Bank of America has reportedly started giving credit card rewards to its customers who own electric vehicles under its Customized Cash Reward Credit Card.
For context, BofA initially offered customers a 3% cashback for their gas station transactions. Now, the American investment bank provides the same rewards for using EV charging stations.
“We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our products to align with our clients’ needs and have observed growing demand for electric vehicle charging and streaming services.”
Jason Gaughan, head of Consumer Credit Card Products at BofA
Why?
Bank of America’s move to include EV charging stations in its incentive programs is primarily due to its observation that such transactions grew 44% in H1 2023.
This notable increase in charging transactions significantly demonstrates the progressive adoption of battery-powered vehicles in America.
That said, credit card providers like the BofA strive to develop competitive incentive programs as new spending categories start to emerge.
It is worth noting that BofA is only among the many investment banks to launch EV charging rewards. In January 2022, US Bank also offered EV charging transactions the same incentives it has for gas stations. In addition, Sam’s Club Mastercard launched a cashback of 5% for new EV buyers in May 2022.
See Also:
- Bank of America sees ‘On Semiconductor’ stock surging more than 25% as EV demand grows
- Bank of America predicts lithium surplus in 2023 as demand wanes
- Transportation study highlights barriers to American EVs and sustainable aviation
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed, Twitter is ‘Trending to Breakeven’ following a bankruptcy warning
- States suspend EV incentives due to increasingly huge number of demand
Considering the growing EV adoption, it is only natural for charging transactions to increase. That said, more credit card issuers will likely start offering incentives for EV-related transactions under their reward programs.
The IEA forecasts that EVs will account for 18% of overall vehicle sales in 2023. It further noted that EV sales reached over 2.3 million units in Q1 2023, up 25% YoY.
