OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2009. OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), the Visa International payment system, and ZAO Raiffeisenbank have announced the release of a new product for their clients: a co-branded MTS-Raiffeisenbank Visa card. The new product will be of interest to existing and potential MTS subscribers and clients of Raiffeisenbank. Clients will be able to accumulate bonus points even faster and exchange them for minutes on calls to friends and family, SMS packages, and other MTS Bonus programme awards when they make any purchase using the MTS-Raiffeisenbank-VISA card, reported the press-centre of Raiffeisenbank.

After the first purchase using the MTS-Raiffeisenbank-VISA card, each client will receive welcome bonuses of 200 and 400 points respectively on Visa Classic and Visa Gold debit cards and 300 and 500 points respectively on Visa Classic and Visa Gold credit cards. One bonus point will be earned for every 30 roubles spent using a credit card and for every 50 roubles spent using a debit card. When opening an MTS-Raiffeisenbank-Visa card, a client can use his or her own MTS mobile number or the MTS of a family member or friend for participation in the MTS Bonus Programme.

MTS Bonus award points carry different worth depending on the region in which the SIM card was bought: for example, ten minutes of talk time cost 160 points in Moscow, 70 points in St. Petersburg, and 90 points in Novosibirsk. Accrued bonus points may also be exchanged for gifts for the client or his/her family, such as gift certificates to large retail chains or subscriptions to magazines. A programme awards catalogue has been issued and can be viewed in detail at http://www.bonus.mts.ru. The catalogue's offerings will be constantly updated and expanded.

Holders of a MTS-Raifeissenbank-VISA co-branded card may open up to two additional credit cards or up to five additional debit cards. When the additional cards are used, the bonus points accrue on the MTS phone number indicated for the main card when it was opened. Points are credited to the card monthly between the 5th and the 20th day of the month following the purchase.

"We are continuing to develop the large-scale MTS Bonus loyalty programme and are actively attracting partners from various industries. In the current economic conditions, the loyalty programme is becoming a strategic instrument that is allowing the company to build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with clients. Since the programme began, more than three million users have become participants. They have received a wide range of opportunities both for using the network and for patronising banks, restaurants, malls, and so on," noted MTS’s Vice President of Commerce, Mikhail Gerchuk.

"We are happy that Raiffeisenbank has become the MTS Bonus Programme's first bank partner," says Andrei Stepanenko, a member of ZAO Raiffeisenbank’s board and the head of the Consumer Banking Directorate. "Right now it is important to us to demonstrate our loyalty to our clients and offer additional options for receiving bonuses and discounts".

"Visa works with banks all over the world, helping them to develop their business and offering new solutions for cashless payments that correspond to the needs of the modern person. Today, with the difficult economic situation, the development of co-branded programmes offering additional advantages to users is acquiring especially important significance for business," noted Maarten van den Belt, General Director of Visa in Russia. "Payment for mobile services is one of the main consumer expenditures in Russia, and we are glad to offer Visa MTS Raiffeisenbank cardholders free mobile talk minutes with their friends and family".