Citi, Lazada roll out millennial-focused credit card in Singapore

Singapore

AS THE purchasing power of tech-savvy millennials continues to climb, Citi and regional e-commerce platform Lazada are targeting to serve over 50 per cent of young professionals in Singapore with the launch of a co-branded credit card.

This comes as more than 30 per cent of Citi customers' credit card spending is now made via digital channels, said Citibank Singapore chief executive Brendan Carney in a statement on Monday.

Singapore is the fourth market to receive the Citi Lazada credit card, after Vietnam in November and Malaysia and Thailand in October.

The credit card will be progressively rolled out to other markets, with both partners targeting over 500,000 new cards in South-east Asia in the next few years.

During the Singapore launch period from now till end-February 2020, cardholders will enjoy 12 times the reward points for every S$1 spent on Lazada shopping transactions, and thereafter 10 times the reward points.

Other perks include a free one-year Lazada LiveUp membership which entails free shipping on various purchases. Cardholders will also receive five times the reward points on all dining, travel, commute and entertainment shopping transactions made locally and overseas.

Amid a plethora of products in the market with similar offers, the Citi Lazada credit card "goes beyond the limited time offer promotions", said Vikas Kumar, head of cards and personal loans for Citibank Singapore.

"The card offers rewards for more spend categories, no weekday or weekend restrictions on earn rates, and has no minimum spend requirement. On top of that, points earned can be redeemed for cash rebates as well," added Mr Kumar.

When asked about card uptake in the other three markets, he told The Business Times that Citi has seen "significant positive response" so far.

The co-branded credit card is a natural extension of Citi and Lazada's regional partnership formed in 2015.

With the card, Citi can gain access to Lazada's younger, digitally savvy customer base that makes up the majority of e-commerce customers in the region.

In the first 11 months of 2019, Lazada registered a 43 per cent year-on-year surge in customers age 18 to 35 on its Singapore platform.

"Millennials are now buying more groceries, household supplies and beauty products online than ever before," said Lazada Singapore chief executive James Chang.

Data from Citi shows that more than half of its new credit card customers in Singapore are digitally acquired. These customers are typically more engaged, with close to three times more spending than others within three months of onboarding.

"It is important for (Citi) to continue expanding our presence and scale in digital ecosystems, and deepening our engagement with the growing e-commerce customer base in Singapore," said Mr Carney, who is also the Asean cluster head of Citi's global consumer banking division.

On Lazada's end, the firm can expand its range of offerings and services by leveraging on Citi's global financial platform. The e-commerce giant aims to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030.

The Citi Lazada credit card comes just three days after Grab unveiled its virtual GrabPay Card in Singapore, which allows tech-savvy users to spend from their GrabPay e-wallet via the card.

Standard Chartered is also courting millennials with the launch of its new savings product last month. Targeted at young people between age 18 and 26, the JumpStart savings account offers a 2 per cent interest rate for the first S$20,000 and a debit card with a one per cent cashback on spending with a cap of S$60 a month.