M&S and HSBC UK forge new financial services partnership

12 Apr '24

3 min read

Pic: Adobe Stock

Insights

M&S and HSBC UK have deepened their partnership to revamp M&S financial services, emphasizing loyalty and digital integration.
With a focus on credit offerings, rewards, and digital payments, they aim to provide M&S customers with a more connected and personalized shopping experience, consolidating rewards, payments, and shopping in one platform.

M&S and HSBC UK have signed a new agreement that is focused on M&S’ credit offering, payment solutions and bringing together digital payments and loyalty for M&S customers.

Over recent years, the partnership has focused on transforming the M&S financial services offering to deliver a better, more relevant, and modernised experience for M&S customers. Today’s announcement is the next stage in the transformation to drive loyalty and offer a more connected digital shopping experience for M&S customers.

Rewarding and driving loyalty.

M&S’s two million credit card users are among its most loyal customers, spending incrementally more than customers without a M&S credit card and representing c.16% of M&S’ turnover. M&S will work with HSBC UK to build on its credit offering through M&S Bank. This will extend on the work already done including the launch of a credit card rewards membership - M&S Club Rewards – with members earning extra loyalty points, treat vouchers, and more under the scheme, for a fee.

A connected shopping experience.

The new agreement will enable M&S to bring together rewards, Sparks, digital payments and credit to create an easier to access and more personalised in-app experience for customers where they can shop, pay, earn and redeem rewards all in one place. Over the last 18 months, the partnership has digitised M&S rewards vouchers and launched Sparks Pay – a digital payment solution, with in-store QR payment technology.

Katherine Carlson, Director of Financial Services at M&S, said: “Over recent years, we’ve been working with HSBC UK to focus our offer so we can bring our customers the very best products, services, and rewards every time they shop with us. The new agreement will enable us to build on the work already done by bringing together loyalty and digital payments, and more seamlessly rewarding our M&S Financial Services customers.”

Jose Carvalho, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC UK, said: “Working alongside M&S, we have been supporting the financial needs of M&S shoppers since 2004. During this time, the M&S financial services offering has continued to evolve and today we’re proud to combine market-leading lending and payment solutions with the M&S rewards enjoyed by so many customers. Together, we’ve created a unique offering designed specifically for M&S shoppers, and we’re looking forward to building on what has been delivered to-date as we continue to evolve to meet the changing payment and borrowing needs of millions of M&S customers.”

Paul Spencer, CEO, M&S Bank, said: “Our customers’ shopping and payment needs have continued to evolve in recent years, and offering more digital solutions and greater integration is key to meeting these needs. To support this, over the past year we have launched the digital payment solution, Sparks Pay, for use across all M&S stores, in addition to shopping via M&S.com and the app.

“It has been fantastic working with our M&S retail partners to ensure our customers get the best and most integrated customer experience and we’re excited about the potential of what’s to come, as we work together even more closely to make it even easier for our customers to shop, pay, earn and redeem rewards with M&S, all in one place.”