Tim Hortons is launching a credit card linked to its loyalty program and its mobile app, the company announced Wednesday. The card will be “powered by” Calgary fintech Neo Financial, Tim Hortons said in its press release.
The Logic broke the news in March that Neo and Tim Hortons had been in talks to have Neo develop a platform for the fast-food brand’s rewards offering.
The details: The Tims Credit Card is a Mastercard with no annual fee, and while it is “powered by” Neo, it will be issued by ATB Financial, a Crown corporation owned by the Province of Alberta. ATB also issues Neo’s own branded credit card, and the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard, which is also “powered by” Neo.
Making purchases with the card—which customers can apply for and manage through the Tim Hortons app—earns the customer Tim Hortons reward points, and they earn extra points for using it at the chain’s restaurants. Users pay interest at a rate between 20.99 per cent and 25.99 per cent.
“The Tims Credit Card was designed to be tightly integrated with the Tims app and our Tims Rewards loyalty program and Neo was the right provider to help us achieve our vision,” said Tim Hortons communications director Michael Oliveira in an email to The Logic.
What it means for Neo: “This partnership strengthens Neo’s reach and accelerates Neo’s mission to deliver superior financial experiences to all Canadians,” Neo CEO Andrew Chau said in an email to The Logic, citing the Tim Hortons app’s nearly five million monthly users.
It gives the fintech another major partnership in addition to its Hudson’s Bay deal. In March, The Logic reported that Neo, which has raised nearly $300 million since its 2019 launch from investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, had seen limited success with its in-house financial products. The huge Hudson’s Bay deal, which saw the retailer take an equity stake in Neo, dramatically expanded the fintech’s customer base.
In an April interview with BetaKit, Chau and Keegan Sharp, Neo’s director of partnerships, confirmed the company was pursuing more “embedded finance” deals, which let them offer financial services through companies that aren’t financial providers. As Canada’s largest restaurant chain, Tim Hortons—owned by Restaurant Brands International, parent company of Popeyes and Burger King—was one of the biggest potential partners for such a deal. In March, The Logic reported Neo had also had discussions with discount retail chain Dollarama.
Chau told The Logic that Neo was seeing “large demand” from companies eyeing embedded finance. “Banking as a Service enables brands to deliver financial services at the moment of customer need, eliminating much of the friction of traditional banking,” he said. “We feel that the scalability and flexibility of our technology positions Neo very well for long term growth.”
The Logic previously reported that the Hudson’s Bay deal included warrants letting the retailer take an equity stake in Neo, and that Neo earns revenue through the Hudson’s Bay credit card via interest and interchange fees, which it splits with the retailer. Neo and Tim Hortons declined to comment on the commercial details of their partnership.
What it means for Tim Hortons: In tandem with the credit card, the restaurant chain is launching Tims Financial, a new division intended “to give Canadians convenient and powerful financial tools to manage their everyday finances,” said the press release.
It will offer a version of the credit card “to Canadian residents who have limited or no credit history—like students and newcomers.”
One big question: Will prospective cardholders worry about their privacy? A year ago, a high-profile investigation by the federal and provincial privacy commissioners found the Tim Hortons app collected vast amounts of users’ data, including very precise details about their movements even while they weren’t using it, without adequately informing them.
The data it collects through the combination of its loyalty program and credit-card offering will give it more information about its customers’ habits.
“We have enhanced our approach to privacy governance and strengthened our internal teams that are dedicated to implementing privacy and security best practices,” Tim Hortons’ Oliveira said in an email. “We’re continuing to focus on ensuring that guests can make informed decisions about their data when using our app and any new service we may offer.”