More consumers turning to credit cards that offer cash rebates
By Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 January 2009 1934 hrs

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SINGAPORE : More consumers in Singapore appear to be taking to credit cards that offer cash rebates.

These cards claim to help consumers stretch their dollar further, especially when people are trying to tighten their spending.

To spend or not to spend - that is the question behind shoppers' minds these days. With times getting tougher, consumers are finding more ways to save money.

That is why more consumers seem to be giving up fancy reward programmes for plain old cash rebates on their purchases.

Gan Ai Im, regional & Singapore head, Cards & Payment Products, United Overseas Bank (UOB), said: "It is obvious that savings is on everybody's mind these days, and certainly rebates are one form of savings."

UOB saw a 35 per cent on-year increase in billings for its One Card brand in the second half of 2008, with billings on the card doubling in December alone.

Meanwhile, Citibank has seen billings for its Dividend line of cards grow by as much as 30 per cent on-year in 2008. The lender also saw billing activity on the card pick up in the last six months.

Cash rebate credit cards make up four out of 10 of UOB and Citibank's new card applications. Going forward, card issuers said they expect this number to grow.

Already, Citibank has seen 40 per cent more applications for its Dividend card in the last three months of 2008. For the full year, it saw applications for the card grow by 30 per cent.

Alice Fok, marketing director, Credit Cards, Citibank, said: "In an economy like this, customers naturally want to look out for something really tangible. Tangible benefits such as cashback is very good.

"And at the same time because dividends allow the customers to shop at any shop, they do not have to change their shopping patterns and yet they get cash back automatically. So it is a huge saving."

Citibank's Dividend cardholders earn up to 5 per cent in rebates for their everyday purchases, while UOB's One Card holders get up to S$80 in rebates every quarter, or up to S$320 every year. - CNA/ms