As economic pressure reshapes consumer expectations, brands are being forced to prove their value of their loyalty programs and strategies faster, more clearly, and in more practical ways. In this Q&A, Mladen Vladic, Head of Product for Payment Networks at FIS, shares how embedding loyalty directly into the payment experience is helping brands, banks, and merchants stay relevant amid reduced discretionary spending and rising competition from fintechs.
Vladic explores why real-time rewards, seamless partnerships, and everyday relevance have become essential, and how loyalty strategies are shifting from aspirational point accumulation to immediate, measurable impact in customers’ daily lives.
USA Perspective: State of Customer Loyalty & Market Environment
Loyalty360: How are macroeconomic shifts affecting program engagement and reward design?
Mladen Vladic: Macroeconomic pressures, such as reduced discretionary spending and fluctuating consumer confidence, are reshaping loyalty program engagement. Consumers are cost-concise and selective about their spending, prioritizing rewards that deliver tangible, immediate benefits like discounts on essentials or cashback. We know that this focus and shift demands that loyalty programs evolve from generic point accumulation to offering hyper-personalized, real-time rewards. By embedding loyalty into the payment experience, firms can ensure relevance and drive engagement even in challenging economic climates.
Leveraging technologies like real-time basket intelligence enables brands to deliver targeted promotions that resonate with today’s cautious consumer, ensuring loyalty programs remain a strategic differentiator, this level of detail is a lifeline not only to the consumer but also the bank, merchant, and brands that are competing in a challenging environment.
Loyalty360: What is a loyalty challenge you see today that did not exist 18–24 months ago? What created this new pressure?
Mladen Vladic: Alongside the growing pressures facing everyday consumers, brands are also contending with another significant challenge: the rise of digital-native competitors and the rapid adoption of fintech solutions have elevated expectations for seamless, integrated loyalty experiences. Consumers now demand rewards that are not only personalized but also frictionless, accessible across digital and physical touchpoints. This pressure stems from advancements in technology and the growing influence of non-bank players who excel at embedding loyalty into everyday interactions. Traditional financial institutions and merchants must modernize to compete, unifying loyalty with payments methods to deliver a cohesive, engaging customer experience.
Loyalty Strategy & Program Design
Loyalty360: How are you helping companies reduce time-to-value, so members experience meaningful benefit earlier in the loyalty program lifecycle?
Mladen Vladic: Reducing time-to-value is critical in today’s fast-paced environment. At FIS, we focus on integrating loyalty directly into the payment ecosystem, enabling members to experience benefits from their very first transaction. By leveraging real-time data and advanced scoring engines, we help companies deliver instant rewards at checkout, eliminating the traditional lag between earning and enjoying benefits funded by more than a program sponsor. This approach not only accelerates member satisfaction, but also fosters deeper engagement, ensuring loyalty programs drive immediate and sustained value.
Building on this innovation, FIS is also pioneering agentic AI capabilities, helping enable banks to securely integrate AI-driven transactions into loyalty ecosystems. This will help ensure that loyalty programs remain at the forefront of technological advancements, delivering more seamless, AI-mediated experiences for consumers.
Loyalty360: As more loyalty programs pursue everyday relevance, what innovations are helping brands become a functional part of customers’ routines?
Mladen Vladic: Everyday relevance hinges on embedding loyalty into the fabric of daily life. Innovations like real-time basket intelligence and mobile wallet integration are transforming how brands engage with customers. These technologies enable seamless redemption of rewards at the point of sale, making loyalty a natural extension of the shopping experience. And by offering personalized, context-aware rewards—such as discounts on frequently purchased items—brands can become indispensable to their customers, fostering habitual engagement and long-term loyalty.
Differentiation, Value & Experience
Loyalty360: Emotional loyalty continues to be discussed, but how are you seeing the loyalty industry operationalize it in measurable, repeatable ways?
Mladen Vladic: Emotional loyalty is being operationalized through hyper-personalization and experiential rewards. By analyzing customer data with tools like generative AI, brands can craft deeply personalized offers that resonate on an emotional level. For example, rewarding customers for milestones or aligning rewards with their passions creates a sense of connection and appreciation. These strategies, combined with transparent metrics like engagement rates and lifetime value, allow companies to measure and refine their emotional loyalty initiatives, ensuring they deliver consistent, repeatable results.
Loyalty360: Where are you seeing experiential or status-based rewards produce outsized impact and where do they underperform?
Mladen Vladic: Experiential rewards excel in industries like travel and hospitality, where unique experiences — such as exclusive access or VIP treatment — create lasting emotional connections. However, they can underperform when they lack relevance or accessibility. For instance, offering luxury experiences to value-conscious consumers during economic downturns may fail to resonate. The key is aligning benefits with customer preferences and ensuring they are attainable, fostering both aspiration and ongoing engagement.
Partnerships & Collaborative Models
Loyalty360: Partnerships increasingly extend beyond traditional earn-and-burn mechanics. What new partnership models are you seeing gain traction?
Mladen Vladic: Collaborative ecosystems are redefining loyalty partnerships. Models that integrate cross-industry rewards—such as allowing customers to earn points with one brand and redeem them with another—are gaining traction. These partnerships create a seamless value exchange, enhancing member benefits while expanding brand reach. For example, integrating loyalty programs with healthcare spending accounts or stablecoin payments offers innovative ways to engage customers, driving mutual growth for all partners involved.
Loyalty360: What factors help determine whether a partnership meaningfully enhances member value versus adding unnecessary complexity?
Mladen Vladic: The success of a partnership lies in its ability to deliver clear, tangible value to members with a frictionless user experience. Simplicity, transparency, and alignment with customer needs are critical. Partnerships that integrate seamlessly into existing ecosystems—such as enabling real-time rewards at checkout—enhance value by making benefits accessible and relevant. Conversely, partnerships that require additional steps or lack coherence risk alienating members and diluting the program’s impact.