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Subway New Zealand has launched an electronic pre-pay card and loyalty system, proving once again that this country is an excellent testing ground for the international fast-food business.
Last week, Burger King's New Zealand operator said that global bosses were looking at adapting its Crown Jewels range of gourmet hamburgers.
The new Subway card can be loaded with any amount up to $500, with rewards and balances scanned at stores and updated in real time.
The Subcard can be used to pay for purchases of more than $3. It replaces a cardboard loyalty card used overseas that was phased out here this year.
Subway Restaurants development agent Mark Rutherglen said the initiative for the 168 local franchises was being closely watched by Subway in Australia and at head office in Milford, Connecticut.
Another Subway spokesman, Marcus Griffin, said New Zealand was technologically more advanced than a lot of Subway territories and because it was a small market, innovations were easier to introduce.
Griffin said that in October Subway became the first fast-food outlet to provide integrated order channels across SMS and online ordering.
He agreed that the $500 maximum was a large commitment for fast food.
But it could be marketed for use by organisations such as sports teams that bought Subway's filled-roll products in bulk.
