TOP 5 PRIORITIES IN BRANDING A FINTECH

THE TOP 5 PRIORITIES IN BRANDING A FINTECH

With fintech at the forefront of innovation in the financial services sector, Finance Monthly here benefits from an insightful outlook into the kinds of challenges fintech firms face, in the midst of growing competition and an ever-increasing customer base. Michael Quirke, Senior Strategist at Brand Union here provides the ultimate breakdown of priorities every fintech.

cial technology (fintech) investment is forecast to grow beyond $150bn over the next few years, and many new market entrants are trying to get in on the game.

The challenge as this evolves is going to be how you stand out. People have to be able to remember your name and who you are. And not everyone can become the Monzo, Xero or TransferWise of this world.

Getting to that space requires a pragmatic approach to branding that takes consideration of the limited factors you have under your control: an often small marketing budget, primarily online touchpoints and (hopefully) an excited team who are eager to spread the word about the new platform. The worries then are consistent with any other company: how do I attract and retain the best talent? How do I meet my growth targets? How do I position this company to scale?

For more technically-minded companies, this ‘softer’ side of creating the brand that people remember can be a challenge. So from our work with Sonovate, a funding platform for recruitment agencies, we wanted to share a few principles from what we’ve learned.

1.     Go back to basics – why are you here?

One of the biggest challenges fintech face is explaining a complex offer. It is very easy to get caught up in industry jargon, or hooked onto a functional sales playbook that served you in a rush when first starting out. People need to understand clearly who you are, what you offer and why they should care. And they’re not waiting to get to know you, so you need to be able to show that in under 3 seconds. Work on making as simple as possible who you are, what you do and why you’re here and you have a good platform for making that creative. Talk it to yourself. It’s healthy.

2.     Know your audience

Another challenge – especially again for technically-minded companies – is thinking in benefits vs product features. You need to know who exactly your customer is and how what you’re pitching fits into their lives. For instance, for Monzo they are very humble and focused about what their product does. It’s there as a pre-pay card, they make it as easy as possible to manage on mobile, and they open up their product roadmap to their community of beta testers to add in feature suggestions as they go. The actual feature set is quite small, but they make the most out of each one by being very diligent in UX design and communicating it well. For them, it is a mass audience of (currently) dedicated tech fans and students, but for you it may be B2B or more niche B2C. Think how you can quickly get a ‘map’ of your audience’s life and world, and make sure all product decisions, features and communications are guided towards fitting in easily there.

3.     Make the most of your touchpoints

Monzo has bright orange debit cards that draw just the right amount of attention when flashed. TransferWise have their sharply designed ads and a pointedly anti-bank tone of voice. Citymapper (not a fintech, but useful analogy) has their “jetpack” or “catapult” ways of travelling in-app. Small touches of delight you add, on top of the basics, make your experience more memorable and, thereby, more sticky. Building stickiness or virality into the design of your products and onboarding experience has more power than any amount of content marketing.

4.     Nurture your community

As more technology companies spring up, covering a wide base of offers, becoming the preferred partner in your category is essential. This means cultivating a community and partnership strategy as soon as possible in your lifecycle – deciding which apps you are going to target to integrate with (see the Slack playbook), and how you are going to reward and engage users to keep them interested. Forming a community platform like Monzo’s has the added benefit of providing regular user feedback, that can feed into the product and brand. On B2B side, the community forum can be doubly effective in helping end-users quickly and elegantly fix issues with the platform; and pass on the experience to friends or family at other businesses.

5.     Communicate, communicate, communicate

Email marketing is a skill in itself, but an essential one to get right. However you contact users (whether in-app or on email), make sure that at all times you are a) putting in place a system to manage any concerns or feedback on new features, b) keeping in line with your core brand positioning and tone of voice (so as not to seem inconsistent or overly sales-y) and c) giving users the opportunity to input into the future of the platform. Whether working with B2C or B2B clients this is a huge advantage, and you can always filter and take your own opinion on responses as they come in.

Branding in the fintech age is a very different proposition from the suave logos and airport ads it used to be. But the same classic rules of knowing what you’re offering and why people should care apply. As long as you are clear enough on these things to let your teams get creative with them, you shouldn’t go far wrong. We look forward to seeing you on-stage at Finovate Europe 2018.

6 Examples of Great Fintech Brands

What makes a Fintech brand great?

It’s an essential question every Fintech marketing team asks themselves when building their brand.

As a market that is continuously pushing the boundaries of financial services and technology, getting the branding right with Fintech can be quite a challenge. Crafting together a logo, auto posting on Buffer and doing a couple of press releases here and there doesn’t work like it used to. The brands of today are literally creating blocks of ice to  attract attention, starting in-depth podcasts and hosting conferences and events. The marketing budgets are getting larger and the strategies more intricate. The main reason? The business model is changing. More on this below. 

Why is having a great Fintech brand important?

The old business model of “bigger numbers and more individual sales” is slowly being overtaken by a new business model: gaining a customer for life and upselling services. With big data, telematics and Open Banking, products can be more personalised than ever. The more you learn about your customer, the better and more tailored your product is: therefore the less likely she is to change provider. This means that customers are looking for brands that not only sell an excellent product, but that aligns with their values and principles. The brands they use are now part of their identity. And when it comes to something as important as personal finance, a brand is not something that’s overlooked.

That’s the main reason branding is important. The second reason is differentiation. Fintech is now a buzzword, with new Fintech companies popping up every month. There’s more and more competition, with some Fintechs offering crazy high interest rates on savings accounts (umm Marcus), constant prize draws and much more in order to acquire customers. Branding is increasingly important in order to differentiate a company from its competitors.

For this reason, taking branding seriously can turn into a competitive advantage. With the huge demand for innovation and better products, following the crowd can actually end up being riskier.

Through my own experience helping Fintechs from around the world build their marketing strategy, I’ve come to learn that customer facing Fintech brands are made of three main things:

1.     Education: most millennials and individuals find finances confusing or full of jargon, so Fintechs take on the role of educating customers.

2.     Trust: bank and financial institutions don’t have great reputations, so Fintechs have even more work to do in order to build trust with their customers (education ties in well with this).

3.     Customer experience: younger generations expect the same level of service they get with Uber, Google and Apple. Fintechs need to offer a personalised and intuitive user experience.

A successful Fintech brand is one which combines those three components above in a unique way. Easy? Definitely not. But rewarding and fun? Oh yes (that’s kind of why I do it!).

Bank : fintech in the banking and financial sector normally offers their services in the form of products, applications , business processes, and business models. The major target niche areas for fintech in this sector are from the consumer and commercial lending and payments space.

FINTECHS IN THE CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL LENDING SPACE

One of the core business of banks and financial institutions is lending and borrowing money .traditional  banks and financial institutions have provided variants of products and services in this area to their customers over the last several years. The technological evolution in this space has helped the banks to customize and reintroduce some of these products and services for easy consumer acceptance .however ,it has always been a challenge for new start -ups , small business firms, and a select group of individuals in availing that facility of loans and collaterals granted to them

Fintech entered this business to provide the facility of lending and borrowing money online to both individuals and businesses.

Visa Inc.  (also known as Visa, stylized as VISA) is an American Multinational Financial services  corporation headquartered in foster City California  United States. It facilitates  Electronic fund transfer  throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit card ,debit card  and prepaid cards ^.Visa does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers; rather, Visa provides financial institutions with Visa-branded payment products that they then use to offer credit, debit, prepaid and cash-access programs to their customers. In 2015, the Nilson Report, a publication that tracks the credit card industry, found that Visa's global network (known as Visa Net) processed 100 billion transactions during 2014 with a total volume of US$6.8 trillion.

It was established in 1958 by Bank of America  (BofA) as the Bank America card credit card program. In response to competitor Master Charge (now master card  ), BofA began to license the Bank  America card program to other financial institutions in 1966. By 1970, BofA gave up direct control of the Bank Ameri  card program, forming a consortium with the other various  Bank Ameri card issuer banks to take over its management. It was then renamed Visa in 1976.

Visa has operations across all six continents. Nearly all Visa transactions worldwide are processed through the company's directly operated Visa Net at one of four secure data centre located in  Ashburn , virginia ,highlands ranch ,Colorado ,london, england These facilities are heavily secured against natural disasters, crime, and terrorism; can operate independently of each other and from external utilities if necessary; and can handle up to 30,000 simultaneous transactions and up to 100 billion computations every second.

Visa is the world's second-largest card payment organization (debit and credit cards combined), after being surpassed by china union pay   in 2015, based on annual value of card payments transacted and number of issued cards.

CO BRANDING BY VISA CARD

How is Visa involved in a co-branded card program? 

Visa's role is to support its co-brand partners through advertising and marketing programs that encourage the use of Visa cards. Visa will be happy to assist you in finding an issuer, but you need to contact the issuers and make your own proposal.

ADVANTAGES OF VISA CARD

While the biggest advantage of a Visa card may be its worldwide acceptance, yours may include helpful benefits such as purchase protection and travel insurance. You'll find more perks with higher-tier Visa Signature and Infinite products.

Visa cards (both Visa credit and debit cards) have wide acceptance (by merchants who accept credit cards) in most parts of the world.

Terms and conditions of Visa vary (both by country and by issuer), so while there is commonly a grace period during which no interest is charged (assuming the statement balance is paid in full each month), this may not be true in every case.

·         Accepted worldwide. Co-branded cards are international cards. ...

·         Rewards Customer Loyalty. It is a unique way for the card issuer as well as the affiliate merchant to reward their loyal customers. ...

·         Freebies for the customers. ...

·         Customized to lifestyle requirements. ...

·         Fee waivers. 

CO BRANDING

Co-branding opportunities allow you to launch a brand new product and divide the expenses together with your partner.

With this, you’ll gain visibility, and reach a new audience. When two brands come together to form a co-branding and partnership they automatically are given the opportunity to gain the interest of each other’s market.

It can help your start up in establishing credibility . The consumers who are already in love with one brand will automatically trust the newly introduced product.

Benefits of Co-branding

·         Create financial benefits

·         Provide customers with greater value

·         Improve on a property’s overall image

·         Strengthen an operation’s competitive position

·         Create operational advantages

Conclusion

Brands are looking to partnerships that improve their brand descriptions and boost awareness in a cost-effective and united, combining two brand budgets and marketing channels.For partnerships to work, they must be win/win for all players. The target audiences , brand price/value insights, and level of performance must be well matched.

Karuna Nayak

Manager Fintech

Air Crews Aviation Pvt . Ltd  

www.AircrewsAviation.com

karunanayak.aircrews@gmail.com

Aircrews.karunanayak@gmail.com

Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/karuna.nayak.37819959

Linkedin-  https://www.linkedin.com/in/karuna-nayak-1856901a6 

Shivam Sahu

Shivam Sahu was born on 2nd September 1998. He was born and brought up in Kanpur. He was a student of science from PCB stream but then turned up to take MBA and is currently pursuing the same from AKTU with a specialization in HR.

He shows active participation in various college events, and is keenly interested in sports activities.

As management student he is comfortable in MS-office, MS word, excel and HTML.

His team building spirit and dedication towards his work make him stand out.

He completed his schooling from oxford model senior secondary school, Kanpur. In his school time he was active in various events and competitions and was the head coordinator in school annual event in the year 2016. And also participated in various running and sports competitions. In his free time he loves to travel and study about history and biology.

He has a keen and observing mind & possesses great analytical And Logical skills. As a fresher, seeks to work with a company at a position that can give him chance to improve his skills and a chance To grow

He is a diligent and quick learner and a team player & shall be committed to use his skills in the best possible way for the further growth of company.

Shivam Sahu (MBA)

Shivamsahu755@gmail.com

Position of responsibility:-

 Event coordinator at the annual event of the school.

 Event coordinator at FUN-FEASTA held in college this year.

 Class- representative at the current batch of MBA.

Certifications:-

 TCS ion certification for interpersonal skills.

 Certificate in advance excel from Internshala.

 Certificate in digital marketing from Google.

Social media links:-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shivam.sahu.399488

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SHIVAM02011998?s=09

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivam-sahu-a4bb40198

Importance of Branding for FinTech Companies

the Importance of Branding for FinTech Companies:

Branding. It’s one of those things too easily

forgotten about – especially by startup tech companies. Tech entrepreneurs, be they in the realms of SaaS or something like FinTech, very easily fall so blindly in love with their solution that they start to believe that it will simply sell itself. And that may be true – to a certain extent. We have worked with many tech companies whose solution is so brilliant that significant business growth has been achieved through word-of-mouth alone. Strategic inbound marketing practices of course, have been put into place to facilitate such word-of-mouth growth, but when a new piece of technology really is as good as it says on the tin, then the product alone can often be enough to get the company off the ground. However, “getting off the ground” is just the first step. For a tech company to become a true success in an increasingly competitive and crowded world, then it needs a strategy to get it flying. And this is why branding for tech companies is so important. If there’s one thing about personality, we could say that it is decidedly human (leaving all the charms of dogs and parrots aside for the moment). 

And if there’s one thing about technology, then we could equally say that it is decidedly inhuman.Branding for technology companies is all about injecting humanness into tech. And this is important because, unlike other sectors where there tends to be plenty of occasion for human interaction, the modern technology company often exists almost entirely online, with users simply interacting with a website over the whole time that they are customers. Tech companies, as such, can tend to forgo a true branding strategy in place of focusing on improving the technology on offer, delivering additional feature sets, or improving the price-performance of the product. These can all be deemed as short-term product marketing tactics, whereas brand building is a strategy that looks to the long-term, with the ultimate purpose of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Good branding adds real, tangible value to the technology solutions that you’re selling, and indeed, when all’s said and done, it’s the brand to which customers stay loyal, for, in all likelihood, there are plenty of other similar solutions to yours that they could be doing business with instead.

---Co-branding for FinTech Companies:

Partnerships are not just an emerging trend. They are a new core competency for financial institutions. As partnerships continue to grow in number and evolve in structure, including fintechs, big techs, co-brands and others, collaboration with marketing, sales and customer service becomes critical. In an effort to compete more effectively and meet changing consumer demands, many banks and credit unions are exploring partnerships with fintech companies, other organizations — including, in a few cases, even big technology firms — to deliver better value to their customers. The emergence of new partnerships is customer-driven, not technology-driven. It is caused by customers seeking new experiences, rewards, transparency, and choice from their banking providers. Partnerships can extend products and platforms into new markets, expose brands to new customer segments and create scale. Partnering has been a component of banking for many years under various guises including co-branded credit card programs. But partnering has taken on a new urgency in the digital age as a means for traditional financial institutions to more quickly upgrade their capabilities, enabling them to provide a more robust set of products and services that Millennials and even older consumers now expect. The partnership structures being created today shift the relationships between the participants from competitors to collaborators. Change like that requires financial institutions to relinquish old ways of operating and establish new practices. An important part of this change, is that both sides will need to rethink and effectively integrate marketing, sales and service activities to achieve their common goals and meet customer expectations. Successful growth of partnerships with fintechs or others will focus on delivering value to the customer. This is where a new coupling of marketing capabilities will come into play. This should create meaningful synergies for each partner and more importantly a completely new customer experience — an experience they are expecting. 

---Co-branding by MasterCard:

Category :
Financial services: Payment solutions  , Owner of the brand: Mastercard Inc
Key competitors: Visa, American Express, Discover, PayPal

A co-branded credit card is sponsored by two parties. With co-branded credit cards, cardholders may get merchandise discounts or rewards points when they buy from the sponsoring merchant, but can also use the cards any other retailer that takes cards from the bank or card network. Also spelled cobranded. A co-branded card is a credit card that a retailer of consumer goods or services issues in partnership with a particular credit card issuer or network. Often bearing the logos of both the credit card company and the retailer, co-branded cards earn merchandise discounts, points, or other rewards when used with the sponsoring merchant, but they can also be used anywhere the cards from that network are accepted. Recently, Mastercard launched co-branded cards in partnership with Flipkart-Axis Bank, Matrix-Federal Bank and so on.By dropping the word “Mastercard” from its logo, the company is turbo-charging its ability to succeed in a fast-changing marketplace. It is, at once, a smart branding move and a smart business move. It is able to connect with consumers in a way that is not disruptive but, rather, is woven into their lives in a subtle way, all the while cutting through the clutter. And, it is using its logo to communicate its evolving technology payment story, utilizing the most relevant real estate in a most relevant way. The old saying goes that a picture is a worth a thousand words. In the case of Mastercard, it may only be one word. But, in this case, the shift in branding strategy may be priceless. Mastercard has arrived at a simple solution. Literally simple. Among the best ways for a brand to break through the clutter is visual clarity. By dropping the name and focusing on the iconic design, Mastercard is taking advantage of one of its unique branding strengths. It is one of a handful of brands, Apple, Target and Nike among them, which can communicate who it is and what it stands for with a strong, simple visual. More than this, without the name, the logo works symbiotically with the very product the company is selling – online payment. It’s a seamless and powerful connection between brand logo and brand offering, not to mention in line with how younger consumers are connecting to the world around them. With a visual-only brand mark, MasterCard is freed up to use its streamlined logo in this – and many other - applications relevant to anyone with a two-inch by three-inch screen.

Harshada Shinde[MBA FA]

Manager Fintech

Aircrews Aviation Pvt Ltd

www.aircrewsaviation.com

Harshadashinde.aircrews@gmail.com

Aircrews.harshadashinde@gmail.com

Case Study on Co-Branding

Case Study on Co-Branding Of Citibank

What Is Branding?
This is the million-dollar question – for many don’t fully understand the definition.

Your tech company’s brand is not the name of your business. It’s not your logo, your tagline, or your colour scheme. True, all these things, when you have a strong brand strategy in place, become associated with your brand – but they do not form the brand itself.

No, your brand is the fusion of all the characteristics, ideals, standards and values that your organisation embodies in its very existence. Your brand is the personality of your business, and, crucially, it’s the way in which your customers perceive this personality. Indeed, your tech company’s brand is the way in which users experience your product and service at all levels.

And we do mean all levels – from your customer service to your social media posts to your commitment to fulfilling orders to the product itself. And this is exactly why companies that want to fly must focus on their branding as much as they do their product – for the product alone is not a brand.

Important Of Branding For Fintech Companies

Gone are the days of associating cryptocurrencies with the dark web. With each passing day, fintech continues to dominate the headlines, as more companies rush to earn the perception of “early adopter.” And while the recent boom has undoubtedly helped the credibility of fintech as an industry, there’s much room for improvement.

Over-saturation and mass clutter present a daunting challenge for spreading awareness and establishing differentiation. Crypto and blockchain companies large and small are fighting for their share of voice—and it’s overwhelming enough for new users to equip themselves with adequate knowledge of trusted platforms and general industry nuances.

So what’s the solve? How can fintech companies cut through the noise?

Boil it down to brand strategy.

Understanding Brand Strategy: In any industry, a strong brand strategy is crucial for business success. Companies that have established who they are, their core tenants, and key differentiators (and how to leverage them) are the brands who find the deepest user loyalty. Fintech is no different, and should arguably rely the heaviest on a strong brand strategy to drive awareness, whether it be announcing an ICO or overhauling a website design.

Brand strategy is also uncharted territory for many of the world’s fintech companies— Most leading fintech founders and creators are often so committed to the development of the product, such matters as brand strategy end up tossed to the wayside, or overlooked altogether. Therein lies the problem: an unrecognized need to grow the company from within.

Most often conflated with a logo or identity system, brand strategy goes much deeper, and in fact, is what informs the aforementioned. Brand strategies are the foundation for how a company looks, sounds and communicates to each of its audiences, instilling a belief system for employees and users alike.

Finding a Branding Partner: When seeking a branding expert, there are several options to consider, depending on the breadth and depth of a company’s needs. Regardless of the kind of partner—agency, contractor, consultant, or the like—fintech companies should understand how to communicate their needs and stipulations. Finding the right partner can be a daunting challenge, given budgetary restrictions, logistical hurdles (how can we best work with this company/individual who’s in a different country or time zone?) and resourcing (where do we even begin to look? How do we know this company/individual is right for us?).

Odds are, if you’re a new, smaller blockchain or crypto brand, you likely aren’t going to consider a partner who expects a six-figure retainer or an individual who’s looking for a full-time, long-term gig. Rather, you might need a partner that can act as a supplement to your team; one who knows and understands your mission, values, and needs, and can act as an extension of your company as you grow. Establishing current and future needs from all angles—identity, brand strategy, UX, etc.—are key to finding a partner who can be nimble and comfortable with ambiguity when the industry faces its ups and downs.

As the Fintech world continues to grow and transform, the most important thing for these companies to do is formulate a plan for success through thoughtful brand strategy. Differentiation in this marketplace is key as adoption of blockchain and crypto continues to skyrocket, and stronger, clearer communication from companies means more credibility for the industry as a whole.

What is Co-Branding

Co-branding is the practice of using multiple brand names together on a single product or service. The term can also refer to the display of multiple brand names or corporate logo s on a single Web site, so that people who visit the site see it as a joint enterprise. When effectively done, co-branding provides a way for companies to combine forces so that their marketing efforts work in synergy .

On the Internet, co-branding can provide benefits to the involved businesses by enhancing product or service exposure to consumers, marketing new products and services, and making consumers or clients aware of the core competencies of each enterprise. Co-branding can also be used to target specific markets with advertising by means of banner ads, logos, or links in descriptive text, maximizing the likelihood that potential buyers will learn of the existence of a particular company, brand, product, or service.

Types of Co-Branding

1.       Ingredient co-branding

2.       Promotional/sponsorship co-branding

3.       Value chain co-branding

·         Product service co-branding

·         Supplier-retailer and

·         Alliance co-branding

4.       Innovation-based co-branding. Ex: apple, nike

5.       Shared product equity co-branding

Method of Co-Branding

1.       By Online Technique

·         White label/ private label

·         Gray label

·         No label

2.       By Type of Relationship

·         Internal co-branding

·         External co-branding

·         Mixed co-branding

Co-Branding of Citibank

Introduction

Citibank (stylized as citibank) is the consumer division of financial services multinational Citigroup.[2] Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Bank of New York. The bank has 2,649 branches in 19 countries, including 723 branches in the United States and 1,494 branches in Mexico operated by its subsidiary Banamex. The U.S. branches are concentrated in six metropolitan areas: New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Miami.[1] In 2016, the United States accounted for 70% of revenue and Mexico accounted for 13% of revenue. Aside from the U.S. and Mexico, most of the company's branches are in Poland, Russia, India and the United Arab Emirates.

5 Advantages of Co-Branded Cards of Citibank

Co-branded credit cards are the product of a mutual partnership between a particular merchant and a credit card issuer. Together, they create a credit card that bears the merchant’s logo and provide merchant-specific benefits to brand-loyal consumers. As a result, you gain rewards and discounts from the brands you are most loyal to.

They are useful and cost-effective once you understand how they work. However, the rewards offered by a co-branded credit card are tailored specifically to the services offered by the affiliated merchant.

Advantages of Co-Branded Credit Cards

1. Accepted Worldwide: Co-branded cards are international cards. They are accepted worldwide and can be used at any merchant outlet across the globe while the bill is generated in INR. Their worldwide acceptability is due to the tie-up they have with VISA or Master Card.

2. Rewards Customer Loyalty: It is a unique way for the card issuer as well as the affiliate merchant to reward their loyal customers. The cards while being a reward will further deepen the frequency of engagement, thus creating a win for all.

3. Freebies for the Customers: They offer free merchandise to customers for spends exceeding specific amounts or redemption options along with a frequent flyer program or a frequent buyer program.

4. Customized to Lifestyle Requirements: Since co-branded credit cards are attached to a particular brand, customers can avail cards customized to their spend category and lifestyle requirements.

5. Fee Waivers: Most co-branded credit cards do not have transaction fees and also offer surcharge waivers for customers.
You receive the highest rewards, from the purchases you make directly with the affiliated merchant. Therefore, in order to fully reap the rewards available, opt for a card from a brand that you know you will make regular transactions with e.g. Indian Oil Citi Credit Card that offers fuel benefits.

It might be tempting to get credit cards affiliated with all of your favorite stores, use each on a sporadic basis when you shop with the respective retailers and then stockpile the rewards you earn for future benefits. Spreading yourself too thin in this manner is not beneficial. Get at the most two different co-branded credit cards. This will enable you to maximize the benefits you receive from each without overburdening yourself.

Citi and Lazada Launch Co-Brand Credit Card Partnership in Southeast Asia

Hong Kong – Citi, the largest pan-regional credit issuer, and Lazada Group, Southeast Asia's leading e-commerce platform, today announced the launch of the new Lazada Citi credit card, marking the first time that an e-commerce company is launching a co-brand credit card in the region.

The co-brand credit card, which offers 10x more rewards on Lazada purchases and Lazada Wallet top-ups, is live in Malaysia and will be introduced to other markets in the region over the next six months. Tapping into the growth potential of e-commerce spending in the region, Citi and Lazada are targeting over 500,000 sign-ups of the new card across the region over the next few years.

With the new credit card, Citi will access a younger, digitally-savvy customer pool that makes up the majority of e-commerce customers in the region while Lazada widens its breadth of offers and services by leveraging a global financial platform.

Commenting on the launch of the Lazada Citi credit card, Sergio Zanatti, Asia Pacific and EMEA Cards and Loans Head, Global Consumer Banking, Citi, said, "Citi continues to gain traction with its regional partnership strategy, and we are delighted to be collaborating with Lazada as we build out our presence and scale in digital ecosystems where our customers are active. Through our partnerships, we are looking to increase our Consumer Banking customer base in Asia Pacific by about two million over the next few years."

"As a leading consumer lifestyle destination, we want to bring more value to our customers and a co-brand card that rewards users on their purchases. With the theme 'Play-it-up', this card brings lifestyle benefits to our valued customers advocating entertainment on top of our everyday promotions. We are also thrilled to be partnering with Citi, the region's leading credit card issuer," noted Mary Zhou, Chief Marketing Officer, Lazada Group.

The co-brand credit card launch is a natural extension to Citi and Lazada's regional partnership, which dates back to 2016. As part of the partnership, Citi customers benefit from ongoing offers on Lazada's platforms in the region. By targeting consumers in Southeast Asia where the use of cash is still widespread, Citi and Lazada will enable more consumers in the region to access the benefits and convenience of credit card spending through the new co-brand card.

The card in Malaysia is the only one of its kind offering 10x earning of points for Lazada shopping and Lazada wallet top-up, 5X points for selected lifestyle, travel and wellness categories. It offers 1,000 bonus points monthly with minimum card spend, RM10 cashback with minimum top of RM100 in Lazada wallet for the first 1,000 customers monthly and RM10 cashback for the first time "Top and Save" in Lazada Wallet. Points earned on this card can be used to offset against future Lazada spending.
Citi's Asia Pacific Consumer Banking business has around 15.2 million credit cards, covering 12 markets in Asia Pacific as well as five in EMEA. Close to half of new credit card and loan acquisitions are generated digitally today, representing a more than two times increase in the last three years.

Citibank and IOC to Launch Co-Branded Debit Card

           NEW DELHI: State-run refiner Indian oil and Citibank announced the launch of country’s first co-branded debit card.

           The agreement for the Indian Oil Citibank debit card was signed by J M Gugnani, executive director (sales), IOC, and Sarvesh Sarp, Global consumer Bank head, Citibank India , a Citibank press statement said here

           The Indian Oil Citibank debit card would be available to both, existing and new Citibank Suvidha and Banking customers. For every Rs 100 spent at IPC retail outlets using the debit card, the customer will be rewarded 2 points. A similar purchase at other locations earns the cardholder one reward point.

            These reward points can then be accumulated and redeemed for free petrol, Servo engine oils at IOC retail outlets. In addition to a wider range of special offers on batteries and tyres, cardholders would be exempt from playing any transaction fee for purchase at IOC retail outlet, the release said.

            The debit card would also functions as an ATM card, providing customers online access to their accounts.

            Currently, the Indian Oil Citibank credit card is one of the fastest growing co-branded credit cards and bagged the “Excellence in co-branding in South Asia” award from MasterCard. 

Citibank Awarded Best Co-Branded Credit Card by MasterCard in Czech Republic
January 25, 2007

Prague – Citibank a.s. received the esteemed awards in two categories (out of the three possible) upon the assessment of the best co-branded credit cards launched in 2006, which was conducted by MasterCard. Citibank placed first in the Best 2006 Novelty category for its MasterCard Citi CSA credit card and, it also won the Best Co-branded Card from the Client’s Benefits Point of view category for its Shell MasterCard from Citibank a.s. The best cards were chosen based on an evaluation that had been made of 40 MasterCard co-branded programs that are running in the Czech Republic. Co-branded cards are issued by financial institutions in conjunction with their partners through which cardholders are offered various bonuses and other benefits.

“The future of payment cards lies in enhancing their added value for the benefit of their holders. People use cards that, in addition to making one’s payments with, are also going to offer a number of additional benefits, such as discounts on goods to be received at shops, or various forms of bonuses. Citibank is the market leader in the area of co-branded cards. We aim to offer our clients the best of what is available. Therefore, we make partnerships with companies that are real market leaders in their respective fields. We offer credit cards prepared in conjunction with Czech Airlines, Shell Corporation, and the mobile phone services provider/operator Telefonica O2 Czech Republic. Citibank very much appreciates the acknowledgement that has been rendered to us by MasterCard for our co-branded cards. Furthermore, it is also our commitment for the future to provide best in class products and services to all of our current clients, and future clients," said Rizwan Qazi, director of Citibank Credit Cards.

“The importance of co-branded cards is on the rise not only in the Czech Republic, but also on the European scale. This fact, among other, is also attested to by results of an all-European survey of KRC Research made last September. The survey showed that 73 % of European customers wish to have a card that the use of which is going to bring them some type of a bonus. One of MasterCard’s priorities is its support given to enhancement of payment cards’ functionality and of the array of services provided to cardholders,“ said Ján Carný, Managing Director of MasterCard Europe for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

Pooja Parab [MBA FA]
Manager Fintech
Aircrews Aviation Pvt Ltdwww.AircrewsAviation.com
Poojaparab.Aircrews@gmail.com
Aircrews.Poojaparab@gmail.com

HRs during CoVid 19 Lockdown on Social Media

HRs during CoVid 19 Lockdown on Social Media

Since the Covid has struck the world people's lifestyle, routine, businesses and economy have fallen out of their place.

Yet the ability of HR to keep intact all the ends has stood out.

Responsible HRs to develop leaders are providing education and coaching.

Ensuring that this activity is planned in a way to benefit employees regarding their job roles and showing empathy to employees.

Since there are no meetings conducting in a room Communicating regularly is important so that employees don't miss out on any information required to complete their task.

Their concern is also related to employee's well being and so they are posting blogs, images and videos which makes the employee aware about the situation.

They are also setting up motivational online sessions for employees

Scope of Social Media – Includes online social networking sites, interactive forums, blogs, chat rooms, podcasts, video aggregation platforms, or other kinds of social media platforms

Using Social media for recruiting is need of the hour for HRs thanks to the technology which  made this process simpler 

Shruti  Kaondal MBA

Manager HR  

AirCrews Aviation Pvt Ltd

shrutikaondal.aircrews@gmail.com

aircrews.shrutikaondal@gmail.com

www.aircrewsaviation.com

https://www.portrait-business-woman.com/2020/05/shruti-kaondal.html

https://www.facebook.com/shruti.kaondal

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shruti-kaondal-38ba69197/