CU Credit Card Transactions Up Nearly 50% During Prime Day: CO-OP Reports

Credit and debit card transactions were up big for many credit union card issuers during Amazon’s Prime Day event on July 15 and 16, and the implications could be profound for card issuers and retailers, according to new data from CO-OP Financial Services.

The company said the number of Prime Day transactions inside the CO-OP credit card portfolio spiked 48.6% compared to 2018, and debit transactions for the company’s CU card issuers rose 21% year over year. The total dollars spent on both credit and debit cards was up 33%, it added.

“Credit union issuers must take steps to engage the growing number of Amazon Prime members, as they represent a massive opportunity to secure top-of-digital-wallet status,” CO-OP Senior Portfolio Advisor and Card Marketing Strategist Kaitlyn Summitt-Nelsen said. “Credit unions owe it to their members to explain the benefits of selecting their card as the default on Amazon and other online retailers. Many of our partners are finding rewards and other promotions to be a great way to open that dialogue.”

CO-OP said some of the activity increase during Prime Day was due to increases in the number and size of credit unions that process with the company, but certain types of Amazon purchases were also especially popular, including books (up 50%), specialty retail stores (up 84%), computer and network services (up 184%) and subscriptions (up 88%). Consumer purchases of large digital goods, such and Echo, Kindle and Fire TV devices, fell 44%.

More notable, however, may be the effect that Prime Day seems to be having on other retailers.

According to CO-OP, Walmart.com purchases in the CO-OP portfolio on July 15, 2019, were up more than 163% compared to one day earlier, for example.

“It is interesting to see Amazon transform an e-commerce shopping holiday to an omnichannel extravaganza,” CO-OP President and CEO Todd Clark said.

“As credit unions increase their command of digital delivery, they must be strategic about the interplay between physical, digital, experiential or other channels,” Clark added.

CO-OP’s data comes on the heels of similar data from St. Petersburg-Fla.-based payments CUSO PSCU, which reported that total transactions among its owner credit unions spiked 31% year over year and total sales volume jumped 46% during Prime Day. It also said that credit card transactions grew by more than 23%, and debit card transactions grew 37% year over year.

Both PSCU and CO-OP launched Prime Day promotional programs to help member CUs snag top-of-wallet status for their cards. PSCU campaigns offered cash-back incentives of about 2% for Prime Day purchases, and CO-OP campaigns offered $10 cash back to cardholders for every $100 they spent on Amazon during the Prime Day event.