Company Overview
Cormac Quinn is Founder & CEO of loyalBe, the company that connects brands to over 600 banks, networks, and fintech programs across 40+ markets through a single unified platform, allowing them to reach over 300 million prospective customers.all-in-one platform for health insurance agencies, brokers, and TPAs. Learn more at https://loyalbe.io.
Can you tell us a little about your background before starting at your company?
My background is technical, starting with an MSc in Computer Science from Queen’s University Belfast. My masters thesis was on Machine Learning, which sparked my fascination with how data can drive consumer behaviour. My first real exposure to the rewards space was during my time at American Express, where I worked on enterprise web applications driving benefits to premium card members. Later, as a Software Engineer at Kainos, I helped build software used by millions of people. That combination of understanding the mechanics of reward programs, data and knowing how to build highly scalable, secure infrastructure, ultimately laid the foundation for loyalBe.
How did you start at your company? What were the first steps you took to get it off the ground and how did you identify the need for your product/service in the market?
The current iteration of loyalBe is actually the result of a strategic pivot. We initially launched as a loyalty tool for SMEs, using Open Banking to track consumer purchases and issue reward points. While the technology worked, the unit economics and the friction involved in scaling a highly fragmented SME market simply did not make long-term sense. We realised we needed a model with built-in network effects and better leverage. Aproximately two years ago, we made the decision to pivot and reposition loyalBe as a Card Linked Offer (CLO) network. The first critical step was validating the two-sided marketplace – proving we could effectively source compelling cashback offers from brands and distribute them at scale to consumers via established card networks, banks, and fintechs. Once we saw that alignment of incentives, we knew we had identified a far more scalable market need.
What innovations or unique features set your company apart from others in the industry?
Our structural approach to partnerships and privacy sets us apart. Unlike legacy players, we do not provide the underlying core technology for banks to operate their rewards programs. Instead, we provide an API that cleanly plugs in offers to a bank’s existing reward program. We do not need to rip and replace their existing platform, we make it better. Furthermore, our privacy-first approach is uncompromising. We do not have a direct feed to all customer transactions; we only receive data on transactions eligible for cashback. This protects the consumer while still delivering highly accurate, performance-based attribution for the brand.
What has been the most effective strategy for scaling your business?
Our strategy is rooted in leveraging the classic marketplace flywheel. In a two-sided network, you cannot scale one side in isolation. We focused relentlessly on securing high-quality, recognisable brands to supply compelling cashback offers. That density of valuable offers made our network highly attractive to banking and fintech partners looking for relevant offers for their cardholder base. Once you align the incentives – brands get measurable sales, consumers get effortless rewards, and financial institutions increase card usage – the network builds compounding momentum.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for the future of your company?
My goal is to make card-linked offers a staple in every marketer’s toolkit. Historically, this channel has been opaque or difficult for brands to access at scale due to the fragmentation across each banking program and market. We want to democratise the distribution of these offers so that launching a highly targeted, performance-based cashback offer is as simple as launching a standard digital ad. Ultimately, we are building towards a future where consumer rewards are ubiquitous, invisible, and completely frictionless and advertising budgets are allocated most efficiently and effectively.
