Global Blue and OCBC Partner to Elevate the Tax Free Shopping Experience for OCBC Customers
Global Blue, a leading technology company in Tax Free Shopping and added-value payment solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with OCBC, Singapore’s longest established bank and the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia. This is a first-of-its kind partnership with a Singapore bank.
By uniting OCBC's extensive payment offerings and Global Blue's unparalleled Tax Free Shopping expertise, this partnership is set to redefine the Tax Free Shopping landscape for OCBC’s valued customers. Since October, this clientele has been able to enjoy a faster Tax Free Shopping experience at over 300,000 stores across more than 43 countries.
In the first phase of the launch, OCBC Singapore cardmembers can enjoy a more seamless Tax Free Shopping experience. By signing up as Global Blue members, they can conveniently fill out Tax Free Shopping forms using a unique barcode, enabling them to receive automated refunds when they shop overseas. Together, Global Blue and OCBC provide a streamlined, personalized registration process for customers to link their OCBC cards to their Global Blue profiles in advance. This expedites the refund process, making it more effortless and seamless as refunds are directly credited to OCBC credit and debit cards.
This strategic partnership between OCBC and Global Blue is a significant achievement – it marks the first ever tie-up between Global Blue and a Singapore bank. Our objective is to provide the best possible service to our customers who travel, many of whom appreciate the travel-related benefits offered by our cards. With the Global Blue partnership, we demonstrate our commitment to enhancing card accessibility while catering to the needs of our well-traveled and discerning clientele. Through seamless Tax Free Shopping refunds, VIP privileges, and customized shopping benefits, this partnership will usher in an era of increased convenience and rewards for our valued cardmembers.
In addition, OCBC’s 90°N, VOYAGE and Visa Infinite cardmembers in Singapore, as well as its Premier and Premier Private Clients, will enjoy VIP rewards when shopping overseas. These rewards include complimentary access to Global Blue’s City Lounges in selected European cities, where they can relax and enjoy free Wi-Fi and light refreshments while processing their tax refunds. Premium cardmembers will also get to enjoy fast-tracked access to Global Blue’s tax refund offices at airports, ensuring a smooth and elevated travel experience.
The next phase of the partnership will offer customers an even more rewarding tax refund experience, with customized shopping benefits and expanded eligibility to include OCBC cardmembers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR.
We are excited about this collaborative endeavor with OCBC. By fusing OCBC's financial know-how with Global Blue's expertise, we are enhancing the Tax Free Shopping experience across the Asia Pacific region while simplifying the shopping journey. We look forward to seeing how these initiatives will tangibly enhance the journey for OCBC customers as we continue our shared commitment to exceeding their expectations.
Media Contacts
Binbin Lu – Senior Relationships & Marketing Manager
Mail: blu@globalblue.com
Virginie Alem – SVP Marketing & Communications
Mail: valem@globalblue.com
About Global Blue
Global Blue pioneered the concept of tax free shopping 40 years ago. Through continuous innovation, we have become the leading strategic technology and payments partner, empowering retailers to improve their performance and shoppers to enhance their experience.
Global Blue offers innovative solutions in three different fields:
- Tax Free Shopping: Helping retailers at over 300,000 points of sale to efficiently manage 35 million tax free shopping transactions a year, thanks to its fully integrated in-house technology platform. Meanwhile, its industry-leading digital tax free shopper solutions create a better, more seamless customer experience.
- Payment services: Providing a full suite of foreign exchange and Payment technology solutions that allow acquirers, hotels, and retailers to offer value-added services and improve the customer experience during 31 million payment transactions a year at 130,000 points of interaction.
- Complementary RetailTech: Offering new technology solutions to retailers, including digital receipts and eCommerce returns, that can be easily integrated with their core systems and allow them to optimize and digitalize their processes throughout the omni-channel customer journey, both in-store and online.
In addition, our data and advisory services offer a strategic advisory to help retailers identify opportunities for growth, while our shopper experience and engagement solutions provide data-driven solutions to increase footfall, convert footfall to revenue and enhance performance.
For more information, visit http://www.globalblue.com/corporate/
ABOUT OCBC
OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognized for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.
OCBC is now the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group offers a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services.
OCBC’s private banking services are provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the best-in-class products to meet its clients’ goals. Its insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the largest private sector asset management companies in Southeast Asia.
The Group’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has more than 420 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions.
For more information, please visit www.ocbc.com.
