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.

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