StanChart launches ‘smart card’
Standard Chartered Bangladesh yesterday launched a new type of credit card that offers discounts on the purchase of digital products and services, such as account payments for Netflix users or ordering food through Foodpanda.
With Covid-19 having changed consumer spending habits, the Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card provides local digital natives with a wide range of benefits centring around convenient borrowing, digital rewards and enhanced self-service capabilities.
Other than Foodpanda and Netflix, customers will get discounts for digital payments made at Daraz, Pizza Hut, Pathao Rides, and Spotify.
"It is a unique card because none of these discounts are given in our other cards," said Tawfique Imam, head of unsecured products at Standard Chartered Bangladesh.
Imam made these comments while speaking at a press conference at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.
"With this card, one can save as much as Tk 22,000 for purchasing products and services in one year," he added.
Before launching the new credit card, the bank carried out extensive client research that shows that particularly younger clients prefer simple borrowing features to be available with their card.
Besides, this unique credit card is the first in the market to be manufactured through a carbon-neutral process and bears the Certified Carbon Neutral logo.
"About 67 per cent of our employees are millennials and their purchasing behaviours and needs are evolving with ever changing technological advancement," said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh.
Considering the fact that a large portion of the population falls into this age group, Standard Chartered thought of launching something that would uniquely cater to millennials and support their lifestyle.
The card also provides holders with an option to contribute to community projects that support disadvantaged youths, especially girls, and offers privileges for subscriptions with educational or lifestyle websites," Bijoy said.
The Smart Card will evolve based on client behaviour and feedback, he added while thanking Visa Card for being the bank's partner for this innovative initiative.
Credit card transactions at Standard Chartered Bangladesh, which pioneered the facility in the country, rose by 115 per cent since the Covid-19 pandemic began last year with about 1.5 lakh cards in circulation.
Credit card transactions collectively stood at Tk 1,934 crore in June, up 13.25 per cent from a month earlier and 115.46 per cent year-on-year, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.
The total number of credit cards in circulation at the time stood at 17.73 lakh.
Sabbir Ahmed, head of consumer, private & business Banking at Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said the Smart Card serves the everyday needs of youths as well as the rest of the bank's dynamic client-base.
"The unique card caters to our evolving lifestyles, providing great value for money to support our clients' daily spending needs," Ahmed said.
With the Smart Card, consumers can earn big and save more through daily spending. Cardholders can also enjoy the flexibility of interest-free instalments to meet unexpected financial needs or easily finance their purchases.
The card comes with some other privileges as well, such as zero interest InstaBuys with no processing fee that is applicable for 3 months for retail transactions of over Tk 15,000.
It also has an annual fee waiver starting from the second year for annual spending of above Tk 3 lakh, he added.
Bitopi Das Chowdhury, head of corporate affairs at the bank, said this credit card would accelerate digital transactions, helping Bangladesh reach its goal to become a cashless society.
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