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New Delhi, August 23, 2005
In an exclusive nationwide marketing alliance, India’s leading cellular operator IDEA Cellular Ltd. and HDFC Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks, today launched a range of co-branded products. An HDFC Bank - IDEA Co-Branded VISA Credit Card for subscribers of Idea Cellular and an IDEA -HDFC Bank Co-Branded postpaid connection for credit card customers of HDFC Bank. The Co-Branded products were unveiled today by Mr. Vikram Mehmi, CEO, IDEA Cellular Ltd. and Mr. Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank Ltd. The alliance targets at bringing best-in-class products to customers of both Idea Cellular and HDFC Bank.
The HDFC Bank - IDEA co-branded VISA credit card is available in Gold and Silver variants and will be available at Rs. 2000 and Rs. 700 respectively.
Some UNIQUE benefits of the HDFC Bank-Idea Co-Branded VISA credit card:
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi today, Mr. Vikram Mehmi, CEO, IDEA Cellular Ltd. said, “We are very happy to be associated with HDFC Bank. Our common values of customer delight have created these products which we are sure will redefine all paradigms of value addition a Service provider can offer to its customers. Further, Telecom and Credit Card markets are both growing at a scorching pace in India today. We believe that IDEA- HDFC Bank alliance will provide extra value for the existing customers and add impetus to new customer acquisitions for both the companies.”
Mr. Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank Ltd. said, “The launch of the HDFC Bank-Idea Visa Credit Card will offer multiple benefits, to HDFC Bank customers as well as Idea subscribers. This alliance of two leading players in their respective industries is in line with our endeavour to reward the patronage and loyalty of our customers through innovative product offerings.”
Mr. Santanu Mukherjee,
Country Manager – South Asia, Visa International said, “We are delighted
to partner with HDFC Bank and Idea Cellular to provide cardholders and
mobile customers with the benefits of electronic payments. From a payment
card perspective telecom co-brand relationships are one of the most successful
in the world. They provide superior value to cardholders who are telecom
customers; they are a robust channel for the operators to build customer
loyalty and a great business opportunity for the bank. We are confident
that this is a winning partnership - Idea Cellular is India’s leading cellular
operator, HDFC Bank has always developed unique products for customers
and the relationship is underlined by the Visa global system, the world’s
most robust electronic payment network that links a billion cardholders
and 21 million merchants around the world.”
About IDEA Cellular:
As India’s leading GSM Mobile
Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate in 11 circles.
With a customer base of over 5 million, IDEA Cellular has operations in
New Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP- West and Kerala. IDEA Cellular’s footprint currently
covers approximately 45% of India’s population and over 50% of the potential
telecom-market.
Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. With GPRS currently available on all its’ networks, for both pre and post paid customers, IDEA Cellular is the first company to commercially launch next generation EDGE technology (a 3G technology) for its Delhi circle.
As a leader in Value Added
Services, Innovation is central to IDEA’s VAS Factory. It is the first
cellular company to launch music messaging with ‘Cellular Jockey’, ‘Global
SMS’ in over 540 networks across all technology platforms, a voice portal
with ‘Say IDEA’. A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans,
offering maximum savings to its customers, IDEA Cellular has the distinction
of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings,
for the first time in India, with ‘Eco Talk’, ‘Flexi-charge’ and other
segmented offerings. The most recent offering - ‘Lifetime Idea’ is the
first and only loyalty program, for pre paid customers, introduced by a
Cellular brand and Pay Easy which is bill payment through the effective
use of the pre-paid channel. IDEA is the only operator in the world to
launch this service.
Idea has many milestones to its credit, mainly – scoring the highest percentage in Metros and Circle B & C in Customer Satisfaction and the highest percentage in Value Added Service and Overall Sales satisfaction as per the Voice and Data - Customer Satisfaction Survey in December 04. The largest M&A deal in India INC, through its acquisition of Escotel in 2004 and its Rs. 5000 crore financial closure, both being largest ever in the history of Indian telecom.
IDEA Cellular Ltd. is headquartered
in Pune.
HDFC Bank was promoted in 1995 by HDFC, India’s premier Housing Finance Company. Since then, HDFC Bank has grown manifold to emerge as one of India’s leading private sector Banks. In a short time, the Bank has provided its customers the complete range of accounts and services such as NetBanking; BillPay facility through PhoneBanking, ATM, and NetBanking; Access to banking and financial transactions over the cellphone through 24-Hour MobileBanking; PhoneBanking; Net-based instant car loans, Personal loans, Loans against Securities; Inter-branch banking; Sweep-In facility from FDs; Cluster Deposits; the International Debit Card; International Credit Card; Advisory Services; and NRI Banking services across the country, among others.
HDFC Bank has received recognition
for its business, from various leading publications, both national and
international. It was named “Best Bank in India” for two consecutive years,
2004 and 2003 by leading Indian magazine Business Today and “Best Domestic
Bank in India” for 2004 and 2003 by Hong-Kong-based The Asset magazine.
Asiamoney magazine has named
the bank Best Domestic Commercial Bank 2005. In 2004, Asiamoney named it
Best Local Cash Management Bank in India 2004 – US$11-100m, Best Local
Cash Management Bank in India 2004 – >US$501m, Best Local Cash Management
Bank in India 1989-2004 (poll of polls), Best Overall Domestic Trade Finance
Services in India 2004, and Most Improved company for Best Management Practices
in India 2004.
Recently, HDFC Bank was
selected by Business World as "one of India's Most Respected Companies"
as part of The Business World Most Respected Company Awards 2004. The bank
was named by Forbes Global in its listing of 100 of the best smaller size
enterprises in Asia/Pacific and Europe, (captioned "Best Under A Billion")
in 2004. The bank also received The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail
Banking Risk Management Award in India for 2004
Today, HDFC Bank has a network
of 499 branches and over 1200 ATMs across 219 cities, making it convenient
for customers to operate their accounts from anywhere, 24 hours a day and
365 days a year.
In the first quarter ended
June 30, 2005, HDFC Bank reported a 31.1% jump in net profit to Rs 183.5
crore and 22.1% rise in deposit base to Rs 38,354 crore. Its Total balance
sheet size is Rs 53,986 crore. For more information on HDFC Bank, please
log onto www.hdfcbank.com
Visa connects cardholders,
merchants and financial institutions through the world’s largest electronic
payments network. Visa products allow buyers and sellers to conduct
commerce with ease and confidence in both the physical and virtual worlds.
As an association owned by 21,000 member financial institutions, Visa is
committed to the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to support
the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic growth. For more
information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
In Asia Pacific, Visa has
a greater market share than all other payment card brands combined, with
62 per cent of all card purchases at the point of sale being made using
Visa cards. There are currently 238 million Visa-branded cards in the region.
In 2004, US$475 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs
in Asia Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific’s Internet address
is www.visa-asia.com.