NEDBANK: BUILDING STUDENT LOYALTY THROUGH A YEAR-LONG REWARDS PROGRAM

Student Rewards Program drives 65% engagement across Gen Z accounts

Three sections: “UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL” with a woman, “UNLOCK YOUR MONEY” with a workspace, and “UNLOCK YOUR LIFESTYLE” with a woman on her phone.

Our Sectors

Financial Services

Client

Nedbank

Solutions

Acquisition Programs, Engagement Programs

Location

South Africa

A young woman with glasses uses a laptop with books nearby, promoting a student account in three steps and “see money differently.”

Overview

Nedbank, a South African financial services provider, partnered with TLC Worldwide to strengthen its presence in the student banking segment. The bank identified an opportunity to stand out in a competitive market by delivering lifestyle-aligned rewards that resonate with students aged 16–26.

The partnership focused on creating a 12-month student program with a series of engaging rewards – including data vouchers, travel perks, cinema tickets, and food rewards – designed to encourage regular account activity and build long-term engagement.

The Challenge

Nedbank faced the challenge of differentiating its student banking offer from the many programs available to the highly sought after GenZ demographic. The bank wanted a campaign that would not only attract new account holders but also drive continued activity, fostering a longer-term relationship with students notoriously known to switch.

Why TLC

Nedbank recognised that meaningful, lifestyle-aligned rewards are a key motivator across the banking industry, particularly for GenZ students. TLC’s deep understanding of the global financial services market and consumer behaviour, gave the bank confidence that the program would resonate and drive engagement among its target audience.

The bank valued TLC’s full-service support, extensive knowledge, and hands-on approach – always going above and beyond to ensure seamless execution. TLC’s agility allowed the program to evolve with student needs, keeping rewards relevant and sustaining engagement. In TLC, Nedbank gained a trusted collaborator capable of combining insight and creative innovation, long after the initial consultation.

The TLC Approach

TLC carefully designed an engagement program that would resonate with students’ everyday needs and passions. By combining entertainment, mobility, connectivity, and food-related rewards into a seamless, easy-to-access package, TLC ensured students were motivated to interact with their accounts more regularly.

Eligible students who swiped their cards at least five times each month, were directed to TLC’s rewards platform, to choose from multiple perks including data, Travelstart voucher, Debonairs online voucher, or Nu Metro cinema tickets. These incentives were designed to make banking feel relevant and rewarding, turning routine transactions into excitement and engagement. The frictionless redemption process made participation simple, ensuring that students could access and enjoy their rewards with minimal effort.

Four young people stand together using smartphones, one showing their screen, under the “unlocked.me by Nedbank” logo.

The Results

.

+65%

Average

engagement rate on the student platform

Strong

uplift

In student account activity and transactions

Immediate

ROI

Exceeding expectations within the first year

Hear directly from the client

“We truly value TLC's full-service support, their agility in campaign management, and the diverse range of rewards they offer - it's been invaluable. Would I continue working with TLC? Absolutely. With the drastic improvement in ROI we saw in just the first year, how could we afford not to?”

Mahendran Thamanna,

Head of Commercial Partnerships

HaierElectroluxAldiWorldwideFerreroVodafoneSantanderYoutubeDiageoMcDonald'sT-MobileEDFKFCAllianzKlarnaUnilever
HaierElectroluxAldiWorldwideFerreroVodafoneSantanderYoutubeDiageoMcDonald'sT-MobileEDFKFCAllianzKlarnaUnilever
HaierElectroluxAldiWorldwideFerreroVodafoneSantanderYoutubeDiageoMcDonald'sT-MobileEDFKFCAllianzKlarnaUnilever
HaierElectroluxAldiWorldwideFerreroVodafoneSantanderYoutubeDiageoMcDonald'sT-MobileEDFKFCAllianzKlarnaUnilever

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