Citi To Launch Co-Branded Credit Card, Boost Asia Client Base

Citigroup (NYSE:C) has partnered with Grab, a Singapore-based technology company that provides ride-hailing transport services, to launch co-branded credit cards in Southeast Asian markets. Markedly, the news was reported by Reuters.

The Citi-Grab co-branded cards are being issued in the Philippines first, followed by Thailand later this year, before being rolled out in other Southeast Asian markets.

The card will offer benefits such as redeemable points upon dining and entertainment purchases, as well as online subscriptions. Also, cardholders will be eligible for free rides on spending a pre-determined amount within 60 days from the card’s issue date.

This move is expected to help Citigroup boost the client base in the region with the support of Grab’s popularity and solid demand in the area. Per the article, Citi looks to boost its Asian customer base by about 13% through partnerships with digital firms.

The article quoted Gonzalo Luchetti, Citi's head of consumer banking for Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, who stated that, "Today we have about 16 million customers in Asia, and our aspiration is to increase this by about two million in the next few years through partnerships alone."

Recently, Citi entered into similar partnerships with companies in Asia-Pacific markets. In May, the company launched a co-branded credit card with Indian payments firm Paytm, in order to expand its retail presence in India.

Also, in April, Citi partnered with Vietnam-based FinTech Payoo to facilitate consumer-to-business collections for corporate clients in the country.

Notably, Citi is not the only Wall Street firm to have launched a co-branded credit card in 2019. In March, Goldman (NYSE:GS) marked its presence in the consumer finance industry with the launch of an innovative credit card in partnership with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Citi’s entry into the booming digital consumer payments industry seems encouraging as it will help in expanding revenue sources. The company’s restructuring and streamlining efforts, along with strategic investments in the core business bode well for the long term.

Over the past six months, the stock has gained 19.9%, outperforming 6.3% growth recorded by the industry.

Currently, Citi carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) has witnessed 10.7% upward estimate revision over the past 60 days. The company’s shares have risen nearly 11% in the past six months. At present, it has a Zacks Rank #2.

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