In a partnership announced today, MasterCard and shopkick, the largest real-world shopping app, offer cardholders the ability to earn kicksTM, a proprietary reward currency, when they link their card to shopkick's Buy & Collect program and make qualifying purchases. kicks can be redeemed for gift cards, music downloads, movie tickets or other offers.

In addition to everyday opportunities to earn kicks, consumers will receive 250 bonus kicks for each MasterCard card they link to the Buy & Collect program, for a limited time during the kickoff period.

"Our partnership with shopkick helps us continue to meet our cardholders' demand for great deals and a more 'rewarding' shopping experience," said Mario Shiliashki, group head, Emerging Payments, MasterCard. "We'll be able to help consumers maximize rewards while also supporting their interests and passions, all through the simple download of the app and linking their MasterCard card. At the same time, our merchant partners will benefit from a deeper engagement with their customers."

The MasterCard-shopkick relationship will leverage best-in-class tools and analytics to help merchants increase sales and better measure the effectiveness of their location-based marketing efforts.

"As 'showrooming' becomes more and more of a threat to physical stores, shopkick and MasterCard can help retailers retain customers by offering rewards for in-store shopping," said Cyriac Roeding, co-founder and CEO of shopkick. "Over the past nearly two years, we have expanded our partner network of retailers, brands and financial partners to create the most powerful coalition rewards program in the U.S. The addition of MasterCard significantly increases shopkick's reach and its benefits to cardholders and partner retailers."

At the core of the shopkick mobile shopping app is the patent-pending "shopkick Signal" ultra-precise location technology, which detects its presence in partner stores accurately and seamlessly, automatically crediting rewards to the right account and delivering relevant offers. Cardholders interested in maximizing their rewards earning potential need to opt-in to the Buy & Collect program, as part of a joint commitment to maintaining the highest levels of privacy and security.

Shoppers who link their MasterCard card to Buy & Collect will qualify for offers such as "spend $40 and receive 250 kicks" at retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters, Arden B., Crate and Barrel, Old Navy, Toys"R"Us and Wet Seal.