HSBC and Pathmark to Launch Industry-Leading Supermarket
Loyalty Rewards Payment Card Program

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HSBC Finance Corporation’s card and retail services business and Pathmark Stores, Inc. have entered into an agreement to offer a multi-purpose rewards and payment card for supermarket customers. The new Pathmark Advantage Payment Card enhances the current Pathmark Advantage Club card by providing an easy and superior one-swipe payment process that also generates loyalty rewards.

“Using this cutting-edge technology will afford the consumer the added convenience of paying for their purchases with their loyalty card and simplify the transaction process. We anticipate a successful test launch and eventually rolling out the program throughout the entire chain.”

A pilot launch is planned for later this year at a select number of stores in New York. The Pathmark Advantage Payment Card program is the first of its kind for a major supermarket chain in the United States that combines loyalty and rewards with decoupled debit functionality all on one card. For Pathmark, the new card provides a unique and cost-effective solution to reward loyal shoppers without having to make any changes at the point-of-sale or sacrificing any efficiencies in customer service.

The key benefit to customers is that the Pathmark Advantage Payment Card links a customer’s Advantage Club card to their existing bank checking account, offering customers a convenient way to earn rewards and pay for purchases with PIN debit, all on a single Pathmark-branded card.

“We are committed to delivering robust and cost-effective solutions that help our merchants like Pathmark grow sales and differentiate their brand,” said Joe Hoff, managing director, retail services, for HSBC. “Our innovative card program provides a powerful tool to streamline operations, while rewarding loyal customers.”

“We believe that the Pathmark Advantage Payment Card will provide greater efficiencies for our customers,” stated John Derderian, Pathmark’s executive vice president of business strategy and marketing. “Using this cutting-edge technology will afford the consumer the added convenience of paying for their purchases with their loyalty card and simplify the transaction process. We anticipate a successful test launch and eventually rolling out the program throughout the entire chain.”

HSBC card and retail services issues merchant-branded payment cards for premier retailers and manufacturers, and is among the largest issuers of credit cards in the United States. The new Pathmark-branded loyalty rewards payment card is offered under HSBC’s OptiPay loyalty rewards PIN-payment program, leveraging the Tempo™ Payment Platform and the Tempo™ Payment Network. HSBC’s OptiPay program helps retailers manage their checkout costs, engender customer loyalty, and provide consumers with their choice of payment options.

In addition to in-store payments and rewards, Pathmark customers will be able to use the new loyalty rewards payment card at more than 200,000 merchant locations in the U.S. that participate in the Tempo Payment Network.

About HSBC Finance Corporation

HSBC Finance Corporation is a subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings Inc., one of the top 10 financial organizations in the United States with assets totalling more than $500 billion. HSBC Finance Corporation’s subsidiaries provide real estate secured loans, auto loans, general purpose credit cards, private label credit cards, personal non-credit card loans, taxpayer financial services and specialty insurance products.

About Pathmark

Pathmark is a regional supermarket chain currently operating 141 supermarkets in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. Additional information about Pathmark may be found at its web site, www.pathmark.com.

About Tempo

Tempo is the leading provider of innovative card payment solutions, combining an open payment platform with a low-interchange national payment network. The company's Tempo Payment Platform is a hosted, flexible solution that enables innovative payment card solutions such as decoupled debit programs and access to the PIN-based Tempo Payment Network as well as other leading payment networks. Tempo is privately held and is headquartered in San Mateo, CA. For additional information, visit www.tempo.com.