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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
April 07, 2008
Poland: Citi Handlowy Launches Prepaid Card for Micro & Small Companies
Warsaw – Citi Handlowy is consistently expanding its offer addressed to companies with annual sales not exceeding PLN 8 million. The bank has already introduced credit cards for small companies and now it launches special prepaid cards for small and medium-sized companies.
"Citi Handlowy is the largest issuer of corporate prepaid cards in Poland. Our product enjoys great popularity among corporate clients and we have thought that now it's high time for micro and small companies to learn its advantages," said Krzysztof Łabowski, Head of CitiBusiness Department at Citi Handlowy.
Prepaid cards are a great option for companies that are looking for innovative marketing solutions. So far these cards have been available only to large companies. "Drawing on the extensive experience Bank Handlowy has gained when offering prepaid cards to corporate clients, we have developed a special prepaid card for small companies. That's a unique offer in the Polish market," says Krzysztof Markiewicz, Director of CitiBusiness Segment Bureau at Citi Handlowy.
A prepaid card can be used by entrepreneurs as an element of their loyalty program rewarding, for example, hard working employees for their exceptional performance. A member of the loyalty program who is rewarded for his/her work, instead of a gift, can be given a prepaid card loaded with a certain amount of money and use it to make purchases at any point of sale in Poland accepting Visa Electron cards. Thanks to this solution the entrepreneur does need to worry about the logistics and distribution of traditional rewards and the rewarded persons are free to choose their gifts. Prepaid cards can also be used in promotional programs and for funds distribution, e.g., to disburse benefit payments or to pay Christmas bonuses. "That's a perfect solution allowing companies to save time and money because irrespective of the number of cards to be loaded the company makes only one transfer," says Piotr Lipiński, Director of Card Products Bureau at Citi Handlowy. "If the company wanted to pay out or transfer by postal order similar amounts of money to several beneficiaries, then the cost of these transactions would be even nine times higher," adds Krzysztof Markiewicz.
Prepaid cards for small companies are available to all customers who have a CitiBusiness account. What is important the cardholder does not need to open an account with Citi Handlowy. Each company decides how many cards it wants to issue, sets individual card limits and chooses the final layout of the card. It is also up to the company to decide whether its prepaid card will be loaded on a regular basis or whether it will be a non-reloadable card.
The company also decides about the expiry date of its card - prepaid cards can be valid for one to three years. An additional advantage of prepaid cards is security. In the event of card theft or loss, both the card holder and the company can block the card immediately. Citi Handlowy offers its customers personalized and non-personalized prepaid cards as well as cards with and without PIN code assigned to them.
Detailed information about prepaid cards is available from your Relationship Mananger or by calling 022 692 96 22.
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Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approx. 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credits, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.