BWI: Citibank And Visa Launch The World’s First Visa Platinum Travel Prepaid Card

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Citibank
Friday, November 19, 2010 11:39 AM IST (06:09 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Lifestyle, People, Travel & tourism; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Hospitality, Information technology, Retailers, Travel & tourism; Technology
--------------------------------------------------
Citibank And Visa Launch The World's First Visa Platinum Travel Prepaid Card


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Friday, November 19, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- Citibank and Visa today announced the launch of the Citibank World Money Visa Platinum Card, the world's first Visa Platinum Travel Prepaid card, bringing together the benefits of both Citibank's best-in-class Travel Prepaid cards platform and Visa Platinum cards, for the first time. Available in six foreign currencies - USD, Euro, Pound, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar and Singapore Dollar - at select Citibank branches and authorized money changers, the Citibank World Money Visa Platinum Card offers customers a host of privileges, ranging from discounted shopping at luxury brand outlets to exclusive offers at luxury hotels.

Designed to address the needs of leisure travelers as well as of those travelling abroad for medical, educational, or business purposes, the Card offers customers a smart, secure and convenient way of carrying foreign currency. Further differentiating the Card are benefits such as industry-best foreign exchange rates, complimentary fraud protection insurance, complimentary international calling card and a 24X7 international toll-free customer care helpline.

Uttam Nayak, Country Manager, South Asia, Visa, said, "Over the years Visa has introduced a series of cards to help Indian consumers enjoy the convenience of electronic payments. In 2002, we partnered with Citibank to launch the Visa Travel Prepaid card in India, creating a new segment at the time. Now, we are pleased to announce the launch of the world's first Visa Platinum Travel Prepaid card - the Citibank World Money Visa Platinum card, offering a single card to Indian travelers with the benefits of a travel prepaid card as well as the luxury benefits that come along with a Visa Platinum card. Keeping in mind the growing Indian traveler segment, Visa is confident that this card will open up yet another new segment as well as provide Indian travelers with some unique benefits they have been looking for."

Sandeep Bhalla, Business Head, Credit Payment Products, Citibank India, said, "We take great pride in having been the first to launch a foreign currency denominated prepaid card in India in 2002 and are very pleased to build on its success with the launch of the Citibank World Money Visa Platinum Card. Travel is a focus area for Citi Cards and this new launch strengthens our end-to-end solution for the global Indian. With its enhanced features, the Card will not only provide customers a safe and hassle-free alternative to cash and travelers' cheques; it will also delight the overseas traveler with its choice of lifestyle benefits."

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks-VisaNet-that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Committed to India for over 108 years, Citi takes pride in being a premier locally-embedded financial institution backed by an unmatched international network. Citi's presence in India spans 42 Citibank branches across 30 cities and over 580 ATMs. With capital invested of over US$4 billion, Citi is the single largest foreign direct investor in the financial services industry in India and offers consumers and institutions a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi is an employer of choice to approximately 7500 employees in India. Citi's franchise in India includes businesses such as equity brokerage, equities distribution, private banking (Citi Private Bank) and alternate investments and private equity (CVCI). In line with our commitment to make a positive difference in the communities where we work, Citi India's citizenship programme targets its strategic efforts in the priority focus areas of Financial Capability & Asset Building, Microfinance & Microenterprise, Small & Growing Businesses, and College & Careers. Additional information may be found at http://www.online.citibank.co.in/press-room/citi-in-india.htm



CONTACT DETAILS
Anuja Sharma, Visa India, +91 9004604426, ansharma@visa.com
Indu A. Anand, Citi India, +91 (124) 4186766, indu.anand@citi.com
Medha Makhija, Edelman India, +91 9867520717, medha.makhija@edelman.com
Shreela Roy, IPAN Hill & Knowlton, +91 9820149119, sroy@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, TOURISM, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, HOSPITALITY, RETAIL, TRAVEL, TECHNOLOGY

If you wish to change your Business Wire India selection please click on this link http://www.businesswireindia.com/media/news.asp and use your personal username and password to login.

Submit your press release at http://www.businesswireindia.com