Local tech startup Bloom has unveiled a new collaboration with Visa (NYSE: V) to provide extra spending rewards for Visa card users residing in Hong Kong.
As noted in an update shared with CI, the tie-up should help with accelerating Visa’s journey in connecting with international partners and update clients’ payment experiences via a simple and convenient rebate mechanism.
As mentioned in the announcement, Visa card users will received a 2% instant Bloom Coin “rebated by becoming a Bloom member, linking any Visa card to the Bloom App, and spending with the same card for any amount.”
The offer is applicable to “all eligible transactions with any online or physical merchants around the world,” the update noted while adding that the rebates will be “directly credited to the Bloom App for unlimited times.”
Members will be able to redeem e-vouchers and samples “provided by partnering brands in the Bloom App with their accumulated Bloom Coins, enjoying the exclusive privileges along with great spending rewards offered by Visa,” the announcement explained.
Eddie Rong, Founding Member of Bloom, stated:
“Creating extra values for consumers with technology has become an inevitable topic for all stakeholders. Bloom Coin can swiftly help payment service providers, merchants, and banks go beyond geographical boundaries and build a worldwide FinTech and retail ecosystem, enabling more engaging interactions with consumers. We hope Bloom Coin can offer Visa card users a more exciting and enhanced shopping experience.”
Justin Chan, Founding Member of Bloom, remarked:
“We are delighted to join hands with Visa to bring value-added offerings to Hong Kong users as Bloom celebrates its first anniversary. Building on Visa’s leading global payment network, we will start off with Hong Kong and gradually introduce the concept of Bloom Coin to other Asian markets, benefiting a wider consumer community.”
Maaike Steinebach, GM, Visa Hong Kong and Macau, added:
“Our recent survey[2] showed that although most Hongkongers participate in a reward program, they also expect a more convenient and user-friendly redemption process as technology advances. We believe that Bloom Coin will bring an extraordinary experience to Visa card users and enable them to make the most out of their everyday spending.”
Visa cardholders may download the Bloom App from Apple App Store and Google Play store by “searching the keyword ‘Bloom | Your Rewards,'” the update noted.
You can visit bloomhk.org/en for additional information about Bloom and associated terms and conditions.
Established last year, Bloom is a Hong Kong-based tech firm that’s backed by ZA International. With a goal to upgrade user experience with innovative technology, Bloom claims to be Hong Kong’s first true spending cash-back app “aimed to help consumers build a simplistic yet trendy lifestyle.”
Driven by the “symbolic” meaning of “recovery” and “prosperity,” Bloom seeks to “boost Hong Kong’s economy by bringing a blossoming season to the retail industry through its open platform.”
As noted in a release, ZhongAn Technologies International Group Limited was established in Hong Kong in December 2017 by ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co., Ltd. (HKEX stock code: 6060), an Insurtech firm in China, in order to explore global business development, collaboration and investment opportunities.
In August 2018, ZA International and SoftBank Vision Fund “announced cooperation to boost ZhongAn’s technology solutions businesses outside China, with an initial focus on Asia.”
In September 2018, ZA International “announced that it would support the digital transformation of Sompo, a Japanese insurance giant, with its next-generation insurance system built upon end-to-end cloud technologies.”
In January 2019, ZA International and Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading online-to-offline mobile platform, announced the “establishment of a joint venture to enter the digital insurance distribution business in the region.”
On 24 March 2020, ZA Bank, a subsidiary of ZA International, became the first virtual bank in Hong Kong, “providing Hong Kong customers with banking products and services that break conventions and time boundaries.”
On 4 May 2020, ZA Life Limited, a joint venture between ZA International and Fubon Life Insurance (Hong Kong) Company Limited, was “granted a digital-only insurer license by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority under its Fast Track pilot scheme, operating under the trade name “ZA Insure”.”
It aims to serve the “needs of different people with innovative insurance services and products, offering protection to a wider population.”