AUGUST 2018

Migros pilots digital-only promotional campaign
Swiss retailer Migros is running an
entirely digital promotional campaign for
customers who use its app. The federation
of co-op societies – the country’s largest
retailer – began a digital journey in 2016,
relaunching its website and optimising
user experience on all devices. Since
launching its first app in 2014, the retailer
has continued to add new functions.
p Keynote speaker Shivvy Jervis
institutions with digital change. Teenagers
are reinventing money by writing
code. Knowing how to leverage that is
the secret sauce.”
He said the digital age brings
challenges for credit unions – including
the responsibility for members’ data.
“The real battle of the future is in the
back office where all the data sits and
credit unions should be questioning how
fit their back office is,” he added.
Meanwhile, digital tech is becoming
more human, innovation strategist Shivvy
Jervis said in her keynote speech.
“We should think about technology as
a catalyst, a connector and a culture –
something that just doesn’t simply spark
change but remains sustainable and
makes a lasting impact,” she said.
Ms Jervis suggested measures that credit
unions could take, such as increasing
digital IQ, formalising a culture of
innovation and seeing technology as
diffusion across all business lines, rather
than as an IT challenge. She expects a
move from first to second generation
biometrics, with new forms of security
that will use people’s biology to help keep
them and their organisations safe online.
“Talent is key. You need to bring in
the visionaries, radical thinkers and
mavericks to take your digital strategy
forward,” she said.
In terms of creating more value for
customers, delegates heard from Ron
Kaufman, author, leading educator and
motivator. “Organisations need to take
fundamental service principles and put
them to work. The focus isn’t on what
we do, but how it is appreciated by the
person we serve. It’s about curating the
experience, no matter the industry or type
of organisation,” he said.
Eroski launches project to recycle coffee capsules
Coffee capsules are hard to recycle
because they are made from a mix of
aluminium and plastic and include
additional organic waste from coffee. But
Eroski’s scheme will recyle 100% of the
material. Coffee companies producing
capsules have so far set up around 800
recycling points across Spain, but Eroski
is the first major supermarket in Spain to
adopt the measure.
Paraguayan Senate approves co-op exemption from VAT
Co-operatives in Paraguay will no
longer have to pay VAT when trading
with their members. The country’s
Senate approved an amendment to
the Co-operative Law, which proposes
eliminating VAT on activities performed
by co-op members, such as taking loans
from the co-op, or activities between
various co-operatives.
Argentinian recycling co-op wages war on plastic waste
A waste recycling co-op in Corrientes, a
city on Argentina’s northern border, is
playing a key role in efforts to eliminate
plastic pollution from the streets. The
waste is put into a press which compacts
400kg of plastic every 40 minutes, and
the bales are collected– with the profit
generating income for the co-op.
High security prison inmates form worker co-op
Inmates at a maximum-security prison in
Guayama, Puerto Rico, are now members
of a worker co-op. Announcing the launch
on 17 July, Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo
Rosselló Nevares said the business would
enable inmates to work. They will offer
a range of services, including T-shirt
printing, sewing and cabinet making.
AUGUST 2018 | 21