Co-op Bookshop is giving away $45 million in a customer acquisition campaign tie-up with ME Bank

FINALLY, some good news for students (and former students). The Co-op Bookshop is giving away $45 million to its members. But there’s a massive catch.

Stack of Australian Dollars. Australian money. $100 bill stacks. Thinkstock

THE Co-op Bookshop is opening its coffers and giving away a mammoth $45 million to its members. But there is a huge catch.

First, you can’t pocket $45 million on your own, your share of the overall kitty is $25 — essentially getting your membership fee refunded.

But you can’t just walk into a Co-op store, hold out your hand and be bestowed with some crisp notes. The massive asterisk is that to get your $25, you have to sign up for a ME Bank account.

That’s right, it’s a marketing ploy to get you to switch banks.

Co-op has teamed up with ME Bank in an acquisition campaign to gain new banking customers. If you switch over, you get your own spanking new Co-op membership card, which will be linked to a ME Bank everyday transaction account and it will come pre-loaded with the promised 25 smackeroos.

Look at all those heady titles.

“That’s 25 bucks for switching to a new card with more functions,” Co-op chief executive Peter Knock said in a statement. “It costs nothing to switch and members can spend their $25 on whatever they want, whether that’s a round of beers at the uni bar or an epic karaoke night. Who knows, they may even choose to spend it with the Co-op.”

Every current or former university student in Australia since 1958 would be familiar with the Co-op Bookshop and the twice-yearly line-up for textbooks. The Co-op has signed up 1.8 million members in over five decades.

Considering it will be highly unlikely all 1.8 million of its members will sign up to the program, the Co-op won’t be paying out anywhere near $45 million. It would also be interesting to know if the Co-op will get a commission for every member it converts to ME Bank. (The Co-op has declined to comment on this point).

The Co-op is a not-for-profit venture which invests its profits back into student life at universities in the form of scholarships or sponsorships.

The Co-op Bookshop has lost its near-monopoly on the tertiary textbook market in recent years with increased competition from the likes of Amazon and Booktopia or rental schemes such as Jekkle or Zookal.