As consumers’ expectations of loyalty programs continue to grow, RewardsNOW has added to their roster a new Vice President of Sales. Jeff Weikert, whose resume includes positions at Deloitte, SunTrust and BoA, talked with PYMNTS.com about what makes RewardsNOW’s programs and platform unique in this highly-competitive space.
(Related Article: RewardsNOW Hires Jeff Weikert as Vice President of Sale)
PYMNTS.com: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got into payments and what it means to be Vice President of Sales at RewardsNOW?
JEFF WEIKERT: I’ve been in and around the financial services industry for 30 years at several notable firms like Deloitte and Touche, SunTrust, Bank of America, and more recently, a long stint at CheckFree (now part of Fiserv). CheckFree was where I “cut my payments teeth” during the high growth period for electronic billing and payment. Leading the RewardsNOW sales team is a chance for me to leverage my prior experience and gets me directly engaged with the financial institutions I have served over the years.
PYMNTS: What was most attractive about RewardsNOW, and what was the driving factor to join the company?
WEIKERT: Being the Head of Sales at RewardsNOW at this time presents a wonderful opportunity as the rewards/loyalty space is a growing, dynamic and exciting one. What is most attractive to me with this opportunity is rewards/loyalty among consumers and small businesses is quickly becoming as ubiquitous as online bill payment became a few years ago. Consumers, in particular, have come to expect robust rewards programs for being loyal customers of their financial institutions and that bodes well for us.
PYMNTS: PYMNTS.com is all about “what’s next” in payments. How will you, in your role, help RewardsNOW define “what’s next” ?
WEIKERT: RewardsNOW, while well-positioned in the financial services industry, has a very capable platform that can extend beyond banks and credit unions and into other segments outside of financial services. In my role, my team and I will be at the forefront in the market and have access to the developing needs of customers and prospects of all shapes and sizes and that “market input” will be valuable in helping us shape our future offerings. One of things we are very excited about is the ability to offer enterprise-wide rewards programs that can even include a merchant-funded component which is a powerful combination.
PYMNTS: Who or what has been your biggest influence in your career?
WEIKERT: In my long career, I have been fortunate to have had several great leaders to learn from and emulate like Pete Kight and Mark A. Johnson of CheckFree. However, the leader who has been most influential to me personally was Matt Lewis (who was the General Manager of the Electronic Commerce Division at CheckFree while I was there). I learned quite a bit from Matt over several years and he instilled in me a strong customer focus, the importance of direct communication, and leading by example. These are attributes I hope to carry with me at RewardsNow.
Bio: Jeff’s responsibilities include managing the overall sales efforts including development of channel partners for RewardsNOW. Before joining the firm, Jeff spent 30 years in the financial services industry in a variety of executive roles. Most recently, Jeff was Executive Vice President of Business Development at Verient, Inc. an innovative Silicon Valley start up in the “smart payments” space. Prior to Verient, Jeff served as Senior Vice President and GM of the bill payment business unit at CheckFree Corp. where he was responsible for managing the business unit’s overall efforts including sales, account management, product management, marketing and business policy serving top financial institutions in the US. In addition, Jeff has worked for notable firms such as Bank of America, SunTrust and Deloitte & Touche. Jeff earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton (Ohio) and his Masters in Business Administration from Georgia State University.
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