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Samsung has launched two credit cards in India, entering a crowded category that sees over 50 companies fiercely compete for consumers’ attention in the world’s second largest internet market.
The South Korean giant said it has partnered with the Mumbai-headquartered Axis Bank and global payments processor Visa to launch the cards, which it is calling the Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card. Consumers buying Samsung’s products and services through either of the cards will get a 10% cashback “round the year,” the company executives said at an event in New Delhi.
Samsung, the second largest smartphone vendor in India, said it will also offer customers “exciting” financing options on the credit cards, which come in two variants. The cards are especially aimed at serving consumers in smaller Indian cities and towns, the executives said.
Customers will earn rewards for spendings through their cards and get access to deals from local firms including Zomato, Myntra, Tata’s 1mg, Bigbasket and Urban Company.
Monday’s announcement underscores smartphone makers’ growing attempt to broaden their services. Chinese giant Xiaomi, which commands the smartphone market in the country, launched a UPI-powered payments service in India in 2019 and started to lend to customers last year. (Samsung launched its payments service Samsung Pay, powered by UPI, in India in 2017.)
Co-branded cards are generally a win-win for the bank, the partner brand and the customers, as it allows power users of a brand to get higher benefits as they spend more with the brand. The brand gets more loyalty from its users, while the bank obviously benefits by getting access to a different set of customer base the customer acquisition itself coming from the brand or the brand’s loyalist users, a Bengaluru-based fintech executive told TechCrunch, requesting anonymity commenting on other company’s products.
“At Samsung, we believe in transforming the lives of our consumers through the power of innovation. The Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card, powered by Visa, is our next big India-specific innovation that will change the way our customers buy Samsung products and spend on services through a series of industry-leading features. We’re excited to be able to put the control into our consumers’ hands,” said Ken Kang, President and CEO, Samsung South-West Asia, in a statement.
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