ABSTRACT
Have you ever stopped to consider the vast number of customer loyalty schemes that are currently on offer? There are many, including those offered by supermarket retailers and banks. Perhaps you are one of the numerous people who have a Barclaycard Freedom Rewards card and pay for everything with your credit card so that you can accumulate points. If so, how exactly would you account for this? For every £1 spent in supermarkets, petrol stations and Transport for London, you earn two points, and for every £1 spent elsewhere, you earn one point. The points can then be converted into vouchers to spend at a variety of partners, including well-known companies such as Amazon, Boots and iTunes. This raises the question: are the points a type of currency? They represent a resource, which, like cash on hand, provides a means of paying for goods or services. They may not be pounds or euros, but they can be converted into vouchers equivalent to a known number of pounds or euros. If you are still not convinced, ask yourself: what is the difference between the 100 points that I have accumulated and the £100 that I keep in my petty-cash box, other than the rate to convert them back into pounds? We answer this question with another question: what is a suitable definition of ‘cash’?
