A novel place to hawk credit cards

Talk about flexibility and ingenuity…

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by Alicia Wong

05:55 AM May 13, 2009

YOU'VE seen them at bus interchanges and inside shopping malls - and now, credit card promoters have even set up shop at hawker centres.

One bank, Standard Chartered, has engaged marketing company Appco to promote its Platinum credit card, which it is now doing, at hawker centres, for instance, at Holland Village and Adam Road.

At the Adam Road hawker centre yesterday afternoon, Today spotted four promoters outside one of the entrances. Theirs was a casual set-up - a table, chairs, banner, laptop and printer.

Dressed in office wear and toting brochures, the promoters said they had been stationed there for the past week to catch the lunch and dinner crowds.

They look out for likely applicants and approach them as they enter, or else wait for the diners to finish their meal and leave. "It's (a good strategy) because we get a different crowd everytime ... no one eats at the same place all the time," said one promoter.

Another promoter said they were not allowed to enter the hawker centre and speak to people while they ate, as that would be akin to touting.

Diners who are interested can apply for a Platinum credit card on the spot. They just need to produce their identification card and access the Internet to print a copy of their monthly CPF contribution statement as proof that they earn more than $30,000 a year.

Today understands they average some 10 sign-ups a day.

Some patrons were surprised at this novel marketing move. One civil servant said: "This is quite inappropriate. People would like to enjoy their food, rather than make a decision (whether or not to get a credit card)."

But permanent resident Serge Landry, 44, who was spotted flipping through the brochure and trying to decide if he should sign up, felt it was "good if you have the time to listen".

When contacted, Appco said it needed its client's approval to comment; StanChart was unable to respond by press time.

From TODAY – Wednesday, 13-May-2009