BPS Technology, the operator of the BarterCard system, has teamed up with Gruden Group, a digital marketing company, to offer a combined payments, rewards and marketing service.Linking payments and rewards in a seamless (and cardless) fashion is the new frontier in payments and some big financial institutions, such as Commonwealth Bank, have been trialling systems with retailers.Under the terms of the agreement Gruden will incorporate BPS's payments and rewards system, bucqi, and its small business "enablement platform" into its digital marketing platform.Gruden services business in the restaurant, leisure, hospitality and retail sectors."Businesses are looking for simple, cost-effective technology that drives consumers to their stores, allows them to transact and provides loyalty points programs," said BPS Technology chief executive Trevor Dietz in a media release.Dietz said the two companies would offer "an extremely powerful marketing, payments and loyalty platform."