Russian retailer Magnit has announced that its payment service Magnit Pay has issued five million virtual payment cards since its launch in December 2020.
Around 65% of cardholders use the service for purchases outside Magnit's ecosystem, the retailer added.
The virtual cards are used in grocery stores, cafes, and restaurants, as well as for payment for delivery services.
'An Impressive Result'
Deputy chief executive officer and executive director, Florian Jansen, commented, "We are pleased with the interim results of Magnit Pay development. Five million virtual cards is an impressive result that has been achieved organically without active marketing.
"We will continue developing the payment service by adding new features and benefits to create additional value for our customers."
Customers with virtual cards are also frequent visitors to Magnit stores.
Holders of Magnit Pay cards visit Magnit stores twice as often as the participants of the company's loyalty programme, the retailer said.
Magnit added that the average ticket of customers using Magnit Pay increased by about 15% during the first month of using the card.
In December 2020, Magnit launched the payment service app in association with VTB group to unite online shopping, payment and credit solutions, lifestyle, and other non-financial customer services, as well as benefits from its partners.
An Open Ecosystem
Svyatoslav Ostrovsky, member of the management board of VTB, said, "The project with Magnit is one of the first ventures developed as part of VTB's efforts to build an open ecosystem, which we are creating together with our partners. We are ready to offer industry leaders the most popular and high-tech services for every day.
"We plan to deepen our partnership with Magnit retail chain by developing and expanding our line of financial products with financial services relevant to its customers."
Magnit Pay Highlights
In the spring of this year, the retailer added mobile, internet, and TV payment services, as well as a feature enabling to top up transport cards, to its loyalty programme application.
Magnit has also launched a solution that allows Magnit Pay cardholders to pay for their purchases using the same QR code as used in the loyalty programme.
Last month, the company introduced the online credit broker service, which is now at the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) stage.
The service will allow users of the Magnit mobile app to apply for a credit card and receive a swift response from partner banks associated with the service.
In the near future, the retailer intends to incorporate new services to the app, such as payment of utilities, fines, taxes, among others.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
