Loyalty and rewards company Magna on Wednesday disclosed that it has signed 11 new partners after news emerged that its loyalty card is being discontinued by the Hi-Lo supermarket chain.

The company has already updated its website to include new partners Supercare Pharmacy, Molynes Family Pharmacy, El Greco Resort, Good Start Wholesale Supermarket, Queen’s Supermarket, Bashco (Spanish Town) and Sampars Cash and Carry, bringing its total number of partners to 50.

The remaining four new partners — the Pill Box, Quality Traders Supermarket, Icon Distributors and Golden Grocery — have not yet been listed on the company’s website.

Following the report that the GraceKennedy-owned Hi-Lo supermarket chain would discontinue the use of the 10-year-old loyalty rewards programme and instead implement a GraceKennedy value reward card, thus increasing the company’s competition, Magna published a notice to the public.

“We would like to thank the Hi-Lo Foods Stores and Jamaica International Insurance Company for partnering with us since inception and wish them all the very best,” the company wrote.

The discontinuation means that Magna will lose five of its larger clients, including Hi-Lo, First Global Bank, Bill Express, Jamaica International Insurance Company (JIIC), and FX Traders islandwide.

“Magna Rewards encourages cardholders to keep swiping your Magna cards and redeeming your vouchers each time you shop, as we still offer over 200 partner locations islandwide,” the notice continued.

The Magna loyalty and rewards card allows consumers to earn points that can be redeemed for goods and benefits from each shopping experience. Over the years, the cards have grown into a popular product for supermarket and grocery shoppers.

Magna Rewards, which is jointly owned by Neal & Massy Holdings of Trinidad and Prism Services Inc of Barbados, is currently one of the dominant loyalty rewards programmes in Jamaica. The company has also co-branded its card with Scotiabank and Guardian Life, which resulted in an increase in its share of the market.

In July last year, Gervase Warner, president and CEO of the recently rebranded Massy Group, indicated that its Barbados-based general insurance company, Massy United Insurance, wants to enter the insurance sector in Jamaica, deepening its penetration beyond corporate services.

The group also introduced a Massy loyalty card in Trinidad and Barbados that offers rewards across its various consumer lines. The product is expected to be launched in Jamaica.

Currently, the corporate operations in Jamaica are Massy Technologies, formerly Illuminat; Massy Gas Products, formerly Gas Products; Massy Distribution, formerly HD Hopwood; and Massy Trading, formerly Marketing & Distribution.

The group posted a 12.5 per cent increase in revenue in its third quarter 2014 report, moving from TT$635,257 ($11.4 million) a year earlier.

“Profit before tax growth is slowing. Jamaica was the only territory from which double-digit PBT growth was reported, in part because our operations in that country were recovering from a disappointing performance in 2013,” the financials stated.

However, as more players continue to tap into the loyalty and rewards market, Magna Rewards may find itself with increased competition and dwindling revenue earnings.

The Magna loyalty and rewards card allows consumers to earn points that can be redeemed for goods and benefits from each shopping experience.