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If you use Chase Bank, don’t be surprised if you see advertising offers that seem to know a lot about your spending habits.
The major banking chain is going to let advertisers tap customers’ spending data to entice them with deals for products and services. "With Chase's owned transaction data, brands and agencies can precisely target customers at scale based on purchase history (such as targeting new, lapsed or loyal customers)," the company said in the announcement.
The bank is doing so through a new business arm called Chase Media Solutions. But it won't push the targeted ads on just any website, app, or TV screen. Instead, it will be limited to US customers of the Chase Offers and cash back programs, which operate on the bank’s app and website.
(Credit: Chase Bank)The goal is to then let advertisers target consumers who are more likely to buy the product or service, giving brands a way to ditch blanket ad campaigns that result in few sales.
Chase is spinning the new business as a positive to consumers, saying they’ll “benefit from personalized offers and the ability to earn cash back with brands they love or are discovering for the first time.” But the advertising plan is also angering some users who are concerned that the ad-targeting will come at the expense of their privacy.
In a statement, Chase stressed to PCMag "that the proprietary data that powers Chase Media Solutions’ campaigns remains within the bank’s highly secure environment. We do not share customers’ personally identifiable information or financial data with brands, merchants or anyone. Information about our customers is not shared as a matter of privacy, security and the fact that we’re a highly regulated company."
According to The Wall Street Journal, consumers will also need to “activate deals on the Chase app or website” and then make a purchase.
Chase Bank serves over 80 million US consumers, so the ad targeting could reach a large swath of the country’s population. The company says it already piloted some of the advertising with brands including Air Canada, Solo Stove, Blue Bottle, and Whataburger, which led to incremental sales and new customer growth for the companies.