Perx Technologies and Strands, leaders from Capitec Bank, Novo Banco, Strands, and Perx unpacked how gamified, data-driven engagement is turning everyday transactions into moments of lasting value.

Here’s a recap of all that was discussed.

From Transactions to Behavior-Led Engagement: Top of wallet and Top of mind

Banks like Capitec and Novo Banco are proving that loyalty isn’t about rewarding what customers spend, it’s about reinforcing what they do. Capitec’s Live Better programme now reaches over 25 million customers, built on simple, behavior-based journeys that reward actions like saving or paying on time, not just earning and burning points.

Read next: Boost Customer Loyalty with Gamification in 2025

Data-Powered Personalization at Scale: Hyper-personalized Journeys are the Future of Loyalty

The roundtable revealed one constant: relevance drives retention. Banks are moving from segmentation to real-time personalization, using predictive analytics to deliver the right nudge at the right moment. When each campaign aligns to a customer’s life stage or need, loyalty stops feeling like marketing and starts feeling human.

Explore: The Loyalty Upgrade: Why AI and Gamification Are a Bank’s New Best Friend

Loyalty as a Growth Engine: Becoming Deeply Human is Key

Loyalty isn’t about badges or points — it’s about intrinsic motivation. Perx’s Elia Wenger described it best: “It’s the emotional trigger that turns intent into habit.” Whether it’s progress bars, milestone unlocks, or surprise rewards, the goal is to transform engagement from a transaction into a feedback loop that customers want to repeat.

Key Poll Insights from the Roundtable

  • 58 % of attendees said their loyalty programs are still transactional, exploring change.
  • 63 % cited personalized experiences as the biggest engagement driver.
  • Only 15 % described their programs as fully behavior-driven.
The takeaway? The shift to gamified, behavior-led loyalty is already underway – but few have mastered it yet.

Capitec and Novo Banco share firsthand how they use data, gamification, and behavioral design to build loyalty that lasts. See how engagement can move beyond the points and fuel measurable growth.

Q&A Highlights from The Loyalty Roundtable

Q1. Did you start with a pilot program before scaling your loyalty system
Yes. Capitec began by identifying its most highly engaged and active clients before rolling out to the wider base. Once the pilot proved successful, the team scaled rapidly — from 500,000 to 25 million customers within four months. The key learning? Segmentation is critical. Understanding each customer group’s needs, life stage, and motivations allows you to tailor behavioral journeys that feel personal and drive the strongest results.
The main challenge wasn’t technical — it was cultural. Traditional banking engagement models were built on compliance and transactions, not play or participation. The biggest hurdle was shifting internal mindsets to view gamification as a behavioral design tool, not a gimmick. Once teams understood that mechanics like progress, milestones, and instant feedback could reinforce financial wellness, not trivialize it, adoption accelerated. Success came from embedding gamification within meaningful contexts — savings goals, bill payments, or responsible credit use — rather than treating it as a standalone feature.
Relevance over volume is key. Each campaign is designed for a specific behavior and audience segment. When the right customer receives the right nudge at the right time, it feels personal, not pushy. Keeping campaigns simple and intuitive also helps avoid fatigue. Overly complex tiered systems create friction; clear, one-action-one-reward journeys maintain excitement without confusion. Continuous testing ensures each cohort’s ideal frequency is respected — some respond best to monthly engagement, others to daily prompts.
Engagement depth is a stronger indicator than spend alone. Capitec and Novo Banco track:
  • Daily active interactions per user
  • Campaign participation rates
  • Total rewards issued and redemption frequency
Each campaign also has bespoke KPIs aligned to its intended behavior change — whether that’s driving savings deposits, digital adoption, or cross-product usage.
Both banks emphasized the need for omnichannel continuity. While most customers are now digitally active, a significant segment still values branch-based or assisted interactions. The strategy is to meet customers where they are — combining digital journeys with human-touch communication. Assisted digital tools, contextual messaging, and branch-level education help transition less-active users gradually into self-service channels. The goal isn’t to force digital adoption but to design flexible engagement paths that respect each customer’s comfort level.

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80 Key Customer Loyalty Stats & Trends to Watch in 2026 | Perx
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Singapore FinTech Festival 2025, SFF 2025, Perx Technologies, Loyalty Engagement, Gamified Engagement

Join Perx at Singapore FinTech Festival 2025

Singapore FinTech Festival 2025, SFF 2025, Perx Technologies, Loyalty Engagement, Gamified Engagement

Join Perx at Singapore FinTech Festival 2025

Discover how data, gamification, and behavioral design are redefining loyalty at Hall 4, Booth 4H38.

Azmeen Ansar

Growth Marketing Manager | Oct 27, 2025

It’s official: we at Perx are heading to the annual fintech stage where the world’s financial innovators, regulators, and tech pioneers gather – the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 (SFF) from 12 to 14 November 2025. Come say hi! at Singapore EXPO, Hall 4, Booth 4H38. If you’re building customer programs that deliver measurable growth – not just engagement metrics – stop by to see how Perx helps leading banks, fintechs, and brands turn everyday interactions into lasting loyalty. Book a time with us now so we can carve out 20 minutes tailored to your agenda.

Why Singapore Fintech Festival 2025 is the place to be

Each November, Singapore Fintech Festival draws thousands of attendees from global banks to challenger fintechs, regulators to tech ecosystems, all under one roof. Dialogue spans digital banking, embedded finance, loyalty & rewards, and beyond. With that energy, spaces like Hall 4 become a hub of innovation. It’s not just about being present; it’s about making an impact.

At Booth 4H38, we’re bringing our full playbook: from behaviour-based loyalty to AI-powered campaign engines and dynamic rewards. No generic pitches. Real use cases. Real ROI.

Where to find us & what we’ll show

All details you need to locate Perx Technologies at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025 are right here:

  • Dates: 12–14 November 2025
  • Venue: Singapore EXPO, Hall 4
  • Booth: 4H38
Schedule a Meeting

We’ll ensure we make your time worthwhile. Here’s what you can expect at Perx’s booth:

  • Loyalty beyond points: We’re walking the talk on micro-missions, streaks, triggers, and behavioural nudges that drive what comes next rather than just what happened.
  • Behavior building journeys: Real-time, adaptive campaigns that adjust based on customer behaviour and segment response.
  • Flexible rules engine: No hard-coded campaigns. You configure logic, tiers, and rewards without the engineering backlog.
  • Industry-specific playbooks: Whether you’re banking, telco, or retail, the booth will have tailored showcases (e.g., deposit growth, card activation, frequency lift).

Whether you’re scouting for the next loyalty upgrade, prepping for scale, or simply exploring loyalty tech for your stack, there’s value in drop-by. In short, if you’re ready to evolve loyalty into a strategic engine, this should be your main spot at SFF 2025.

How to make the most of your visit

  1. Reserve a slot ahead of time. You’ll beat the queue, get a dedicated asset specialist, and ensure a 20-minute walk-through tailored to your vertical.
  2. Bring your wish list. Whether it’s “increase 30% card spend Q1”, “lift retail loyalty CLTV by 15%”, or “reduce churn by 20%”, we’ll frame what success looks like.
  3. Ask for live use-cases. We’ll show you live campaign dashboards, partner-rewards logic, ROI lift data, and how you can replicate the model.
  4. Use the venue to your advantage. While you’re at SFF, the ecosystem is all around. Hit sessions, network, compare solutions, and we’ll be your strategic booth visit.

Ready to meet?

We’ll keep the coffee ready, the demo live, and the ROI conversation fast-moving. Book your meeting with the Perx team at SFF 2025.

We look forward to seeing you – Hall 4, Booth 4H38. Let’s turn loyalty from line-item to growth line.

Schedule a Meeting

FAQ

What are the exact dates of SFF 2025?

12–14 November 2025 at Singapore EXPO.

Where exactly is Perx?

Hall 4, Booth 4H38. Use Foyer Two for the best access.

How do I book a meeting time?

Click here and pick your slot that suits you best.

What will you demo?

Behaviour-based loyalty campaigns, rules engine, industry playbooks (banking/telco/retail), and the runaway winners of fast-pilot to scale momentum.

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Perx and Jenius Award Win at MARKETECH APAC Awards 2025 for redefining digital banking engagement through gamified experiences.

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Perx and Jenius Award Win at MARKETECH APAC Awards 2025 for redefining digital banking engagement through gamified experiences.
Azmeen Ansar

Azmeen Ansar

Head of Marketing | Oct 21, 2025

Perx and Jenius Win at the 2025 MARKETECH APAC Marketing Technology Awards

From launch to recognition: redefining digital banking engagement in Indonesia.

Perx Technologies and Jenius, part of SMBC Indonesia, have been recognized at the MARKETECH APAC Marketing Technology Awards 2025, taking home three major honors celebrating innovation in customer engagement and gamification.

Perx earned Gold for Best Customer Engagement Platform and Silver for Best Gamification Platform, while Jenius, powered by Perx, received Bronze for Best Use of Customer Engagement Platform for its groundbreaking Yay Points for All initiative.

Building on a Shared Vision

When Jenius first partnered with Perx in 2024, the mission was clear: to bring joy, ease, and a sense of play to mobile-first banking. Together, they set out to transform how Indonesia’s digital-savvy customers experience finance – turning everyday transactions into fun, rewarding, and habit-forming interactions.

Since launch, that vision has grown into a full-fledged engagement ecosystem that personalizes experiences for every customer segment – from new users exploring their first savings goal to seasoned spenders optimizing rewards. Powered by the Perx Loyalty Engagement Platform, each in-app interaction – every tap, transfer, and transaction – can now trigger instant Yay Point rewards through Perx’s real-time rules engine and no-code campaign builder.

“Jenius is committed to delivering life-finance solutions for the digital-savvy. Partnering with Perx helped bring that vision to life through Yay Points, combining gamified rewards with behavioral design. This recognition is more than just an award; it’s a testament to how thoughtful engagement fosters genuine relationships. Together with Perx, we’re excited to keep shaping the future of digital banking through more meaningful innovations for the digital savvies.”
Febri Rusli Head of Digital Banking Product & Innovation, SMBC Indonesia

Turning Everyday Banking into Meaningful Experiences

Through personalized, behavior-led engagement campaigns, Jenius has transformed its customer relationships – from functional to emotional. Users now interact more frequently with their app, explore a wider range of banking features, and develop healthier financial habits along the way.

The collaboration has led to millions of customer interactions, measurable increases in engagement and retention, and a stronger connection between financial well-being and lifestyle. What started as a loyalty initiative has evolved into a living engagement engine – continuously learning, adapting, and rewarding.

From Launch to Recognition

The MARKETECH APAC wins mark a milestone in the Jenius–Perx partnership — a testament to how fast innovation can scale when purpose meets design. What began as a new approach to customer engagement has become an award-winning example of how banks can move beyond points and cashback to create human, experience-led loyalty.

Explore how Perx can help your brand reimagine engagement. Book a demo.

FAQs

What is Yay Points for All?
A gamified rewards program that turns daily banking actions into instant, meaningful rewards using the Perx Loyalty Engagement Platform. Learn more about Jenius’ program here.
Perx’s real-time rules engine triggers personalized Yay Points for behaviors like payments, savings, and investments—transforming routine transactions into habits.
It demonstrates how digital banks can go beyond traditional rewards to create lifestyle-driven engagement that drives retention, product adoption, and customer satisfaction.

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Perx Technologies Pte Ltd

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contact@perxtech.com

An ISO/IEC27001:2013 and ISO 27018:2019 compliant cloud solution

Perx-Logo-2024
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram
SAY HELLO

contact@perxtech.com
(65) 6631 8533

Perx-Logo-2024
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

An ISO/IEC27001:2013 and
ISO 27018:2019 certified cloud solution
gdpr compliant perx
SAY HELLO

contact@perxtech.com
(65) 6631 8533

PRODUCTS
RESOURCES
COMPARE
COMPANY
COMPARE

An ISO/IEC27001:2013 and ISO 27018:2019 certified cloud solution
gdpr compliant perx

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