Cairo Festival City Mall (CFCM) and Premium Card have partnered to offer CFCM shoppers an innovative payment-on-instalment programme, the two companies announced on Sunday.
According to the new venture, scheduled to be launched by mid-August, Premium Card will offer CFCM visitors and customers a guaranteed interest-free and bank-free instalment payment facility.
Specifically tailored for clients shopping at the mall, the card will appear under the brand name “Celebrate Flexibility Card” and aims to offer the best of both worlds.
Under this agreement, Premium Card will use Fintech solutions to provide an “on the spot” pre-approval to the positively scored clients, during their visit to the mall. This will occur prior to their receiving the final co-branded Premium Card with the optimum approved limit. On the shoppers’ side, the service includes receiving instant scoring and approval without the hassle of paperwork and the immediate receiving of the card, along with quality assurance and guaranteed safe data.
Hayssam Hajjar, General Manager of CFCM, said, “The partnership with Premium Card comes as part of CFCM’s strategy to create an unprecedented experience for our clients. Our team was quick to move into the needs of this novel market that has emerged in the past few months.”
Hajjar added, “We worked on deploying technology to introduce new services to the Egyptian market. Aside from being keen on accessibility and flexibility, shoppers currently champion smart payment methods that involve easier payment terms and less physical contact.”
Paul Antaki, founder and Chairperson of Premium Card, said, “This venture in partnership with CFCM marks a cornerstone of our strategy to enter new mass markets, and another milestone in our push towards diversifying our revenue stream through innovative financial products.”
Antaki noted that Premium Card is capitalising on the 25 million annual visitors at CFCM, and is looking to expand its vendors’ network and client base to nurture sales growth.
“With “Celebrate Flexibility Card”, CFCM clients will have access to Premium Card’s unique 0% interest instalment programme to shop across the fantastic range of stores in the mall,” Antaki added.
Rami Antaki, co-founder and board member of Premium Card, added, “This alliance is an important step in a strategy that aims to transform Premium Card from a pure play providing non-banking services in its home market, into a FinTech with solid ground to achieve traction locally and regionally.”
He added that the company places emphasis on partnerships and investment projects that tackle this specific sector, with the card designed as agile and flexible enough, to move as rapidly as possible.
“Our aim is to bring innovative and convenient solutions that address a critical financing gap between Egyptian consumers’ aspirations and their purchasing power,” Rami Antaki said. “That is why we are excited about this venture and expansion as we continue to make FinTech more accessible to the Egyptian consumer.”
