MasterCard to acquire Pinpoint

MasterCard (NYSE:MA - News) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pinpoint Pty. Ltd. ("Pinpoint"), a leading provider of loyalty and rewards services to financial institutions across the Asia Pacific region. This acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

Pinpoint, which was founded in 1984 and headquartered in Sydney, is Australia’s leading rewards programme manager, with a growing footprint across the region into key markets such as China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and Japan. Its customer base includes financial institutions and merchants.

This acquisition, in combination with MasterCard’s capabilities, will benefit issuers, providing them more effective and efficient rewards programmes to offer their customers. It will also help merchants target new customers while retaining their existing client base, allowing them to grow their businesses and raise profitability. Consumers will enjoy the wider choice of relevant, quality and timely offers; their shopping experiences will be enhanced by the integration of payments and rewards.

Commenting on the acquisition, Vicky Bindra, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard said, "Bringing innovative and personalised rewards solutions to cardholders and customers is a priority for MasterCard. This is why it’s exciting when we come across companies such as Pinpoint that excel in this area. Not only does Pinpoint offer a competitive edge in Australia, its growing presence across Asia Pacific also holds much promise and will allow us to offer more effective programmes to our customers and cardholders."

Kim Harding, Founder of Pinpoint said, "Becoming a part of the MasterCard family is an exciting step for our entire team as we look to build on our core business and grow our customer relationships across the region. Our 30 years of expertise in loyalty and rewards services, combined with MasterCard’s existing programmes and vast network will position us strongly to deliver a whole new level of innovative services to our customers."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.