- Fave is partnering with Facebook to promote digital gift cards (eCards) for local F&B, retail and hospitality businesses on its social media platforms.
- These digital gift cards provide a fast and cost-effective way for local businesses, affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, to generate revenue.
- Fave has onboarded over 400 local businesses in Singapore onto its eCards feature since it was launched in late 2019.
Fave, one of Southeast Asia’s leading mobile payments and rewards platforms, has announced that it has launched a new partnership with Facebook to help local businesses in Singapore affected by COVID-19. The partnership will see both Facebook and Instagram platforms promote Fave’s assortment of digital gift cards (eCards) from local businesses operating under current Circuit Breaker measures to social media users. Among the businesses expected to benefit from this new initiative are retail and hospitality, as well as the food and beverage (F&B) sectors.
From 12 May 2020, Singaporeans will be able to access to purchase or gift Fave’s eCards from participating businesses through a “Support Local Businesses” banner on their Facebook feeds. This will enable local businesses to benefit from a meaningful contribution to their income during the ongoing pandemic. With local businesses forming the backbone of Singapore’s economy, the custom-branded eCards brought by Fave onto Facebook’s platform provides an instant and cost-effective collaboration to generate critical revenue for businesses affected during the pandemic. Participating local businesses will also be able to add an eCard sticker with a link to their eCard campaign page on Fave’s platform to their Instagram Stories to encourage their followers to support the initiative.
Sandhya Devanathan, Country Managing Director at Facebook Singapore said, “We’re trying to help businesses navigate the new normal of today’s economic climate. These updates are part of our overall commitment and responsibility to Singapore and the communities we operate in. We hope that with these tools, businesses can take more of their operations online and continue serving their customers as they adapt to the current challenges.”
In Singapore, the majority of local businesses are still reeling from disruptions as a result of COVID-19. This is reflected through the Singapore Business Federation-Experian SME Index, which saw its reading for overall national business sentiment fall to 48.3 from 50.4 in April
2020, the lowest value since 2009 when the index was first created. With domestic and traditional brick and mortar sectors being severely affected, incorporating digital business strategies into current business models are the best way for local businesses going forward.
“COVID-19 has brought great disruption and uncertainty to our economy over the past few months,” said Ng Aik-Phong, Managing Director of Fave Singapore. “When Fave launched eCards seven months ago, it was to provide local businesses with a platform to invigorate their cash flow, reward their regular customers and enable cashless payments.”
“By joining forces with Facebook and Instagram, we aim to extend support to local businesses further with utmost speed and urgency. Our partnership will accelerate our local businesses’ ability to adapt and digitalise while providing a much-needed income boost to keep them afloat during these challenging times,” he added.
Fave launched eCards on its platform in late 2019 as a bespoke form of digital credit from merchant partners to Fave users, with generous discounts and bonus cashback upon every purchase of an eCard. The paid amount and cashback is instantly credited to the user’s profile from the merchant on their Fave account upon purchase. eCard credit is valid for six months and is redeemable for multiple visits. To date, over 400 local businesses in Singapore such as Crave, Jollibean, Nippon Home and Pixie Nail Spa have made their transition towards digitalisation with Fave’s eCards, bearing positive results to their bottom line.
“We’re really pleased with the new eCard feature on Fave, and it’s good value for Maki-San’s customer base who wants a nice discount, and it’s good for businesses like us too because it helps to move bigger bundle deals as well. The simplicity in technology is also seamless, so it’s so easy for our customers to enjoy,” said Alvin Wong, Director of Maki-San.
To ease the process of digitalisation, Fave has launched a self-serving application process on its FaveBiz platform, enabling local businesses to have their eCards up and running in less than five minutes. This streamlines and accelerates their approach towards getting started on converting Singaporean consumers into loyal customers while reaping the benefits of the collaboration between Facebook and Fave.
