A major rewards program that helps families save money for their child-ren’s education has expanded its reward offering to apply to any financial goal, from retirement savings to charitable giving. Three years into the rewards business, Toronto-based KidsFutures Inc. has rebranded itself as the Futura Rewards Program.

“We have about 350,000 families who have joined the KidsFutures program,” says Mark Farrell, CEO of KidsFutures Inc. “We felt it was a great time to expand and leverage the infrastructure to broaden the program to other financial goals.”

Futura Rewards works like many other loyalty programs — members sign up for free and receive in Futura Rewards dollars a certain amount of their purchases from participating brands or retailers.

Members can swipe their Futura Rewards cards at participating retailers, such as Budget Car and Truck Rental or www.Canadian-Tire.ca, or submit bar codes of products from participating brands, including Crest or Cover Girl, then the specified reward will be credited to their accounts. The amount of rewards currency a member earns varies with each manufacturer. It may be 30¢ for a six-pack of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, or 3% of a purchase at Sleep Country Canada. Also, Citibank offers a Futura Rewards MasterCard that allows members to receive 2% of monthly charges in cash rewards.

Futura Rewards currency can be collected from more than 60 program partners, 100 brands, services and individual products from 1,100 retail locations and 50 grocery locations across Canada. The Futura currency is equivalent to Canadian currency, and once a member earns $100 in Futura Rewards, $100 is available to be directed into any financial product at any financial institution in Canada. Members can also direct their rewards toward any registered charity or receive their earnings by cheque from Futura Rewards.

“At the end of the day, it’s the consumers’ money,” says Farrell. “If they say, ‘I want to take my money to pay down my mortgage,’ we will direct the money to that person to allow them to do that.”

Farrell says members have collectively made $2 million over the past year and a half — an average of almost $6 per member family. The Futura Rewards Web site boasts testimonies of families who have earned more than $1,000 in the past three years.

Ken Wong, a professor of marketing and business strategy at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., warns that money earned through rewards programs ultimately comes from the consumer.

“You could say it’s just another way of forcing us to save money,” Wong says. “But we are ultimately going to pay the price because someone has to pay for the rewards we’re receiving. They take money from you and give it back to you.”

The big winners are usually the partner companies, who can track consumer demands while raising product prices to cover the cost of rewards, Wong says.

But Farrell says Futura Rewards’ only “catch” is the consumer has to be willing to have his or her purchasing behaviour tracked.

“Companies want to understand who their customers are, and be able to communicate with them and make them relevant offers,” he says. “Rewards programs are one of the most cost-effective ways companies can do that —with the consumer opting to identify him- or herself and have his or her purchase behaviour tracked in exchange for monetary value.”

Although participating partners budget the cash, Futura Rewards acts as program facilitator. The company creates connectivity among itself, participating partners and members. It tracks and receives transactional information, builds partners, collects money and transfers that money into members’ accounts. At any time members can log online or call the customer-care centre to track their transactions and earnings.

According to Farrell, members who use participating grocery stores see most consistent returns. Another way to accumulate rewards is “double dipping” — using the co-branded Citibank MasterCard to earn 2% while also claiming rewards on the Futura Rewards card.

And family members can pool their rewards to meet shared goals, such as educating a grandchild.

The program has limitations. The Futura Rewards MasterCard has a $35,000 annual ceiling, and some brands limit how many product purchases a member can claim each quarter. But other than that, members can make as many transactions as they like.

“We have a number of new grocery sites coming on board in the next six months,” says Farrell. “Our goal, over the next [year], is to have a grocer in each of the 10 major markets across the country.” IE

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