Desmond Leong’s presentation at the FM Singapore Summit 2026 argued that broker loyalty programs should be treated less as a giveaway scheme and more as a structured retention engine that shapes client behavior across the full lifecycle, from onboarding to re-engagement. The core message was simple: acquisition costs are rising, and brokers that still frame loyalty as “trade more, earn more” are leaving retention, lifetime value, and platform activity on the table.As client acquisition becomes more expensive and broker offerings increasingly converge around the same familiar promises of tight spreads, fast execution, and standard trading platforms, loyalty programs are emerging as a new battleground for differentiation. Brokers Turn to Loyalty as Acquisition Costs Climb Speaking at the Craft Stage during the FM Singapore Summit 2026, Returning.AI CEO Desmond Leong argued that many brokers are approaching the opportunity the wrong way, treating loyalty as a transactional rewards scheme instead of a broader retention system built to influence behaviour, deepen engagement, and ultimately improve lifetime value.Keep reading: “The Question Is No Longer If You Hold Gold, but How and Where You Hold It”: Topics from FM Singapore Summit 2026Leong, whose company develops gamified engagement and loyalty tools for brokers, framed the issue bluntly: the real value of loyalty programs lies not in handing out points after trades, but in creating a retention layer that nudges users through the entire customer journey.In his telling, the strongest programs reward progress, not just volume, meaning brokers should think beyond lots traded and incentivise milestones such as KYC completion, first deposit, first trade, daily activity, and redeposits. From Spins to Streaks: Gamification for Predictable Activity That logic extends even further into social engagement, where some brokers are rewarding clients for liking, commenting on, or reposting company content, turning passive account holders into visible contributors to the brand’s online credibility.One of the clearest themes in the session was that gamification works best when it is tied to repeat behaviour rather than one-off excitement. Leong pointed to the now-common “spin the wheel” mechanic but argued that its real power lies in streaks, multipliers, and routines that pull traders back into the client portal day after day.He described examples in which brokers tied spins to daily logins or activity across multiple asset classes, creating habits that persisted even through holiday periods and quieter trading windows. Controlling Reward Costs Without Killing MotivationThe business logic, he suggested, is less about the short-lived dopamine hit and more about predictability: once traders have built a streak, brokers are in a stronger position to present campaigns, prompts, and redeposit offers while the client is already engaged inside the platform.Cost control formed the second major pillar of his argument. Loyalty programs can quickly become expensive if they simply award more points to bigger traders without any cap or structure, especially when heavy-volume clients are able to redeem top-tier rewards almost immediately. Leong’s proposed fix was to introduce what he called a premium currency, a separate reward layer unlocked after a trader reaches a daily threshold. Rather than presenting this as a hard cap, the broker reframes the experience around unlocking access to benefits that “money can’t buy,” preserving motivation while keeping the underlying economics manageable.Turning Reward Stores Into Trading Engines That same commercial discipline, he argued, should also shape the reward store itself. Aspirational prizes such as iPhones, AirPods, gold bars, or even cars may help attract attention, but they can also alarm finance teams worried about cash leakage and redemption costs. The smarter approach, Leong said, is to redirect value back into the trading ecosystem through non-withdrawable trading credit. By offering clients a slightly higher notional value if they choose credit instead of physical delivery, brokers can make the reward feel more attractive while reducing the true cost of fulfilment.More from then event: “Gold Is Where Speculators Go, Because It’s Cheapest to Leverage”: FM Singapore Summit 2026 NotesThe principle, as he described it, is to maximise perceived value while minimising actual cost. Perhaps the most interesting insight from the session came from his discussion of introducing shared loyalty logic across retail traders and introducing brokers. Many firms still separate the two, building one rewards system for clients and another for partners. Leong said some brokers that aligned the programs more closely saw an unexpected behavioural shift: introducing brokers became less likely to withdraw commissions immediately and more likely to move funds into retail trading accounts in order to participate in the same incentive structure. Aligning IB and Retail IncentivesWhat began as a loyalty design choice, in other words, ended up influencing wallet behaviour and internal fund flows in ways the brokers had not initially planned for.Leong’s final warning was against treating loyalty as a static add-on. In his view, the most effective programs function as a live operating tool for sales and marketing teams, not merely a passive rewards ledger. A broker that sees a client’s activity slowing, for example, can use boosters, streak-saving interventions, or targeted incentives to intervene before churn takes hold. Sales teams, meanwhile, can use spins, points, or limited-time loyalty perks as low-cost closing tools when trying to convert prospects in a market where product differences are often marginal. In Asia especially, he noted, relationship-building still matters, and loyalty mechanics can give brokers a more systematic way to create goodwill at scale.From Cosmetic Feature to Retention Infrastructure Taken together, the presentation was less a celebration of rewards than a critique of shallow incentive design. Leong’s five mistakes all pointed back to the same broader lesson: loyalty programs only work when they are built as part of a broker’s retention, marketing, and revenue strategy rather than bolted on as cosmetic differentiation. At a time when brokers are under pressure to justify acquisition spend and extend client lifetime value, that distinction is becoming harder to ignore. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

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