The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has partnered with several other companies to launch a loyalty program where members but at the same time smart card holders will access discounts on selected goods and services using the card.
Speaking on Wednesday, the NSSF acting Managing Director, Patrick Ayota said the initiative is one of the major features on their smartcard aimed at ensuring an increase in the number of people who save with the fund through having more benefits.
“A 2019 post-retirement survey we did showed that 60% of the benefits paid out to members had been allocated to house improvement/ construction and land. We therefore wanted to create more value for members by giving them an opportunity to acquire desirable assets at a subsidized rate before they retired, so that they can invest their retirement savings in more profitable ventures,” Ayota said.
“The loyalty program is an opportunity for our members to save money on desired purchases by getting cheaper but quality options from our partners.”
He underscored the role of the loyalty program in growing the membership of the fund.
“Since the launch of the smart card six months ago, we have about 10,000 applications for the smart card with active usage standing at 60.7%. In addition, the loyalty program has been the major driver of these enrollments which is a clear indication that the programme has the potential to attract new members to the Fund through the various discounted offers from our partners,” Ayota said.
Partners
According to NSSF, currently, there are nine partners for the loyalty program in the real estate, construction, technology and hospitality industries.
These include Uganda Clays, Uganda Baati , Appliance World Elite Digital solutions, Fakhruddin Properties Limited, Universal multipurpose Enterprise limited, Buildnet Construction Materials and Hardware Limited, Emerald Consult and Estates Developer, Trinity Trusted Estates developers and Bakhaima Investments Limited .
Ayota noted that they target at least 50 partners.
He explained that to join the loyalty program where one gets between five and 10 percent , one has to first enroll for the NSSF Smart Card at the Workers House and Centenary Bank branches countrywide.
A member can thereafter present their valid NSSF smart card to the participating merchants under this program at any of their selling locations to purchase discounted products or services.
“We have started working on a system where the product discounts will automatically be activated when the smart card is swiped at any merchants’ point of sell machine for easier transactions,” Ayota noted.
