Citi cardholders can now offset online
purchases using reward points with an even wider range of merchants
across key spending categories
HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 30 July 2018 - Citigroup
Inc. (NYSE: C) - Citi
today announced the addition of three new API (Application Programming
Interface) partners as the bank continues its effort to promote the benefits of
API usage and cross-industry collaboration with the aim of bringing banking and
credit card services to more customer digital touchpoints.
Joining the Citi API ecosystem are household brands EGL Tours, Fortress,
and Watsons, all of which will be integrating the Citi Pay with Points API with
their e-commerce platforms, enabling Citi cardholders to offset online
purchases using their reward points instantly after checkout. This follows the successful introduction of
the Citi Pay with Points service on HKTVmall in March. At the time of the launch, over 50% of Citi
credit cardholders who shop on the HKTVmall platform had experienced the
convenience of being able to pay for online purchases using reward points.
Lum Choong Yu, Head of Cards and Unsecured Lending at Citibank Hong
Kong, said, "In 2017, we became the first bank in Hong Kong to launch an open
API platform to give developers and consumer brands direct access to our APIs
for building innovative solutions that benefit customers. We are extremely encouraged by the strong
participation from our partners and our mutual commitment to enhance our
clients' digital experience. Through our
ever growing list of API partners spanning different industries, we are moving
closer to our ultimate goal of bringing banking services to where customers need
them and when they need them."
In addition to HKTVmall, previously-announced API partners by Citi Hong
Kong include AIA Hong Kong, Octopus Cards Limited, Visa, and Zurich Hong Kong. The collaborations involve the use of Citi's Open
API technology in various categories covering Cards, Customers, Money Movement,
and Onboarding. The new services will be rolled out in phases in the coming
year.
"A healthy banking open API ecosystem also requires industry-wide
participation. We are fully supportive
of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)'s initiative to promote wider
adoption of open API in the banking sector and the recent release of the Open
API Framework by the HKMA will further accelerate the implementation of this
important milestone for the industry and reinforce Hong Kong's position as a
leading fintech hub. Being in a
privileged position to be ahead of the four-phase implementation timeline
outlined in the Framework, we are looking forward to sharing best practices
with the industry and contributing in any way we can to help develop the
fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong," said Lum.
From now on, to offset purchases when shopping at the online stores of
EGL Tours, Fortress, and Watsons either in full or partially, cardholders of
Citi points-bearing credit cards only have to follow three simple steps:
1) Complete payment with a Citi points-bearing credit card*
2) Perform one-time identity verification
3) Select the amount to pay with points
*Applicable to principal
cardholders of Citi Ultima Card, Citi Prestige Card, Citi PremierMiles Card,
Citi Rewards Card (Except Citi
Rewards UnionPay Card), Citi Gold Card and Citi Classic Card issued by Citibank
(Hong Kong) Limited.
About Citi
Citi,
the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and
does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. 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 | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi
| Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/company/citi
