Snapdeal launches credit card, in tie-up with HDFC, for tier 2 & 3 markets

Indian online marketplace giant Snapdeal in association with HDFC Bank has launched India’s first co-branded ecommerce credit card, in affiliation with the US-based payment gateway service provider Visa. The three year penned down partnership between the two giants in their respective fields will foster tier-2 and tier-3 market customers to adapt digital payment options.

The application process for availing the card is pretty quick and simple. Prospective customers can apply through any of the Snapdeal platforms i.e. their website or mobile app, and real-time authentication processing ensuring faster approval.

Factors which instigated the Initiative

Despite limitations like problems in order acquisition, last mile delivery, limited payment options etc., tier-2 and -3 market accounts for over 70% of Snapdeal’s annual sales. Moreover, even after the surge of “PMJDY”, which offered RuPay debit card on bank account opening, and other financial inclusion measures, very few people actually have access to debit or credit cards. Among those, even fewer people actually use it for online purchases owing to the lack or limited knowledge about their usage. So, lion share of the customers from this segment of society, still rely on cash on delivery (COD) service and are often unable to avail the full benefits of online shopping and purchasing through card payments.

How Will It Benefit The Customers?

To ease the limitation of payments faced by customers from tier 2 and 3 markets, this co-branded credit card facility from Snapdeal and HDFC will give them the flexibility of making payments according to their convenience by using the prowess of modern technology. According to Mr. Parag Rao, the business head of card payment product & merchant acquiring services wing of HDFC Bank, Snapdeal will reward its customers for using the co-branded credit card for making online payments; through providing a range of offers and discounts including:

• 500 cash back on purchase of Rs. 5000 on Snapdeal

• 500 reward points as bonus welcome gift

• 3 times the regular reward points (2 regular reward points for every Rs. 150 pay out) for every Rs.150 spent on Snapdeal

and many more.

According to Mr. Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal, Snapdeal is looking to build India’s most impactful digital commerce space and contribute towards the mission of Digital India. This certainly looks like a step closer to that. Don’t you think?