Union Bank of Taiwan unveils charity card
2005/3/15
By Jason Tan The China Post
Union Bank of Taiwan (UBT) has unveiled a new charity credit card, which is claimed to be the first to donate a portion of card expenses to as many as eight charity groups.
The "Bafu" charity credit card was launched last week. Bafu means eight social welfare organizations in Mandarin.
The card cooperates with the "Bafu Alliance", which is formed by eight social welfare groups, including the Eden Foundation for Social Welfare and the Garden of Hope Foundation, an organization fighting for women's rights.
The members of the alliance are also taking care of aborigines, laborers, AIDS patients, or those are afflicted by rare diseases.
UBT will donate NT$300 to the alliance for each approved card. For each NT$1,000 charged to the card, NT$3 will be channeled to the alliance, with the other NT$3 rebated to the user.
"This card is also the first charity credit card in Taiwan that offers a rebate to users," Chen Meiji, UBT assistant vice president, told the China Post.
He said that most charity cards are only tied to one nonprofit group, and the effect is limited as they fail to reach a wider population.
By combining all eight groups together, the Bafu card will have a greater influence on those in need.
"The tsunami tragedy did result in lot of money being collected from the public after extensive media coverage, but the effect was short-term. We launched the Bafu card for long-term donations as there are more charity organizations which need attention," he said.
The Bafu card will be targeted at the volunteers and those who donate to the alliance on a regular basis. There are currently around 200,000 such donors in the alliance, said Chen.
UBT aims to issue over 100,000 Bafu cards by the end of the year, translating into half of the volunteers and frequent donors to the alliance.
The target is to contribute NT$30 million to the alliance for the approved cards.
Provided that each user charges NT$3,000 per month to the card, the monthly donation can easily come up to a handsome NT$900,000, estimated Chen.
In another push, Citibank has a similar credit card aiming to help the mentally disabled. There are around 400,000 people with Down's Syndrome, autism or severe developmental disabilities nationwide.
For all spending charged to the "Xi Han Er" card, 0.275 percent of the amount will go to the Children Are Us Foundation, a nonprofit group aiding those individuals and offering them job training.
The card was launched in 1998, and is one of the pioneering charity cards here, according to an official from the corporate affairs department of Citibank Group Taiwan.
She said that the card has grown steadily over the years, contributing NT$8 million to the foundation every year on average.
The bank has stopped promoting the card as it has already gathered enough loyal users. Citibank is now partnering with nongovernmental organizations to launch donation campaigns for the needy, she added.
By Jason Tan The China Post
Union Bank of Taiwan (UBT) has unveiled a new charity credit card, which is claimed to be the first to donate a portion of card expenses to as many as eight charity groups.
The "Bafu" charity credit card was launched last week. Bafu means eight social welfare organizations in Mandarin.
The card cooperates with the "Bafu Alliance", which is formed by eight social welfare groups, including the Eden Foundation for Social Welfare and the Garden of Hope Foundation, an organization fighting for women's rights.
The members of the alliance are also taking care of aborigines, laborers, AIDS patients, or those are afflicted by rare diseases.
UBT will donate NT$300 to the alliance for each approved card. For each NT$1,000 charged to the card, NT$3 will be channeled to the alliance, with the other NT$3 rebated to the user.
"This card is also the first charity credit card in Taiwan that offers a rebate to users," Chen Meiji, UBT assistant vice president, told the China Post.
He said that most charity cards are only tied to one nonprofit group, and the effect is limited as they fail to reach a wider population.
By combining all eight groups together, the Bafu card will have a greater influence on those in need.
"The tsunami tragedy did result in lot of money being collected from the public after extensive media coverage, but the effect was short-term. We launched the Bafu card for long-term donations as there are more charity organizations which need attention," he said.
The Bafu card will be targeted at the volunteers and those who donate to the alliance on a regular basis. There are currently around 200,000 such donors in the alliance, said Chen.
UBT aims to issue over 100,000 Bafu cards by the end of the year, translating into half of the volunteers and frequent donors to the alliance.
The target is to contribute NT$30 million to the alliance for the approved cards.
Provided that each user charges NT$3,000 per month to the card, the monthly donation can easily come up to a handsome NT$900,000, estimated Chen.
In another push, Citibank has a similar credit card aiming to help the mentally disabled. There are around 400,000 people with Down's Syndrome, autism or severe developmental disabilities nationwide.
For all spending charged to the "Xi Han Er" card, 0.275 percent of the amount will go to the Children Are Us Foundation, a nonprofit group aiding those individuals and offering them job training.
The card was launched in 1998, and is one of the pioneering charity cards here, according to an official from the corporate affairs department of Citibank Group Taiwan.
She said that the card has grown steadily over the years, contributing NT$8 million to the foundation every year on average.
The bank has stopped promoting the card as it has already gathered enough loyal users. Citibank is now partnering with nongovernmental organizations to launch donation campaigns for the needy, she added.
posted by jason tan @ 2:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home