Co-op new membership card

The Co-op’s membership scheme is now cloud-based

The Co-op has selected universal payments company ACI Worldwide to run its cloud-based digital wallet service for its membership scheme.

The 5:1 scheme, launched last year, enables members to save and spend cash earned on own-brand purchases while supporting charities of their choice.

“ACI is delighted to partner with Co-op on this innovative scheme,” said ACI Worldwide vice-president Andrew Quartermaine. “ACI’s UP Merchant Payments solution has the breadth and flexibility to support and integrate new services that go beyond traditional payments.”

The Co-op said more than five million members were in the process of receiving new membership cards.

Trials of the 5:1 scheme found significant increases in transactions, turnover and frequency of visits, along with a substantial jump in the sale of Co-op own-brand products.

ACI said it had started the rollout of its Point-2-Point Encryption (P2PE) card payments service across all Co-op UK food stores and fuel sites. P2PE protects cardholder data by converting a consumer’s confidential credit and debit card details into indecipherable codes when the card is read by the payment terminal.