Johannesburg, 14 April 2015: eBucks Rewards, the leading rewards programme offered by FNB and RMB Private Bank, is delighted to announce that it has paid its members a whopping R5 billion in rewards over the past 15 years, with the lion's share contributed by FNB.

"FNB recognises eBucks Rewards as an integral part of our success in the market," said Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB. "Through the programme, the bank is able to offer our customers additional value for their positive banking behaviour."

What's more, of this R5 billion, in excess of R4.2 billion has already been spent by eBucks Rewards members. This is a clear indication of just how relevant the programme is to its members. A spend-to-earn ratio of 70% is considered good in developed countries, so this 80%+ ratio shows the extent to which eBucks Rewards is both front of mind and front of wallet for its members.

"Back in 2000, a group of us at FNB had a groundbreaking idea to build a rewards programme that would add real value to everyday customer behaviour," said Jolandé Duvenage, CEO of eBucks Rewards and part of the founding team. "Fifteen years later, we are so pleased to have reached this milestone on our journey. For us, this is confirmation that we're making a meaningful contribution to our members, especially in challenging economic times."

This R5 billion milestone was achieved just 13 months after eBucks Rewards reached R4 billion, showing the programme's increasing velocity.

Since its inception, the eBucks Rewards programme has expanded to include the eBucks Shop and eBucks Travel – a full service travel desk offering plus a self-service online travel booking engine for flights, accommodation and car hire for the booking of travel on any seat, any time.

eBucks Rewards was the first rewards programme to offer prepaid products and services, such as airtime, prepaid electricity and Lotto tickets. It was also the first to include earning rewards on fuel from any fuel station, and the opportunity to pay for fuel in eBucks at participating Engen stations.

As a multi-partner programme, members have a wide choice of online and retail partners where they can both earn and spend eBucks. This choice means they can fit earning and spending their eBucks to their lifestyle and not the other way around. The introduction of Checkers and Shoprite as eBucks Rewards' grocery partner in 2013 rounded off the programme to cover everything from necessities such as bread and milk, prepaid airtime, medicine and electricity, all the way to big-ticket luxury items such as high-tech gear and international travel.

Looking ahead, FNB and RMB Private Bank want members to maximise their rewards, and so have recently launched the eBucks Rewards calculator on www.eBucks.com. This allows members to earn more rewards points, and so "level up", by showing them which behaviour and product changes they need to make to be rewarded. These points are calculated to determine their rewards level, offering them the opportunity to earn up to 15% on fuel, groceries, prepaid airtime and electricity, as well as receiving discounts of up to 40% on selected travel offers and merchandise in the eBucks Shop.

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.