South African loyalty programmes have achieved unprecedented success at the 17th annual International Loyalty Awards, claiming top honours across the retail, banking, telecommunications, and health/leisure sectors. These victories, announced at the first-ever awards ceremony hosted in the United States, highlight South Africa’s role in shaping the future of customer engagement on a global stage. We already know that South Africa is a mature loyalty market with 85% of South Africans using loyalty programmes – according to The Truth and BrandMapp Loyalty Whitepaper 2025/6.
FNB eBucks led the global stage with a remarkable three awards, including the prestigious title of 2026 International Loyalty Programme of the Year – Africa. The programme also secured wins for Best B2B Loyalty Programme Worldwide and Best Global Loyalty Programme/Initiative – Financial Services. Judges praised eBucks as a “global benchmark!”, highlighting its ability to meaningfully engage a diverse customer base ranging from social grant recipients to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. South Africa based loyalty consultancy firm, Truth Loyalty’s CEO is a long-standing judge at The International Loyalty Awards and supports such praise for this hat trick of accolades.
In the retail sector, TFG (The Foschini Group) was recognised with two major awards: Global Leader in Loyalty Industry Innovation and Best Use of Technology Worldwide in Loyalty. TFG Rewards was celebrated for its “One TFG” philosophy and its industry-first “Agentic Campaign Management,” which utilises collaborating AI agents to handle the nuances of multi-brand communication and deliver hyper-personalisation at scale.
South African excellence extended into telecommunications and wellness also:
- Vodacom South Africa’s VodaBucks won Best Gamification Worldwide for Loyalty Enhancement. Judges described the programme as a “standout example” of how strategic game mechanics, such as the V-Up game, can drive commercial growth and meaningful engagement.
- Virgin Active Rewards took home the award for Best Loyalty Initiative within Leisure, Experience & Entertainment. The initiative was described as a “behaviour-change platform” that successfully guides members toward forming long-term healthy habits through personalised goals and recognition.
Personal recognition was also given to Earle Cloete of Spur Corporation, as a “Loyalty Pioneer”. This award celebrates his sustained contribution to the industry, tracing a career that began in a call centre and progressed to overseeing a complex loyalty ecosystem that serves as a primary growth driver for Spur Corporation’s restaurant brands.
Truth Loyalty’s CEO, Amanda Cromhout states: “South African winners captured the attention of the global judges through bold thinking and real-customer impact. They are not only setting the standard, they are raising it year on year.”