Some companies are cancelling loyalty programs due to GDPR

The end of discount cards? In the wake of GDPR, many retailers have been forced to ask customers for consent to process personal data again. And some have ended their loyalty programmes altogether as a result.

Everyone has at least one customer card in their wallet these days. However, it is possible that since 25 May, when the General Data Protection Regulation came into force, this card will no longer be valid.

GDPR tightens the conditions for handling personal data and regulates the rules for storing it. Many previously concluded contracts do not comply with these new conditions. Companies offering customers various discount cards often have no choice but to request consent to process personal data.

This consent must also meet a number of criteria - it must be clear and visible (it cannot, for example, be hidden in the terms and conditions).

"Simply saying that you agree to the processing of your personal data will definitely not be enough," explains Martin Cach, a member of the Society for Personal Data Protection, adding: "There must be more information - such as the purpose of the processing, the entities that will have access to your data, and any intention to transfer your data outside the European Union."

As a result, some companies will dissolve their loyalty programmes altogether instead of modifying the forms and sending them out again.

The GDPR does not necessarily mandate that companies redesign or even cancel loyalty programs. "The GDPR says that processing that is based on consent continues, but not where that consent was coerced and not given voluntarily," concludes Jiří Žůrek, Director of the Consultation Agencies Department of the Office for Personal Data Protection.

Do you offer discount programs to your customers and are unsure whether the adjustments to obtaining consent to process personal data also affect you? We have colleagues on our team who specialise in loyalty programmes in relation to GDPR and are ready to help you too. Contact us.