Citibank eyes double-digit growth

Citibank is eyeing a double-digit growth in the number of its credit card holders with its partnership with Mercury Drug, the country’s leading chain of drugstores.

Citibank and Mercury have teamed up to create a credit card that offers the convenience of cashless shopping coupled with healthcare incentives.

The new Mercury Drug-Citibank card is the first and only credit card in the country that offers two-percent rebates for Mercury Drug transactions and 0.5-percent rebate for non-Mercury Drug transactions.

Bea Tan, Citibank vice-president for cards acquisition, said the bank is optimistic this partnership will boost Citibank’s credit card holder base.

Mercury Drug president Vivienne Que-Azcona, for her part, said their partnership with Citibank is in line with the celebration of the drugstore’s 60th anniversary as they affirmed their commitment to provide better service to the public.

"Apart from our mission to provide safe and reliable medicines to our patrons, we also make sure that we are selling medicines at competitive prices. The Mercury Drug-Citibank card affords our cardholders to purchase medicines at a lower price through the two-percent rebate component of the card," Azcona said.

Citibank country business manager for the global consumer group in the Philippines Nina Aguas said their tie-up with Mercury revolutionized the way co-branded cards can be made more responsive to the needs of the consumers.

Aguas said cardholders using the Mercury Drug-Citibank card can avail of discounts from partner merchants which include Healthway Clinics, Lifeline Arrows Emergency Response Services, The Medical City, Cebu Doctors, Fitness First, Clarity, Sarabia Optical, Asian Eye Institute, Osim, and Health Today. – Zinnia dela Peña