By Nishel Fernando

With the Christmas and New Year festive season fast approaching, DFCC Bank yet again has come up with range of great deals offering deep discounts up to 65 percent to its Cardholders in lifting their festive spirit.

DFCC Bank is partnering with over 300 merchant outlets and these extend to e-commerce platforms to support Contact-less Payments and Buy Now- Pay Later 0% Easy Payment Plans to spread expenses over a period of time .

So, having a DFCC Card in this joyous season would be almost similar to having a ‘Santa in the Wallet’. DFCC Bank, Vice President/ Head of Card Centre Denver Lewis recently sat down with Daily Mirror to share the seasonal offers DFCC Bank has for its cardholders.

Following are the excerpts of the discussion”:

What are the special offers extended by DFCC Bank to its Credit Cardholders this upcoming festive season?

We are offering up to 65 percent discounts on range of goods and services at over 300 selected partner outlets. These offers are spread across clothing, dining, leisure, electronics and furniture categories. And, of course, with contact-less payment in mind, offers have been extended on partner’s e-commerce platforms so that our cardholders won’t miss out by not being able to visit outlets to benefit from the offers. Evaluating expenses on a timely basis helps customers plan out their future spending patterns efficiently such we are offering the Buy Now and Pay Later installment payment plans.

What are the unique benefits DFCC Cardholders enjoy?

In addition to the up to 65 percent discounts at our partner locations and e-commerce platforms, our unique selling proposition is the 1% CashBack that a cardholder receives every time the card is used. The CashBack is one of the key benefits that is offered 365 days of the year.

In order to ease the financial burden when buying big ticket items and having to make the payment upfront, we are offering the Buy Now and Pay Later options with up to 36 months Easy Payment Plans subject to a very low processing fee. For those who want immediate cash, they are also eligible to obtain a loan on their credit card, again at a very low processing fee. Those who want to consolidate their credit card balances, they can transfer balances from other banks into the DFCC Credit Card and pay it in installments.

The card also offers Installment Payment Plans, Loan on Card that allows the customers to obtain a quick cash advance of up to 75% of the available balance on the card and convert it into an Installment Payment Plan at a low processing fee. Other benefits include Balance Transfers from other credit cards to the DFCC Credit Card with a lower processing fee.

How can DFCC Credit Cardholders maximize the advantage of using a DFCC Credit Card this season?

One way is to make sure that cardholders shop at our 300 partner locations to take advantage of the up to 65% discount offers. Along with it, cardholders can also make use of our Buy Now and Pay Later installment payment plans in order to spread their expense across a longer time period.

Cardholder should also make sure that they register for the CashBack facility by nominating a DFCC Bank rupee current or saving account. The CashBack amount could be credited to a DFCC Bank savings or current account of the cardholder’s kith and kin. What’s more, interest on the CashBack could be earned when credited to a DFCC savings account making it a double reward.

Are there any benefits extended to DFCC Debit Cardholders as well?

Yes, we are offering up to 25 percent discounts for our debit cardholders at clothing, e-commerce and jewellery partner outlets. .

How has DFCC Bank progressed in facilitating digital solutions in the post new normal era and how has the customer response been so far?

During the Pandemic, we put in a lot of effort and focused on facilitating e-commerce transactions in prioritizing the safety of our customers. Our e-commerce transactions are secured with the onetime password (OTP) authentication process. We see this transition has been extremely successfully with the evident growth of e-commerce related transactions. .

In terms of the credit card statements, we have a very high percentage of our cardholders registered for our interactive e-statements. Our amazing interactive e-statement provides rich data that customers could use to be on top of their spending. The spending patterns and transaction details are illustrated graphically which enables customers to manage their future expenses much better. For customers who are still using paper statements, we started sending them a SMS with a link to view their credit card statements online. If they have a Smartphone, they can click on the link, verify the authentication with the OTP and view their paper statement online. Similarly, our DFCC Virtual Wallet and DFCC Pay apps also provide customers the option to view their statements and many more card related features.

We offer free of charge SMS alert services which allows customers to track their transactions instantly.

What are some of exciting initiatives for DFCC Bank cardholders in the pipeline?

Well, we have launched the DFCC MasterCard World Credit Card and invite new and existing customers to apply for the same. In addition, we have also set our eyes to launch several exciting other card products next year. Moreover, we will also continue our contribution in materializing initiatives in the CBSL Digital Road-map. We want our customers to stay safe and use contact-less payment modes not just during this season, but always. With over 65 years of experience in the banking world, DFCC Bank has also doubled up its efforts in digitization allowing the customers to reap maximum benefits of the Bank’s digital initiatives.