Under the ‘I Go Kenya – I Go China’ programme, ICBC customers will enjoy discounted rates at select travel, hospitality and lifestyle merchants in Kenya while Kenyans banking with Stanbic Bank will enjoy similar incentives when using the bank’s cards in China.
The deal is part of the strategy of Stanbic’s parent company Standard Bank of South Africa and its single largest shareholder ICBC to tap Chinese citizens and multinationals operating in Africa.
Stanbic Bank Kenya and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have launched a loyalty programme for their customers travelling to China and Kenya.
Under the ‘I Go Kenya – I Go China’ programme, ICBC customers will enjoy discounted rates at select travel, hospitality and lifestyle merchants in Kenya while Kenyans banking with Stanbic Bank will enjoy similar incentives when using the bank’s cards in China.
The deal is part of the strategy of Stanbic’s parent company Standard Bank of South Africa and its single largest shareholder ICBC to tap Chinese citizens and multinationals operating in Africa.
“China has emerged as a key economic partner for Africa in recent years. Through the ‘I Go Kenya – I Go China’ programme, and in partnership with ICBC, we aim to strengthen relations between the two countries by encouraging exchange of visits.
“This is good for the tourism industry and the economies as well,” said Lincoln Mali, Standard Bank’s head of card and emerging payments.
More local banks are refining their China strategy, opening desks dedicated to serving Chinese customers and adding Mandarin to their banking software products.
