New World Development and Visa Announce Strategic Partnership to Enhance Cross-Border Customer Experiences and Attract Tourists from the Greater Bay Area
New World Development Company Limited (“NWD”; Hong Kong stock code: 0017) and Visa today announced a strategic partnership that will see the companies join hands to promote cross-border spending in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) by advancing the adoption of digital payments and loyalty solutions. This partnership recognises Visa as the preferred payments partner at NWD retail properties, including K11 MUSEA, K11 Art Mall, and the soon-to-open largest “retailtainment” landmark in Hong Kong, 11 SKIES, whose strategic location and positioning makes it a prime focus of this collaboration.
As part of the multi-year strategic partnership to accelerate tourist spending, NWD and Visa will work with merchants and partners to introduce year-round consumer campaigns and create seamless digital payment experiences at K11 MUSEA, K11 Art Mall and 11 SKIES. With the launch of a new digitalised K Dollar Visa rewards journey, close to 700,000 K Dollar members paying with Visa cards will enjoy an enhanced experience of K Dollar rewards surprises. They will be able to seamlessly and automatically earn K Dollar rewards at over 1,000 participating merchants located in Hong Kong.
Another highlight is the activation with Visa that will take place at 11 SKIES. Strategically located next to the Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, 11 SKIES is the largest all-in-one Retail, Dining and Entertainment landmark in Hong Kong, opening in phases from 2022 to 2025. At a floor area of over 3.8 million square feet, it is the gateway to a population of 86 million within the “two-hour living circle” in the GBA. With over 800 shops, 120 dining concepts and eight world class and first-in-Hong Kong attractions within the city's largest indoor and immersive entertainment hub, 11 SKIES will offer an array of exclusive privileges to Visa cardholders.
“The HKSAR Government has been investing in GBA opportunities via Lantau and Airport City. It is a growth trend hard for Hong Kong businesses to ignore. 11 SKIES is precisely a project at the core of such mega-trend. Besides, the rebounding of tourism has helped our core cultural retail K11 properties where we have seen the more than doubling of mall sales in Q1 2023 vs. Q1 last year. Our long-term partnership will offer mutual benefits to NWD and Visa, and meanwhile benefit consumers at large,” said Richard Cheung, Senior Director, Group Customer Ecosystem of New World Development.
As leisure and business travel resume around the world, Hong Kong is once again on the radar of many international travellers while GBA is developing into a tourism hot spot. In a recent Visa study[1], consumers in Mainland China and Macau expressed a growing interest in multi-destination travel to GBA cities. A majority of respondents, 74% from Mainland China and 66% from Macau, are interested in making multi-destination GBA trips.
“With travel rebounding and interest in multi-destination travel to the GBA growing, millions of domestic and international visitors will look towards a cashless, borderless and frictionless payment experience. The partnership between NWD and Visa strives to make that possible by bringing the best industry expertise together. We are committed to powering payments for consumers whenever they travel and shop with Visa, while unleashing new opportunities for cross-border commerce and retail businesses in the GBA,” said Shirley Yu, Senior Vice President and Group General Manager of Greater China, Visa.
[1] Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 4.0 polled 2,000 consumers in Mainland China and 350 consumers in Macau across different ages, income levels and districts during the period of September – October 2022. Online interviews were conducted with respondents from 18 to 55 years old, with a minimum monthly household income of CNY 5,000 and MOP 5,000 in respective markets.