KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Affin Bank Bhd is confident of securing 50,000 customers within a year for its newly-launched dual credit card product, riding on the rising trend of e-commerce transactions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Its president and group CEO Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali said the target is also driven by the growing demand for the bank’s credit cards, having received some 4,000 new applicants in the last one month alone.

“E-commerce transactions have increased by 25% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. At Affin Bank, we have seen an increase of at least 40% in the use of our internet banking platform.

“The trend shows that there is a demand for credit cards especially those that offer good rewards and incentives, as more people shop online during this pandemic,” he told reporters at the launch of the Affin Duo credit card.

According to him, the product, which consists of jointly-issued Affinbank Visa Cash Back and Affinbank Mastercard Rewards, is aimed at millennials earning a minimum monthly salary of RM2,000.

The product offers cardholders three times Affin reward points for everyday spending and an “irresistible” 3% cash back on digital transactions such as payment for online purchases, reload of e-wallets and auto-billing payments.

“Affin Duo is introduced not just as a mere product in the market, but also to reward the emerging customer segment in the retail market — the millennials who are the major drivers in the nation’s economic growth.

“The timing of introducing this product is on-point with the new norm of increased spending in today’s digital age, to meet greater demands of consumers for convenience and flexibilities,” he added.

His views were echoed by Visa country manager for Malaysia Ng Kong Boon, who said the international credit card firm’s data showed one in eight active Visa cardholders who did not use e-commerce last year, made their first purchase online this year.

“Furthermore, our e-commerce transaction and spend growth by Visa cardholders in Malaysia has been steadily increasing year-on-year. This trend shows Malaysian consumers are starting to shift to the e-commerce platform and this digital adoption curve has further accelerated due to the pandemic,” Ng said.

Edited by S Kanagaraju