LIT - the time has come for the idea of pizza card

In 2022, AU SFB launched LIT credit card program with much fanfare. We were given front-row seats to this launch as a key partner that helped them build this product. Not in my wildest imagination did I think that this program would scale to such dizzying heights. It wouldn't come as a surprise to me if LIT program alone would command a significant market share in the next few years.?

Everyone knows about this as the pizza card in the credit card industry. Just as the pizza companies offer the choice of toppings to the customer, a credit card product is designed to offer the choice of the benefits to the customers. Banks have tried to offer such a card in the past but most of the programs did not take off in a big way. As to why the banks offer such a card, the answer is quite simple. Such a card has the widest applicability since it can be sold to anyone, as opposed to targeted programs for segments such as travellers, diners, shoppers, etc.?

When I think about why AU LIT succeeded in such a big way while this idea was tried and tested to have failed in the past, I think they got a lot of things right. Please allow me to list down the top reasons and explain.

High conviction

From day 1, the bank demonstrated very high conviction. At the conception stage, senior leaders from the bank had flown down to meet with Hyperface to talk about this product. The product was launched with such a big fanfare in the presence of the CXOs. They invested in creating a few very good video ads. They invested big money in the launch. What this shows is that those in charge had a very high confidence that they will be able to make this a big success. High conviction is needed to drive things forward.?

Right pricing

Price too high and see the customer push away your product. Price too low and the program dies due to budgetary constraints. I believe that AU bank got the pricing just right. The card itself was offered as a zero upfront thereby bringing down the initial resistance. Every benefit was priced to be affordable in the eyes of the customer. Creation of tiers in certain categories so that customers could see the difference. The pricing hasn't changed much since the beginning and that itself is a big testament.??

Plan durations

Flexibility though not exercised but a great right to have. Reserving the right to exercise offers great comfort for the customers. The benefits were offered only for the duration of a quarter with auto-renewals in place. This gives the customer the comfort that they are only committing for a shorter duration and they can change their decision later even though very few customers actually do. Though the benefit duration was for a quarter, the rewards are processed on a monthly basis. This offers the customer regular & frequent gratifications.??

Great digital journeys

The whole offering is powered by digital interfaces. There are no papers or phone banking for customers to interact with. This ensures that the customer is familiarised with the digital interface from day 1. And once the customer is familiarised, then they naturally develop the confidence on the product. Although, this creates a level of friction initially, the ones that cross the barrier remain a loyal user. The bank invested heavily in user designs and user experiences to give the users a pleasant experience of using the product. The latter part helped in having a high degree of returning users.?

Commitment to the digital property

As a relatively new bank, AU also committed to growing their mobile banking app - AU0101. They designed a lot of marketing programs to encourage users to download and use the app. The LIT interface was integrated into AU0101. Digital was the only way for customers to access LIT. Without the bank pushing the mobile banking app, customers wouldn't have had the ability to access the digital interface. Without that, the program wouldn't have worked at all. And today, LIT has become a reason for customers to open the app and use it. I cannot understate the importance of committing to a digital property and weaving the story around it.??

Transparency

The user interface was designed such that the user can see all the qualifying transactions against an opted benefit. The monthly cycles are also clearly listed and the customer shown exactly how much they benefited each month. This is a great level of transparency in the credit card industry. This inspires trust in the customers that the bank is doing right by them.?

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We have come a long way since 2022 but picture abhi baaki hai (the show has just started). I am sure you remember the powerful quote of Victor Hugo: 'Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come'. I think LIT is a foundational program that has given phenomenal success for a new issuer in the Credit Card industry. The time has now come for the pizza card. I am confident that the success of LIT program will inspire many other issuers to launch similar programs but also design the program in such a way that they get the strategy right this time. This is an idea whose time has come. This could be the way for the credit card programs to scale in India!