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    Case study

    Sparkasse Wuppertal loyalty app: How the German bank is strengthening an entire region

    Service

    Lifecycle Services Seamless Experiences

    Industry

    Financial Services

    The use of digital media has changed significantly: People are spending more time on their smartphones instead of their computers. This applies not only to chatting and surfing (two-thirds of all Google searches are on mobile devices), but also to job hunting, image editing, and banking. Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal, part of one of Germany’s largest banking networks, has adapted to this user behavior and developed the “TreueWelt” (English: “Loyalty World”) app in collaboration with Nortal.

    Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal: One of Germany’s largest “Sparkassen” banks

    Founded in 1822, with around 1,200 employees and 35 locations, Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal is one of the largest and most traditional savings banks in Germany. In 2022, it managed around 220,000 checking accounts and offered a wide range of other financial products and services for private and corporate customers.

    However, just like other traditional banks, Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal faces several challenges: New market participants, such as neobanks, can leverage large amounts of data to their advantage, offer targeted digital services, and increasingly shift their focus from products to customers. They are putting pressure on traditional banks to find new ways to provide their customers the best possible user experience – including through new digital formats. This challenge was one of the reasons why Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal launched “TreueWelt.”

    Back to the beginning: What exactly is TreueWelt?

    The Wuppertal Sparkasse loyalty program “TreueWelt” has been available as a web version since early 2015. The idea is to offer customers a kind of “digital branch” – in addition to online banking – while complying with the regional principle enshrined in law.

    “The bank branch used to be an important marker in people’s everyday lives,” says Artur Wöller, Head of the Payment & Beyond Banking Competence Center at Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal, “but we have long since reached a point where we need to move forward digitally. That’s why we eventually started looking into the idea of TreueWelt.”

    The principle behind TreueWelt is simple: Customers collect points by using financial products at Sparkasse Wuppertal or by shopping with their debit or credit card at regional partners, from bakeries to flower shops. The points can then be redeemed directly in the app for regional events or vouchers for TreueWelt partners. This creates added value within the same ecosystem.

    The challenge: How do we get from the web to the app?

    Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal was at a point where many financial institutions, industrial companies, and public sector organizations find themselves. Keyword: customer loyalty. Since 2015, the savings bank has been working to improve customer interaction through the TreueWelt loyalty program. The problem: until recently, TreueWelt was a web application, i.e., a platform optimized purely for desktop use. To fully exploit the potential of the lifestyle brand, a change was needed: TreueWelt needed a mobile upgrade.

    For the loyalty program to reach as many people as possible, there was no way around it: TreueWelt had to be available as an app on customers’ smartphones. This allows Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal to reach a broader target group and stay true to the long-term vision behind TreueWelt: retaining customers for the savings bank and strengthening the Wuppertal region with all its local businesses.

    According to Artur Wöller from Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal, this would only be possible if the TreueWelt app differed from “classic” banking apps. These are often too abstract and do not trigger any emotions. “With TreueWelt, we are taking a different approach,” says Wöller. So Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal set itself a clear goal: to offer customers a more user-friendly platform for their smartphones, so that interaction and service run smoothly.

    But questions quickly arose among the savings bank’s staff: Do we have enough expertise in-house? What should we focus on? And what technical hurdles might we encounter? Those responsible quickly realized that the project would be challenging to manage on their own. In October 2021, the logical conclusion was reached: A strong partner was needed for the implementation. And that partner was Nortal.

    The Wuppertal Stadtsparkasse no longer had to worry about technical knowledge and expertise in product management. With Nortal’s expertise, a web-based application was to be turned into an advanced, user-friendly mobile app version 3.0, through which the savings bank could give something back to its customers.

    The solution: What makes the new TreueWelt special

     

    The TreueWelt app, available for download since spring 2023, stands out with its modern design and numerous features that are very popular with users. “In developing the app, we are focusing only on functions that suit us as a savings bank and, above all, meet customer needs,” says Artur Wöller, Head of the Payment & Beyond Banking Competence Center at Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal.

    For example, the TreueWelt app illustrates your own financial provision: 12 financial areas have been defined in which customers should be well provided for, and the app shows which areas they still need to address. Anyone who has covered all 12 areas receives money back from the savings bank.

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    Artur Wöller, Head of the Payment & Beyond Banking Competence Center at Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal

    „When developing the app, we focus only on features that suit us as a savings bank and, above all, meet customer needs.“

    At the same time, there are numerous ways to collect points: for example, by using Sparkasse products or making purchases with a debit or credit card at one of 150 regional partners. Correct answers in the finance quiz also earn points. Once you have collected enough points, you can convert them into vouchers for local shops or event tickets. These are then stored directly in the TreueWelt app wallet. Digital stamp cards are also part of the platform.

    Additional features are planned, such as the “Retailer Awards.” These will involve ranking users by how much they shop at different retailers in the region. The aim is to create incentives to make the most of Wuppertal as a business location and thereby strengthen the region economically.

    At a glance: The 5 biggest advantages of the new TreueWelt loyalty program 

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    User experience

    Users can access all functions anytime, anywhere with the new smartphone app. User feedback? Extremely positive. They appreciate the app’s simple and intuitive processes.

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    Effective communication

    A mobile version of TreueWelt makes it easier for users to communicate with Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal. For example, they can get answers to questions or provide feedback more quickly. 

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    State-of-the-art technology

    It’s not just about the “what,” but also the “how.” A mobile app is not enough if the “inner values,” i.e., the technological development standard, are not correct. The TreueWelt app stays current, creating a powerful and secure environment for users.

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    Future included

    Even after the app goes live, the collaboration between Nortal and Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal is not over. In the future, the two partners will continue leveraging their mutual trust and expertise and work on the app. After all, even with successful software, there is always room for optimization.

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    Paperless registration

    While registering with TreueWelt used to mean filling out a 13-page document, users can now sign up with just a few clicks and start collecting points right away.

    The Nortal factor: How our experts made the project a success

    Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal is particularly impressed by the speed with which Nortal developed the app. Nortal’s agile working methods and quick decisions ensured a high level of efficiency – a decisive factor in making the TreueWelt app a successful project. “Nortal helped us a lot, especially in terms of ways of working, and really inspired the savings bank with its agile working methods and speed,” says Artur Wöller.

    What exactly is behind this agility? The Nortal team worked with so-called “low-fidelity prototypes,” which are initial versions of the final app design. This allows initial visual ideas to be quickly tested by potential users to gather feedback at an early stage of development. A mix of quantitative analysis and qualitative interviews provided valuable insights and formed the basis for the app’s features.

    Involving potential users in the development of a new app from the outset ensures it will be well received upon launch. This is  precisely the approach taken by Nortal and Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal. Even during the internal beta phase, it was evident that users responded positively to the app. Within just two days, about half of all employees had registered and were actively using it.

    A state-of-the-art development

    Theory is one thing. Putting what you have learned into practice is another. For Nortal, it was obvious: They would settle for nothing less than the latest development standards and technologies to ensure that the app would ultimately run smoothly and perform well. After all, there was one thing the Sparkasse wanted to avoid at all costs: dissatisfied customers and a rising number of support requests.

    By the way: Nortal also supports Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal in the lifecycle management of the mobile app. This means the focus is on development and maintenance, as well as updating and optimizing the app. No product is perfect right away – not even with state-of-the-art development. And so the development of TreueWelt was also a process in which you sometimes have to take one step back to take two steps forward. But: All hurdles – from integrating third-party providers to the high number of stakeholders to the consideration of governance and compliance in the technical implementation – were successfully overcome.

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