FiveStars, provider of the most widely used loyalty automation platform for small and medium businesses in the U.S., announced today that it has worked with Rogers Communications Inc. one of Canada's largest companies and a leader in telecommunications services, to launch Vicinity (www.vicinityrewards.ca), a loyalty solution for Canadian small and medium businesses. This is the first significant launch of "Powered by FiveStars" – FiveStars' international alliances strategy.

"We are excited to be working with Rogers on this initiative," says Victor Ho, co-founder and CEO of FiveStars. "As we assessed our strategy for international expansion, we determined that Canada would be a good first market. Working side-by-side with the Rogers team on their evaluation, we learned that our two companies were well aligned on values and vision. It's a great match. We're looking forward to working closely with Rogers as they roll the program out."

For FiveStars, a company that this month also recorded its ten millionth loyalty purchase, this agreement will mark its official entry into the Canadian market. Additionally, Rogers will be among the first to launch a loyalty automation offering of this type for Canadian small and medium businesses.

"Canadian small businesses are thriving and across the country, they are ready to embrace digital technology that will help to grow their business and deepen customer relationships," says Fiona Lake Waslander, general manager of Vicinity. "We chose FiveStars' platform for our customers because of its technology IP and its easy and seamless implementation for a small or medium business."

FiveStars provides the only loyalty automation platform that can integrate with merchant Point of Sale (POS) systems. Unlike check-in apps such as Foursquare or Belly, the FiveStars Loyalty Automation Platform enables small and medium businesses to drive increased customer spend per visit by rewarding and engaging customers based on their actual spending. FiveStars' approach represents a compelling alternative to daily deals, which often deliver unprofitable one-time customers. By contrast, loyalty automation is about helping companies build long-term customer relationships and increasing customer lifetime value.

With Vicinity, Rogers is targeting the over one million small and medium businesses in Canada who rely on paper punch cards or other non-digital solutions for their loyalty program, if they have one at all. Vicinity will be building its sales team over the coming year to serve these businesses.

FiveStars is regularly approached by potential partners due to its unique, patent-pending POS technology, and plans to launch additional "Powered by FiveStars" international partnerships in the coming year, as it expands its footprint around the world. FiveStars will also continue to grow domestically with its own sales team and in partnership with FiveStars Authorized Resellers.