> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.impact.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/product-promotions/card-linked-offers-clo-explained.md).

# Card-Linked Offers (CLO) Explained

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Card-Linked Offers (CLO) let shoppers register their credit or debit cards with a rewards or loyalty program to access discounts, cashback, and other offers. You work with the partner that runs the rewards or loyalty program to promote your offers to their members. This helps you reach shoppers who may not use traditional partners. CLO purchases are identified through the linked card instead of a tracking link or cookie, so CLO captures both online and in-store sales.

## How CLO works

A CLO partner is like any other partner in your program, but they use bank transaction data instead of tracking links to show which sales they drove. Your partner receives this data directly from the bank or financial institution through secure APIs, then submits it to impact.com. This lets you manage your CLO conversions and partner payments alongside the rest of your program.

1. **The shopper links their card.** They register their credit or debit card with your CLO partner's rewards or loyalty program and activate the offer.
2. **The shopper makes a purchase.** They use their linked card to shop with you online or in-store.
3. **Your CLO partner reports the sale.** They use your Merchant Identification Numbers (MIDs) to identify purchases made with you, then upload them to impact.com using the CLO event type you set up in your program.
4. **You approve the actions, and everyone gets paid.** Transactions appear as [pending actions](/partner/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/action-management/where-can-i-see-my-pending-actions-as-a-partner.md) in your account and are approved manually or based on your contract terms. impact.com pays your partner based on those terms, and your partner gives the shopper their cashback or reward points.

## Benefits of CLO

* **Increase sales and conversions**

  CLO has been shown to boost return on investment, conversion rates, and average order value. Visit our [blog post](https://impact.com/partnerships/reimagine-rewards-with-card-linked-offers/) for more information.
* **Acquire new customers**

  CLO can be a great way to find new customers by having your brand and your offers exposed to millions of cardholders—many of whom may not be shopping through traditional partner channels.
* **Target the right customers**

  CLO partners have useful data about their users, allowing them to offer targeting capabilities, such as new or existing customer targeting, geo-targeting and more. They can also run incrementality testing to ensure that they are driving incremental performance.
* **Capture in-store sales**

  Since purchases are identified through the linked card, in-store sales are captured just as easily as online ones. If you have brick-and-mortar stores, you can use CLO to drive customers in-store and even to specific locations.
* **Reduce fraud**

  With CLO, the transaction data comes directly from banks or financial institutions, which makes it highly accurate and minimizes fraud.
* **Drive sales without discounting**

  Shoppers receive rewards for completing purchases, yet they generally pay the full price at the point of sale. CLO is a good way for you to incentivize sales without needing to constantly offer discounts.

## CLO limitations

* **No de-duplication:** CLO partners do not receive your internal Order ID, so impact.com cannot de-duplicate CLO transactions against other partner activity.
* **Returns require partner handling:** Returns cannot be directly matched to the original transaction. Your CLO partner may pre-filter returns or issue a lump-sum reimbursement.
* **Varying targeting:** Targeting and incrementality reporting depend on the bank or financial institution running the offer. In some instances, targeting and/or incrementality reporting may not be available.

For details and workarounds, see the [CLO FAQs](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/product-promotions/card-linked-offers-clo-faqs.md).

## Set up CLO

To start working with partners on CLO, you need to create a dedicated CLO event type, add it to your contract terms with the partner, and share your program details with them. Follow the [CLO Implementation Guide](https://integrations.impact.com/integration-guides/for-brands/tracking-integrations/card-linked-offers-beta) for step-by-step instructions.

## Discover CLO partners

impact.com offers a [curated list of partners](https://app.impact.com/secure/advertiser/discover/radius/fr/partner_discover.ihtml?page=marketplace\&slideout_id_type=partner\&utm_source=confluence\&utm_campaign=DiscoverCollectionEMEA\&utm_medium=csm\&utm_content=url\&utm_term=clo_emea#businessModels=all\&partnerStatuses=1,2\&q=etags:46559\&relationshipStates=5,1,3,6,2\&sortBy=relevance\&sortOrder=DESC) within the marketplace that make use of CLO. To find partners for your region, browse this list.


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