Cardholders Show How Financing Has Made a Difference in Their Lives

Dateline:
STAMFORD, Conn.

Public Company Information:
NYSE: SYF

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Synchrony Financial, a premier consumer financial services company with 80 years of retail heritage, today announced the winners of its “Buy It. Snap It. Win It.” contest, which gave cardholders of our Payment Solutions merchants a chance to share products they’ve purchased, why or how the items impacted their lives, and the value of financing them.

Eligible entrants were asked to take a photograph of an item purchased with a Synchrony Bank-issued card between August 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015 and explain in 200 words or less what they love about the purchase. The contest, held in March, drew more than 9,000 entries with many personal stories of why cardholders made the purchase, as well as how financing made their purchases possible. Entries were made via the www.mysynchrony.com/winit web site.

Jason Haskins’ grand prize entry reflected the creativity of winning entries by injecting a little humor into his need for a new refrigerator:

“Twas the night before the weekend and I needed a drink. I opened my fridge and didn't know what to think. The air inside was humid, the coolness on hold. The water was lukewarm, but the freezer side was frozen cold. After 14 years, my old Frigidaire was feeling ill. It had stopped making ice of its own free will. It was evident for some time that we would soon need to part, I just didn’t realize that this was how my weekend would start! On Saturday morning, off to HH Gregg the wife and I went to get a replacement, save our food, and hopefully, save some cents. We found a new Frigidaire, delivered the following day, and our freezer items we were able to spare. Thanks to HHGregg and our account with Synchrony!”

“We were impressed by the passion cardholders held for these special purchases, and the creativity they expressed in their entries,” said Glenn Marino, executive vice president and CEO of Payment Solutions for Synchrony Financial. “It really underscores that financing is more than a convenient way to pay for products. It’s an important way to fulfill dreams and desires and bring happiness into people’s lives.”

Three grand prize winners were awarded $5,000 in cash and gift cards and five first place winners were awarded a $500 gift card to a participating Payment Solutions merchant of their choosing.

The winning entries, all of which can be viewed at the contest web site, are:

Grand Prizes

• Arisa Field of Centennial, Colo., who purchased a Husqvarna/Viking embroidery machine.
• Joseph Tresick of Clinton Township, Mich., who purchased an engagement ring from Precision Jewelers.
• Jason Haskins of Charlotte, N.C., who purchased a refrigerator from HH Gregg.

First Prizes

• Joan Contino of Clovis, Calif., who purchased bedroom furniture from Ashley Furniture.
• Robin Mierzejewski of Round Rock, Tex., who purchased furniture from Haverty’s.
• Eurydice Darrington of Bakersfield, Calif., who purchased a sewing machine from Sewing Machine Warehouse.
• John Zanzi of Elk Grove, Calif., who purchased a guitar from Encore Music.
• Patrick Batterton of Houston, Texas, who purchased an engagement ring from Reiner’s Fine Jewelry.

Payment Solutions is one of Synchrony Financial’s consumer financing platforms, providing promotional financing to make major consumer purchases more possible and convenient. It offers private label credit cards and installment loans via customized credit programs for national and regional retailers, manufacturers, buying groups and industry associations, and has partners that operate in product markets, including home furnishings, electronics, jewelry, musical instruments and appliances.

Synchrony Financial research shows the importance of financing for major purchase shoppers.* In the 2014 Major Purchase Consumer Study, 76% of cardholders surveyed said they always seek promotional financing options when making a major purchase and 77% said it was very important factor when choosing a retailer.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), formerly GE Capital Retail Finance, is one of the premier consumer financial services companies in the United States. Our roots in consumer finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States based on purchase volume and receivables. We provide a range of credit products through programs we have established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers to help generate growth for our partners and offer financial flexibility to our customers. Through our partners’ approximately 300,000 locations across the United States and Canada, and their websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers a variety of credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services. Our offerings include private label and co-branded Dual Card credit cards, promotional financing and installment lending, loyalty programs and Optimizer^+plus branded FDIC-insured savings products through Synchrony Bank. More information can be found at www.synchronyfinancial.com and twitter.com/SYFNews.

*Conducted by a third party, the Synchrony Financial 2014 Major Purchase Consumer Study explores the customer path to purchase and surveyed consumers who had either made, or planned to make a $500+ purchase in one of 12 categories.

©2015 Synchrony Bank/Synchrony Financial, All rights reserved.

Contact:

Synchrony Financial
(855) 791-8007
media.relations@synchronyfinancial.com