Ally Financial needed to modernize its employee rewards, recognition, and reimbursement programs by streamlining gift card procurement through its existing system. At the same time, it had to maintain the strict compliance standards required of a regulated financial institution.
The challenge was to integrate these programs into their existing Coupa procurement system without compromising the user experience that would drive employee adoption.
Virtual Incentives, already partnering with Ally on their rewards programs, collaborated with integration specialist Greenwing Technology to create a solution that would satisfy both compliance requirements and user needs.
What emerged was a blueprint for how organizations can streamline gift card procurement while maintaining regulatory compliance and user satisfaction.
The Challenge: Gift Card Procurement Problems
Ally faced a significant compliance and visibility problem when it came to gift card procurement.
Employees often made “rogue spend” purchases in person using corporate cards at places like drugstores or supermarkets. This created zero visibility into spending, no tracking of recipients, and serious compliance gaps.
For a regulated financial institution, rogue spending wasn’t just an inconvenience but a major compliance risk. Gift cards bring their own regulatory complexities, requiring specialized handling for both federal compliance and internal standards.
Multiple use cases made things even harder. Single purchases, bulk orders, employee rewards, customer gifts — each needed different workflows but the same compliance standards.
Ally needed a scalable, compliant, and user-friendly solution for managing gift card distribution through their existing Coupa procurement system.
However, the solution would need to be simple enough that employees would actually use it. If the process was too complex, employees would just revert to their old habit of buying gift cards in person.
The Solution: Seamless Integration
Greenwing stepped in to connect Coupa with Virtual Incentives’ gift card platform. Greenwing designed a flexible, user-friendly interface that could handle every purchasing scenario while maintaining compliance. Key features of the integration included:
- Automated approvals and routing in Coupa
- Real-time order fulfillment through Virtual Incentives
- Consistent compliance enforcement across use cases
The system automatically adjusts to different user needs whether someone’s ordering one card or fifty while keeping compliance standards consistent throughout.
The team actively iterated based on user feedback, ensuring the process was as simple and seamless as possible to drive adoption. They ran multiple revisions as real insights emerged from actual users within Ally’s organization.
This iterative approach set Greenwing apart, as they brought not just technical skills but strategic expertise to guide the process.
Greenwing built a scalable system able to handle unexpected user behaviors and growth over time. They also built in safeguards to prevent issues like cart splitting, invalid email addresses, and other behaviors that could derail the process.
The Collaboration: True Partnership Drives Success
The key to this project was genuine collaboration.
“We solved the problem as a team. Ally wanted something done. Virtual Incentives wanted to be the one to do it. We made it happen together,” explains Jeremy Friedman, Greenwing‘s COO.
Greenwing became a true partner, quickly adjusting when requirements changed and helping both Ally and Virtual Incentives work through technical problems and evolving business needs.
Regular meetings between all teams focused on solving problems together, with the right people addressing each challenge as it came up.
The Results: Streamlined Gift Card Procurement
The integration delivered a streamlined buying process for Ally’s rewards and recognition programs. Employees could now order gift cards through their familiar Coupa system with significant improvements:
- Complete visibility for leadership through proper approval channels
- Full compliance with banking industry requirements
- Seamless request flow to Virtual Incentives
- Rewards available almost instantly (vs. waiting over an hour)
- Onboarding time for new teams dramatically reduced
The launch went smoothly with minimal problems, proving that collaboration and willingness to adapt throughout the project paid off.
This gift card project showcases what’s possible when you challenge the status quo of procurement processes. By connecting systems and prioritizing user experience, we’ve created a blueprint that’s already sparking interest from other companies facing similar challenges.
Ready to elevate your digital rewards fulfillment in Coupa? Let’s connect about how this proven approach can help your team recognize and reward with confidence. [Contact Us]