Popularity of the K-Group and OP Group cooperation cards exceeds expectations

More than 100,000 applications have already been submitted for OP-Visa and OP-Visa Electron cards with the Plussa feature since the beginning of May. Ari Lehmonen, the 100,000th card applicant, was presented with a prize at K-citymarket in the Jumbo shopping centre on Wednesday, 13 June.

An OP-Visa card with the Plussa feature was offered to Lehmonen at Pohjola, when he applied for cottage insurance. "My wife also told me that changing the card would give me double Plussa basic points until the end of the year and vouchers in value of 30 euros. I appreciate a smaller number of cards in my wallet and the opportunity of getting the Plussa points direct to my bank account. I have also benefited from centralising my purchases, and during recent years I have done some 95% of my shopping at K-Group stores", said Lehmonen for whom the prize came as a nice surprise.

"Customers have given us a lot of positive feedback on increased ease of payment. Now that your Plussa card is also a means of payment, you no longer need to remember to show it separately,” says retailer Matti Himberg of K-citymarket Jumbo.

According to Matti Korkeela, Executive Vice President, Card Services and Consumer Lending, the OP Bank Group Central Cooperative, one hundred thousand new cards is a huge figure, compared with around 15,000 during normal months.

Pasi Mäkinen, Managing Director of K-Plus Oy, agrees: “The number of customers who have changed their debit cards into OP-Visa and OP-Visa Electron with the Plussa featureor K-Plussa MasterCard has exceeded expectations. The number of completely new Plussa customers has also increased by nearly one thousand since the beginning of the year. In addition to the ease of payment, our customers expect considerable benefits. Increasing the number of Plussa offers in all of our chains has been well received.”

The K-Plussa development programme started by Kesko and K-retailers at the beginning of May will continue to provide new benefits to Plussa customers.

In the future, the positive development will be supported by chain-specific customer programmes in which services will play a major role beside product offers.

A photo of Ari Lehmonen can be downloaded from www.kesko.fi/Material > Image archive >

Further information available from:
Pasi Mäkinen, Managing Director, K-Plus Oy, tel. +358 1053 37100
Matti Korkeela, Executive Vice President, Card Services and Consumer Lending, the OP Bank Group Central Cooperative, tel. +358 500 602602

There are currently as many as around 3.5 million K-Plussa cardholders in nearly 1.8 million households in Finland. The K-Plussa card is accepted at nearly 3,000 outlets. Last year the number of K-Plussa cardholders increased by 185,000 and this year the number has increased further by nearly 100,000. In addition to the K-Group stores, the diversified Plussa network includes Neste, Sonera, Pohjola, A-lehdet, Helsinki Energy, Scandic Hotels, Finnkino, and Europcar.