In-game incentives for everyday spending
American Express and Zynga, a social games services provider, are launching Zynga Serve Rewards, a programme connecting the Serve digital wallet to offer in-game incentives for everyday spending (view press release). Among other properties, Zynga owns Farmville, a social game that lets players cultivate their farms. The new programme enables FarmVille users to plant an interactive Serve Money Tree in their farms, which allows them to earn Zynga Farm Cash for virtual awards redemption. In growing their tree, players will be prompted to go through various steps to earn Farm Cash. First, they will register for the Zynga Serve Rewards programme to receive a Zynga Serve co-branded prepaid card by mail. Upon receiving the card, users must activate it online or by phone, after which they can add money to the Serve account from their bank account, debit/credit card or by cash deploying a GreenDot MoneyPak. Players will then be able to deploy their Zynga Serve Rewards card everywhere across the US where Amex is accepted for purchases and receive online, in-game rewards. At launch, Farm Cash rewards can be earned only from the first five purchases of $25 or more on the Zynga Serve Rewards card. As the programme develops, all purchases will receive in-game rewards tracked through a dashboard. Later this year, the programme will feature new kinds of loyalty incentives and link into other Zynga products, such as CastleVille and CityVille.
“We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with Zynga and provide an easy way for players to earn Zynga virtual game cash by learning about Serve and signing up to receive the many benefits of our digital wallet,” explains Dan Schulman, President of Enterprise Growth at American Express. “As the commerce landscape continues to change, and online and offline spending converges, Serve is focused on partnering with companies like Zynga to create unique value for our customers in the environments they love.”
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