Consumer finance giant Home Credit Philippines has teamed up with grocery retailer Puregold Price Club Inc. to launch a credit card designed to provide micro-entrepreneurs with discounts and other rewards to bolster their financing needs.

Home Credit Chief Business Development Officer Zdenek Jankovsky said expanding its credit card service with the retail giant was a no-brainer move as both companies primarily serve the same customer base.

These customers, he said, are typically those who are always looking for ways to optimize their spending to overcome financial challenges, such as sari-sari store owners.

Jankovsky noted that this makes it ideal to launch a credit card with these customers in mind, especially since majority of them do not possess any credit card.

“We are helping them to make their living without [the] need to pay so much for the interest,” he said in an interview.

The Puregold-branded Home Credit Card has a starting credit limit of ₱20,000 and a 45-day interest-free period on purchases. The card’s credit limit is up to ₱100,000.

Cardholders can receive up to ₱500 in rebates during the first month, with a low interest rate of three percent.

Other features include built-in card protection insurance at ₱200 per month with three-month waiver, a ₱ 500-per-day hospital cash benefit, and ₱50,000 supplementary coverage.

Since it is a Visa credit card, the card can be used anywhere in the world Visa is accepted.

But shopping right at Puregold provides exclusive benefits such as cashback for the first time and two reward points for every ₱200.

To avail the credit card, the applicant must be a member of Puregold’s Tindahan ni Aling Puring membership program. Currently, the program has an estimated 800,000 members.

Home Credit Chief CRM Officer Petr Lukosz said these rewards set Home Credit apart from banks and traditional financial institutions, given the lender’s ability to provide Filipinos who are typically unbanked or have no access to formal lending.

“It's the on-site application and approval that, if you look into how banks are doing it, no one else is doing the on-site approval. We believe that our history allows us to really offer this card to the masses,” explained Lukosz.

Meanwhile, Puregold Vice President for Operations Antonio delos Santos said the credit card is also part of the company’s initiative to financially empower Aling Puring members.

Delos Santos pointed out that many sari-sari store owners are hesitant to adopt credit cards since they primarily work on cash basis.

“We don't neglect our members. We always teach them the right way to protect their money,” he said.