The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is teeing off with the 128-year-old Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) for a milestone partnership that will see the latter’s members enjoying the benefits of a co-branded World Mastercard® credit card, a first for the two institutions.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka’s benchmark private bank and the second oldest golf club in the country paves the way for the launch of the NEGC Privilege Credit Card, the first sport-linked co-branded credit card in Sri Lanka.
Commercial Bank will waive the joining fee and the annual fee for the first year of the co-branded card, which will entitle its holders to an extensive range of benefits such as discounts on course fees, privileged access, private tee times, complimentary in-cart refreshments and exclusive golfing experiences at iconic courses around the world.
These special privileges are part of the World Mastercard® ‘Priceless Cities’ programme of exclusive benefits, including special access to the ‘Hidden Network’ of some of the most sought-after private golf courses in the world via the Mastercard Concierge service.
Additionally, holders of the NEGC Privilege Credit Card will be eligible to receive the full gamut of benefits offered to Commercial Bank’s credit card holders, such as 0% Interest rate payment packages for overseas travel, Max Loyalty Rewards and all other periodic discounts and benefits announced by the Bank.
“We are delighted to partner with the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club and Mastercard to create a new paradigm in elite lifestyle benefits for a key segment of our customer base,” Commercial Bank Deputy General Manager – Marketing Mr Hasrath Munasinghe said. “This is just one example of how Commercial Bank constantly strives to add value to our cardholder experience by supporting the passions of our customers.”
This card also provides NEGC members exclusive privileges from Channel 17 Loyalty’s network of retail brands offering year-round concessionary benefits. CH7 Loyalty is the single largest loyalty aggregate in the retail market today.
Commercial Bank’s World Mastercard credit card holders also enjoy access to more than 800 airport lounges in over 120 countries under Mastercard’s LoungeKey® exclusive travel privilege programme available in Sri Lanka from September 2017.
Commercial Bank cards are the fastest growing cards in Sri Lanka and enjoy market leadership in Credit and Debit Card cumulative point-of-sale usage. The Bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers and World Mastercard in the premium segment. The cards are equipped with ‘Tap & Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network. Commercial Bank ‘Max Loyalty Rewards’ scheme is the only loyalty scheme that offers loyalty rewards points on both Credit and Debit cards.
The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for seven years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 259 branches and 720 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won more than 30 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and has over the years received multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s Best Bank, Best Trade Bank, Strongest Bank and Most Respected Bank from a number of local and international institutions and publications.
Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake and Italy, where the Bank operates its own money transfer service.