SMS from Visa and Chase

In the Phoenix metropolitan area a new pilot program allowing credit and debit cardholders of Chase bank to receive merchant offers directly in their mobile devices was launched under the team-work of Visa and Chase.

Merchant offers will be delivered by Visa to customers via short message service (SMS). The companies decided to take advantage of the widespread habit of young customers aged between 18 and 34 to resort to texting as an everyday method of communication.

Upon having signed up for the service Chase cardholders will be allowed to set preferences on the program’s Web site, choosing offers and merchants that are most relevant and compelling for them. Such approach benefits both customers and merchants as shoppers can see offers that are most suitable to them while merchants send their offers only to those consumers that are most likely to be interested.

The results of the program will be reviewed and evaluated by Chase and Visa in the fourth quarter. The evaluation will be conducted on the basis of such aspects as the impact of mobile offers on stakeholder interest, cardholder engagement, and card usage.