Malaysia is a shopping paradise. At least 20% of urban Malaysians spend their weekends in shopping malls and when they shop, shoppers either pay by cash, debit card, or credit card.
According to an official statement by CARDPOW!, generally a Malaysian owns at least two different credit cards, but has no idea what discounts are available at any one time. “A shopper today is overexposed with so much marketing that a shopper today has ‘filtered’ them away from their minds,” said co-founder of CARDPOW! Sze Jun King (SJK) to Digital News Asia.
Most shoppers have certainly encounter this experience of missing out some of the discounts available via your card because the cashier already swiped your card while you’re making your payment. In order to optimise your shopping experience, CARDPOW! can make sure you get the discounts and savings your deserve with the credit cards that you have.
What is CARDPOW!?
In 2012, Sze Jun King, a former Account Manager of Qoo10 and the co-founder of CARDPOW! witnessed a scenario where a lady asked the waiter what credit card discounts were available there. It made him realise that most people have multiple credit cards but are not fully aware of the benefits of their card when they are shopping or dining. Then the idea of CARDPOW! was sparked. SJK met up with his partner Charles Wong and CARDPOW! was finally launched in February 2015 with an crowdfunded angel investment of RM280k.
Just recently, CARDPOW! was one of the 4 Malaysian companies out of 21 South East Asian startups which were selected from a total of 116 to pitch at the Maybank Fintech Demo Day. CARDPOW! is planned for a regional roll out by early 2016.
How does it work?
Customers can search discounts for their credit cards via CARDPOW!, a website that compiles all the discounts for users to search and compare so that they can simply go to the shops in the mall that offers the best discounts for their card.
To get started, customers simply need to key in the shopping mall that they’re headed to, then they can check what discounts are available with the cards that they own.
For instance, I want to purchase a new sunglasses and I’m planning to visit Gurney Plaza to get one. I typed in the name of the mall and there is an option to narrow down the search by choosing the credit card.
Verdict: 3.5/5
At the moment CARDPOW! is available only on their website so users cannot access it via an app, which is unfortunate because it would be more convenient than having the need to use the Chrome or Safari browser.
Nonetheless, CARDPOW! has compiled all the discounts for you to search and compare in one easy-to-use website. With CARDPOW! you don’t have to keep asking the staff or waiter what promotions are available and you can head straight to the shops that do have enticing discounts.
CARDPOW! also has a point system to reward their users. Users can collect Pow Points and use them to redeem gifts like a Casio stainless steel watch, Coach wristlet, Nike waistpack, and more. The team is currently hard at work to improve this system and iron out the kinks.
CARDPOW!’s functionality is definitely useful and beneficial for all credit card users. If you’re already heading to a mall, you might as well find out how you can make the most of the trip with your credit card, right?
However, the website itself could use some sprucing up, the listings could have a better interface and design.
Plus the categories that are on the website currently lead to the same webpage (Popular Promotions), which means the team still has to work on categorising their discounts according to the type of promotion.
Hopefully with the funding that they’ve obtained, they will be able to work on developing an app and improving the website interface to enhance the user experience.
All images are credited to CARDPOW!’s website and Instagram account.
