OBJECTIVE: Identify debit card users who consistently press the "Debit" button when making purchases using their debit card. Debit transactions typically incur a small cost (typically, anywhere from two to twenty cents per transaction) while "Credit" (also known as "Swipe & Sign") transactions generate income through Debit Card Interchange. Since it makes no difference to users -- they pay the exact same amount for their purchase either way -- it makes sense to educate the debit card user so this cost point can become an income source. In this query, two Activity-based data points are examined:

• Account has at least one Debit card transaction per month

• Account generates no Debit Interchange Income

Here's why these data fields are being used:
First, we want to identify all the Debit card holders who actually use their Debit card. This query will find all users who do at least one debit transaction per month. Next, we refine the query by adding that their purchases generate no Debit Interchange income. Those accounts that match this query are debit card users who always click on the DEBIT (or ATM) button and then enter their PIN (Personal Identification Number).

Be sure to highlight Account Level in the upper-left pane since this is an account-level query.  

Because this example has over 55,000 checking accounts, 6,078 accounts matching the query were found.

IDEAS: Consider some of the following ways you might implement this tactic:

• A program that rewards debit card holders for using the Credit button -- perhaps given when they reach 3 swipe & sign usages per month.

• Provide a cash rebate on all purchases made using Credit. One institution offered a rebate of 1/2 of 1% on general purchases, and 1% on institutional purchases -- such as new checks.  They saw an immediate and substantial jump in swipe-and-sign credit use.

• Offer an automatic cash reward to all new cardholders.  If the new cardholder makes at least 5 Credit purchases by a specific date (usually 45 days or so after offer is sent), a cash reward is automatically deposited into their account.  The amount deposited is typically in the $5-10 range.

CAVEATS: You might include an age qualifier in your query so you can tailor the offer to the age group.  For instance, 35 to 54 year olds may respond better to a loyalty program such as air miles, while another age group may prefer cash.

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