More credit for apps on the cards, the co-branded way

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Swiggy will be the latest entrant to follow in the wake of Myntra, Paytm and Flipkart to launch a co-branded credit card with private-sector lender HDFC Bank, three people in the know told ET. The food delivery platform is relying on flat discounts and special offers on its hyper local delivery services for users who use its co-branded card product.

It could also offer additional discounts on Dineout, Swiggy’s restaurant bill payment service.Mastercard is expected to be the network partner powering the co-branded card, one of the sources quoted above said.Also read | The rise of Amazon-ICICI, Flipkart-Axis co-branded credit cards, and the bad news that comes along Interestingly, its rival Zomato had launched a co-branded credit card with RBL Bank back in 2020, but discontinued the service in April this year. Like other co-branded propositions, Swiggy will offer extra discounts to its card holders in the hope that it can keep them sticky on the app.

Additionally, a co-branded card will be a revenue generator for the food delivery app. The company said it is profitable in its core food delivery business.

Overall Swiggy is still burning around $20 million on its Instamart business, a recent Techcrunch report said. “While Swiggy has been working on its co-branded card partnership since early last year and has approached a number of banking and fintech partners for the strategy, it is now looking to cash out on Zomato pulling back from the co-branded credit card market and will launch the card in the next few weeks,” one of the persons quoted earlier told ET, requesting anonymity.

The other person quoted in the story said Swiggy had set up a sizeable tech team for the banking integrations. Their focus is on launching the