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S’pore credit card integrates social networking features
It had to happen I suppose: a credit card that rides on the social media wave in Singapore.
Recognising that people in the city-state love to shop online and spend inordinate amounts of time on Facebook, Citibank Singapore announced on Thursday that its Clear Platinum Card would now incorporate social networking as part of its core card features, the first in Asia to do so.
How? Think foursquare meets Facebook meets credit card rewards programme.
First, cardholders get five times the rewards points for shopping online.
Second, they can "vote" on the choices for the deal of the month that will be made available. For example, for a 1-for-1 drink promo, the cardholder can indicate whether he or she wants it to apply for, say, a mojito, martini or whiskey. The winning choice will then be adopted for the promotion.
Third, both cardholders and non-cardholders can take part in a virtual community. Via the "Clear.24.7" Facebook app, anyone can earn virtual points by engaging in social activities like "checking in" and tagging card benefits as "cool" or "sharing" them with friends. These actions -- which will show up on the person's Facebook wall -- will allow participants to climb the virtual social ladder to become the "Social A-Lister" every month.
Cardholders can turn the virtual points into real Citibank Clear Platinum Card rewards points. They can also get the chance to win weekly prizes, as well as the grand prize at the end of six weeks, which is a customised party worth S$5,000.
Participants who don't become card members can simply enjoy the fact that they have accumulated virtual points.
Jacquelyn Tan, head of credit payment products at Citibank Singapore, said that Citibank Clear Platinum Card has been around targeting young professions since 2001, but habits and priorities of cardholders change and the bank felt it had to innovate and evolve with them in terms of the services and benefits it offers.
"With the proliferation of smart phones and mobile applications, and consumers who are increasingly adopting social networking as an integral part of their lives, we wanted to introduce a new dimension to their credit card experience that would fit in with their lifestyles," she said.
According to a report by Visa, the proportion of total card spend attributed to e-commerce grew at a year-on-year rate of 28 per cent from 2010 to 2011.
Also, a 2011 study done by Experian Hitwise showed that Singapore saw the most amount of time spent on Facebook and other social networks than any of the eight countries covered in the report. There are more than 1.5 million Facebook users under the age of 35 in Singapore, Tan cited.
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