Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Monday, 24 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The rewards will be offered at certain celebratory occasions in the lives of the customers .Cash grants will also be offered in the event of hospitalisation of account holder or an immediate family member. The milestones include events that virtually all people experience such as graduation, marriage, birth of first child, 10th wedding anniversary and on 55th birthday.
R.M.P. Dayawansa, Assistant General Manager – Personal Financial Services of HNB, stated that the change in format was a result of the desire of HNB to set the benchmark for reward schemes.
“HNB Pathum Vimana has produced 220,000 winners to date with total prizes in excess of Rs. 1.3 billion. Each year we have improved the program to add more value to the lives of our customers and to appeal to different market segments.”
He went on to provide an overview of the eligibility criteria and the estimated number of beneficiaries based on statistics and research conducted by the bank.
“All customers who have maintained a minimum balance of Rs. 10,000 for three months prior to the milestone or hospitalisation are eligible for the rewards. There are 250 HNB branches island wide. We estimate that, on average, about 200 customers from each branch will experience one of these milestones this year. This means that there could be around 50,000 winners in HNB Pathum Vimana 2014.”
Dayawansa explained that greater inclusiveness was one of the main objectives behind the revamp of the highly successful brand.
“According to official research carried out by Nielsen, 60%-70% of Sri Lankans are familiar with HNB Pathum Vimana as a brand which makes it the most well known banking product in the country. Therefore we wanted to provide a large number of customers the opportunity to become a winner.”
According to him, the focus on rewarding customers upon reaching milestones is an attempt to build meaningful relationships with them.
“We believe in relationships and the new rewards scheme will allow us to share their happiness on special moments or, in the event of hospitalisation, to support them at a time of need. This creates a bond between us and the customer that goes beyond a banking relationship.”
Launched in 1993 and carried out consecutively for 21 years, HNB Pathum Vimana is the longest running rewards scheme in Sri Lanka. Introduced to inculcate the habit of saving among the wider population, the program has generated tremendous interest among over 2.5 million savings account holders at HNB.
