Born ten years ago, at the height of the global dot-com era, FNB's multi-partner rewards programme, eBucks benefited from the associated hype around ecommerce ventures.

Yet, unlike many of its peers, eBucks avoided the excesses of limitless budgets and precarious business cases. Instead, it rallied the individual passion of a committed group of recruits to launch a groundbreaking product in record time.

Many of these pioneers still form part of the FNB and eBucks team, which has driven continuous innovation in an offering which now extends to more than two million members and reports a ballpark figure of R1.7bn in earned rewards, the lions share having been allocated by FNB, eBucks' biggest partner.

Michael Jordaan, the first eBucks CEO and now CEO of FNB, recalls the function at which FirstRand founder Paul Harris announced the group's plans to launch its ecommerce product.

"Listed financial companies at the time faced a great deal of pressure to show their technology prowess. Those without an ecommerce platform saw their stocks downgraded by the investment community. Harris committed the group to launching the platform within 100days, with the intention of leapfrogging everyone else in the market."

This was a tall order for a fledgling team.

"Unlike most other product launches, which take place only once the product has been developed, we were working the other way around," says Jolandé Duvenage, eBucks' current CEO. "We were presented with a fixed - and very imminent - end date, and had to develop the product within the allocated time."

But, Duvenage says: "In those heady days of high-tech entrepreneurialism, everyone was full of bravado and passion. Collectively we were making significant decisions each day, and in many cases were forced to go by gut feel."

This boldness, along with a pioneering zeal and several boxes of pizza, and Harris' unwavering support fuelled the team through interminable hours focused on delivery.

Ironically, an element of conservatism also ensured success: The board had approved R300m for the eBucks project, of which only R100m had been spent after three years.

The team made it to the October 2000 launch intact, with a saleable product to boot.

"The people involved in the project are what made it special," says Duvenage. "There was a sense of sheer commitment. We were extremely proud of what we had achieved and felt an incredible sense of belonging."

This coherence remains a feature within the eBucks team, which runs what is considered one of South Africa's leading rewards programmes. Aside from generating benefit for the banking group, clients and partners, it is also a business in its own right: It announced a move into the black in February 2003 - eight months ahead of schedule.

Though the essence of eBucks has been unchanged since 2000, it has shifted and altered aspects of the business through the years. "Part of our success has been that we have always been very fluid, making adjustments when we saw something didn't work and adding more value to our partners, specifically FNB," Duvenage says.

A particularly significant business change came in January 2004: eBucks was initially designed to fulfil three main roles, namely a rewards programme, online banking for FNB and RMB Private Bank, and a financial services portal for the FirstRand group. Just over three years after launch, the internet-banking portal was split from the reward-programme function, ensuring enhanced focus for the now-separated elements.

Jordaan concedes that the early days and years would have been much easier had eBucks started life purely as a loyalty programme.

But Duvenage adds that the technological challenge added to the excitement and that the project "might not have achieved these heights in the event of it being less ambitious".

Other areas that the start-up team in retrospect feels it could have approached differently is the marketing strategy.

"The first advert was beautiful, and successfully established the brand but it didn't adequately explain the concept of what we are and what we do," Jordaan says.

Customers now better understand rewards programmes, and companies are more serious about employing them.  But for the veteran eBucks team, competition represents a great opportunity to continue innovating in order to maintain its market leadership, which is something eBucks has always valued.

So far, these innovations have included becoming the first online supplier of Lotto tickets; the eBucks card, which allows for both earning and spending of eBucks; "eBucks for Business"; a virtual movie ticket facility for members; and access to exciting eBucks Discounts exclusively for qualifying FNB and RMB Private Bank members.

"Our challenge is to drive differentiation and value for customers. This as the rewards industry evolves, eBucks wants to ensure that we remain valuable to our members and our partners," Duvenage says.

eBucks has twenty-nine partners today, which are grouped as earn partners - members earn eBucks when they spend money there or when they use qualifying FNB  products - and spend partners - businesses where members can spend their eBucks, with some overlap between these two groupings.Cumulatively over the past decade, eBucks members have earned about R1.7bn in eBucks, and have spent about R1.2bn of these.

Today, the average earn-to-spend ratio is close to 80%, signifying a very active member base. The benchmark ratio for developed economies is between 60% and 70%. 

With the inclusion of a wider network of partners, spending has spread accordingly, now covering also the purchase of cell phone airtime, the latest techno products and travel of any kind.

"Loyalty programmes are about giving members access to luxuries. We offer that, as well as the choice to spend eBucks on smaller or essential items, too," Jordaan says.

"That choice makes us the rewards programme of choice," Duvenage adds.

eBucks has received regular awards for being the most valuable rewards programme in South Africa; prizes for its website; and recognition for its success as an online mall.

Along with driving partners' profitability, the eBucks programme supports the broader interests of the FirstRand group. "We have a close working relationship with our banking partners," Duvenage says, "and are always asking: How can we support the bank?"

"Our intention going forward is to continue evolving with the local market and continue offering a programme that is both relevant and rewarding to everyone concerned," Duvenage concludes.

About eBucks:

eBucks, the rewards programme offered by First National Bank (FNB) and RMB Private Bank, is acknowledged as one of South Africa's leading rewards programmes with highly active members spending in excess of 80% of the eBucks earned in any given month.