• Published on 3 November 2016
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Citi announces regional partnership with Airbnb

Citi announced their partnership with Airbnb in Asia,allowing Citi card holders from this region to have an immersive and authentic travel experience. Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover and book accommodation around the world. For Citi, this is also the first time the bank is collaborating with a home-sharing digital platform across Asia to benefit Citi card holders.

The partnership was launched in Singapore on October 25. In the coming weeks the partnership will expand to other markets across Asia including Thailand, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodation around the world
— online or from a mobile phone or tablet. Airbnb connects people with more 2.5 million homes listed in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. More than 100 million guests have used Airbnb to date.

The announcement marks another key digital partnership that reinforces Citi’s objective to be increasingly relevant in key digital ecosystems where the bank's’ clients are increasingly active. In 2016, Citi has announced partnerships including Grab, Alipay, WeChat, Line and Lazada.

“Our strategy in consumer banking is to be the world’s leading digital bank which includes delivering a remarkable client experience in key digital ecosystems. We have seen that the rapid adoption of mobile and other digital channels has truly transformed how people book their accommodation for business or leisure we are delighted to partner with Airbnb in Asia. Through this partnership Citi will further drive growth in our cards business via new acquisitions and increased customer loyalty,” said Anand Selva, Head of Asia Pacific Consumer Banking for Citi.

Vikas Kumar, Head of Cards and Personal Loans for Citibank Singapore, said, “We are pleased to partner Airbnb, which marks another important step forward in our quest to build collaborative ecosystems to offer our card holders more benefits and privileges. In keeping pace with the evolving and increasingly global needs of our customers, we continue to be innovative and introduce new and value-added propositions that will truly cater to their distinct lifestyles. From dining, shopping, transportation to accommodation, we look forward to forging more strategic partnerships across various industries to be our customers’ bank of choice.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker