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Visa rolls out new concierge service

By Wang Ying in Shanghai | China Daily USA | Updated: 2017-01-20 12:28

Visa rolls out new concierge service

In response to Chinese consumers' high reliance on smartphones and their payment preferences, Visa has introduced a new personalized service called Visa mConcierge, the first of its kind in the market.

According to the China Internet Network Information Center, there were 780 million activated smartphones in China in 2015, a penetration rate of about 59 percent of the population. Market research firm TrendForce has projected that the global mobile payment market will have an annual growth rate of 25.8 percent to reach $780 billion by the end of 2017.

Available only to its premium cardholders in China, the concierge service is accessed via the WeChat platform and is the product of a collaboration between Visa and Chinese start-up Grata, a Beijing-based technology service provider.

"WeChat is the perfect channel for premium cardholders on the go," said Andrew Schorr, CEO of Grata.

"With on-demand access to their concierge, cardholders can just type or speak their request and it is done - no phone calls, no waiting on hold. The concierge team is built on the Grata console which offers highly responsive service, including the ability to easily drag-and-drop nearby Visa Offers multi-media content directly onto a cardholder's phone."

Shirley Yu, country manager of Visa China, said that Visa mConcierge is aimed at offering a service that is in line with the trends of near-universal smartphone ownership and increased mobile payment usage, so as to provide cardholders with the best possible experience.

"We are pleased to share this new service with our premium cardholders and we look forward to being able to facilitate tailor-made experiences, in both their everyday lives and during their travels," said Yu.

The Visa Consumer Payment Landscape report showed that the average mass affluent consumer in China made 1.7 overseas trips in the past 12 months and spent an average of 16,400 yuan ($2,360) each time. It also found that affluent Chinese travelers prefer to use bank cards when they go abroad - 57 percent of all travel-related expenditure is made with bank cards while over 80 percent of shopping expenditure is paid using this method.

Yu added that 50 percent of young Chinese respondents indicated that they are willing to travel alone, double of the global average. One of the main reasons for this is the affiliated service smartphone provides.

To access the new service, cardholders need subscribe to the "WelcomeToVisa" WeChat account by entering their personal information and premium card number. Visa mConcierge is able to assist cardholders with a variety of services, including flight and hotel bookings, making reservations at Michelin-starred restaurants, providing travel advice and emergency assistance.

Visa also introduced a premium product platform for its Visa Infinite, Visa Signature and Visa Platinum cardholders in China on the same day of the Visa mConcierge launch. The new platform features an array of offers and discounts from more than 70 partner merchants from the travel, lifestyle, education, shopping and the health and wellness segments.

wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn

 

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