Mastercard Rallies Filipinos to Support the 2019 Southeast Asian Games

MANILA, PHILPPINES – November 21, 2019 – Mastercard today solidified its commitment to ‘Win As One’ at the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games through an event at the Glorietta Activity Center that unveiled the various ways it makes the Games a priceless experience for Filipinos.

Mastercard is committed to creating a priceless SEA Games experience for all Filipinos. Mastercard is powering the official 2019 SEA Games mobile app, which has a payment functionality embedded, and has also released a limited-edition commemorative 2019 SEA Games Mastercard prepaid card through its partner Philippine National Bank. Another initiative to make the games a priceless experience is the Mastercard augmented reality filter on Facebook which allows Filipinos to show support by posting selfies embellished with fun backgrounds, stickers, and music. As the official payment partner of the SEA Games, Mastercard cardholders will also enjoy exclusive 10% discount on ticket purchase with a minimum spend of Php 1,000 at any SM Tickets outlet or online via smtickets.com, and through the 2019 SEA Games mobile app.

To get more Filipinos to participate, Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Rowell Del Fierro, together with distinguished guests, proudly unveiled the Mastercard Jeepney, designed by local artist Lou Pineda-Arada. The jeepney is a well-loved Philippine cultural icon and Mastercard is leveraging it as a symbol of unity - a figurative ride towards the country’s victory. The Mastercard Jeepney also features a volleyball and basketball motion-sensing game, which the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroon’s star player Kobe Paras got to play in front of the crowd.

“In the spirit of supporting the government and ensuring Philippines is a successful host of the 2019 SEA Games, Mastercard has created multiple interactive initiatives encouraging Filipinos to actively participate in the event,” said Rowell Del Fierro, Country Manager of Mastercard Philippines.

With a little over a week left until the opening ceremony, Mastercard and Philippines Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) are asking Filipinos to Start Something Priceless at the 2019 SEA Games.

The Mastercard Jeepney will be stationed at the Glorietta Activity Center until November 29.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. Our global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardAP, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

NBA ALL-STAR VOTING 2018 PRESENTED BY VERIZON TIPS OFF DEC. 21 WITH EARLY VOTING ON NBA APP AND NBA.COM

Voting via all other channels, including Amazon Alexa for the first time, will launch on Monday, Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. ET before five Christmas Day matchups across ESPN, ABC and TNT.

Additionally, new for this season, five “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Dec. 31, Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Jan. 12 and Jan. 15 when voting through the NBA App and NBA.com, along with Sina Weibo and Tencent in China.  All “2-for-1 Days” will be designated 12 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET.

TNT will reveal the All-Star Game starters, including the two captains, onThursday, Jan. 18 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader at 6 p.m. ET, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.  The network will announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Tuesday, Jan. 23 during TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.  

The team rosters for NBA All-Star Game 2018 in Los Angeles will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25 during a special one-hour edition of TNT NBA Tip-Off at 7 p.m. ET.  The 67^th All-Star Game will be played at Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on TNT.   

Under a new All-Star Game format that replaces the traditional matchup between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, the team rosters will be chosen by two captains from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves.  The captains, who will select the teams before TNT televises the results, will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his conference.   

For the second consecutive year, NBA players and basketball media will join fans in selecting the All-Star Game starters.  Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each. 

Throughout the voting period, fans may submit one full ballot each day through the NBA App and NBA.com, post 10 total votes on Facebook, Google Search, Twitter and Amazon Alexa, as well as 10 total votes via Sina Weibo and Tencent.  All current NBA players will be available for selection via all platforms.  

Players and media will be able to complete one full ballot, featuring three frontcourt players and two guards each from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.  Players may vote for their teammates or themselves. 

Fan voting updates will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 4 and Thursday, Jan. 11.  Voting will conclude on Monday, Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

How to vote:

• NBA.com voting page at NBA.com/vote: Fill out one full ballot per day (per day is defined as once every 24 hours) on NBA.com/vote from a desktop or mobile browser.   Fans can select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.  During the five “2-for-1 Days,” votes through this channel will be counted twice.

• NBA App: Access the ballot and vote through the app, which isavailable on Android and iOS.  Fans can fill out one full ballot per day, and select up to two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference when choosing starters.  During the five “2-for-1 Days,” votes through this channel will be counted twice.

• Facebook: Post the player’s first and last name along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE on your personal Facebook account.   Each post may include only one player’s name.  Fans may post votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

• Twitter: Tweet, retweet or reply with an NBA player’s first and last name or Twitter handle, along with the hashtag #NBAVOTE.  Each tweet may include only one player’s name or handle.  Fans may vote for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

• Google Search: Search “NBA Vote All-Star” or “NBA Vote Team Name” (i.e., NBA Vote Warriors) and use respective voting cards to select teams and then players.  Fans may submit votes for 10 unique players per day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15.

• Amazon Alexa: To vote via Amazon Alexa, the user must have an Alexa-enabled device, and enable the “NBA All-Star” skill.  To submit a vote, the user can open the skill with, “Alexa, open NBA All-Star,” and then request to vote for his or her player of choice.  Voters can submit a maximum of one player name per request to Alexa.  Users can submit votes for 10 unique players per Amazon account each day from Dec. 25 – Jan. 15. 

·         Sina Weibo and Tencent: To vote on Sina Weibo (weibo.com), the user must have a Sina Weibo account. To vote via Sina Weibo, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players. To vote on Tencent NBA community, the user must have a QQ account.  To vote via Tencent NBA community, voters must visit China.NBA.com/vote, and select up to 10 players.

*This is Press Release

Cardholders in the Philippines can now Shop with Points at Amazon.com

Starting this month, Citi credit cardholders in the Philippines who shop at Amazon.com will be able to use their Citi rewards points to pay for their entire purchase at checkout.
Not enough points? Cardholders can also redeem their points to pay for a portion of their purchase and charge the rest to their Citi credit card. With this new offering, Citi credit card customers in the Philippines can also enjoy a USD $15 rebate on the portion of their purchase charged to their card, that is a minimum of at least USD $100, until September 30, 2017. They just need to make sure they enter the promo code LOVE2CLICK in the Gift and Promotional Codes box upon checking out.

“At Citi we are focused on making banking easier for our customers by leveraging digitization, mobile technology and innovation which includes delivering a remarkable client experience in key digital ecosystems. We have seen that the rapid adoption of mobile and other digital channels has truly transformed how people shop and we are delighted to collaborate with Amazon,” said Anand Selva, Head of Asia Pacific Consumer Banking for Citi.
“We expect this partnership to be well-received by our clients, just as they have embraced our earlier digital initiatives,” said David Stoughton, Head of Credit Cards for Citi in the Philippines.  “Over the years, Citi rewards points have become a powerful currency.  Clients use it to shop at their favorite physical stores, or redeem anything from air miles to gasoline to rides around town.  We are excited that our loyalty points are now also available at Amazon.com.”
The announcement marks another key digital relationship that reinforces Citi’s objective to be increasingly relevant in key digital ecosystems where the banks’ clients are more active. In 2016, Citi announced partnerships in Asia including Grab, WeChat, Line, Lazada, AirAsia and Airbnb.

*This is Press Release