Roll Forward loyalty app positions for launch

Should the nationwide vision of Austin, Texas-based banking and technology veterans become a reality, they will have the Springfield market to thank for the start.

John Burns and Don Shafer are the partners behind a new app-centered loyalty program called Roll Forward LLC, which is seeking to get its legs in the Queen City. In 1995, Burns founded FundsXpress, an Internet banking company he sold in 2009 in a nine-figure all-cash transaction, according to LinkedIn. In 2003, he co-founded MoneyVue, which two years later joined forces with Shafer’s BancVue Ltd. BancVue works with financial institutions to grow their markets through the Kasasa suite of e-marketing and rewards products.  

Their latest venture plays off the hyperlocal niche and aims to connect financial institutions, retailers, restaurants and consumers via a new app. Roll Forward Executive Vice President Elliott Reed said Springfield was picked as its first market because it’s a midsize city.

How it works
When consumers download the Roll Forward app, which is not available yet, and input their local credit or debit card information, they can receive up to 10 percent cash back on future purchases from participating restaurants and retailers.

That’s the trick: Customers earn the money on return visits.

Springfield Roll Forward Account Executive Mary Guccione is working to sign up business clients ahead of a projected late-April launch. The company has begun a teaser ad campaign in Springfield Business Journal and has secured a handful of local financial institutions and retailers. Guccione and Reed, who declined to disclose investment costs, are working to sign 50-100 partners before the company app goes live.

Four local financial institutions have signed on with Roll Forward: Southern Bank, Mercy Credit Union, Old Missouri Bank and OakStar Bank.

“They have thousands of account holders that they will be marketing to,” Guccione said.

The early retail/restaurant partners on board are Cafe Cusco LLC, Chabom Teas and Spices, Honkytonk Clothing and florist RosAmungThorns LLC, Guccione said.

Part of its pitch to retailers, citing Inc. magazine data, is that it’s five times easier to retain customers than to gain new ones.

“It’s human behavior. We know that you don’t want to leave any money on the table, so we are trying to combine that with a mobile app,” Guccione said.

No big-box stores, large restaurant chains or national financial institutions are allowed to join, she said. BancVue’s Kasasa suite of products already serves 700 community financial institutions, according Kasasa.com.

Consumers who download the app can receive 2 percent cash back on return purchases – deposited into their accounts – even if their bank or credit card isn’t a direct participant. When consumers follow at least five local participating businesses, they get 4 percent back. If they follow at least five businesses and bank with a Roll Forward partner, they get 10 percent back on future purchases within a set time frame.

For example, if a consumer visits one of the partner retailers and spends $50, the retailer would put $5 back on the customer’s card toward another purchase.

“Each business sets its own time limit,” said Reed, who works in Austin and Springfield, where the company leases office space on the third floor of SBJ’s building.

Some restaurants might set up their payback period for 30 or 60 days, while retailers might be less strict. And once that term is within five days of expiring, the consumer is notified.

Roll Forward makes its money through program and marketing fees paid by the participating financial institutions, retailers and restaurants, Reed said.

Signing up
Brent McCoy, vice president of business development and commercial lending at OakStar Bank, said bank officials consider the program an innovative way to attract new customers and to support small businesses.

“We want to do everything we can to drive local spending,” he said. “It’s more important now than ever to keep that small-business movement going.

“From a technical standpoint, it is very efficient and seamless for the bank, for the merchant and for the consumer.”

McCoy said the background of the Roll Forward partners was encouraging, too.

“Those two bring a strong reputation and background from the banking-technology and merchant-technology world, so that gave it some instant credibility,” he said.

Another bonus, according to McCoy, is that loyalty programs generally involve keeping physical cards on hand, and OakStar officials preferred an app.

“As long as the consumer is a customer of one of the local banks, it’s all tied directly to their debit or credit card. So, that cash back goes directly into their account, and they don’t have to worry about carrying those large stacks of discount cards with them,” he said.

McCoy said he’s not aware of any sign-up costs for OakStar because the company already is a client of BancVue.

RosAmungThorns owner Theresa Carter-Hess plans to spend about $150 with Roll Forward once the program launches.

“I like that the banks will be promoting this, as well,” Carter-Hess said. “I think this will offer more exposure to the city than we could do on our own as a small business.”

The app also will have a map of participating businesses.

Carter-Hess set the payback period at two months to keep her floral shop top of mind.

“We don’t just cover funerals or weddings, and this can remind customers if they want to send a get-well package to the hospital or buy something for a birthday,” she said.

Partner companies can run special promotions, and consumers who follow those businesses would receive push notifications about limited-time offers.  
     
Through its Bonus Roll program, Guccione said special offers could be developed on the fly. If a restaurant is having a slow day, it could triple the rebate for an hour or two, and followers would get a message on their phones.