Gaming company Razer joins the likes of Apple and Samsung in venturing out into the personal finance niche. The company announced its partnership with Visa yesterday. It unveiled Razer Card, “the world’s first card that lights up on payment.”
The company has not gone global with the launch. Instead, Razer has selected Singapore for beta testing. Initially, it will be made available to a select user set of only 1,337. It has no immediate plans to launch the light-up prepaid credit card in any other country in near future.
Razer, famous for core PC hardware manufacturing, had announced its partnership with Visa last year. The joint venture had plans to diversify into launching a contactless prepaid credit card last year.
What is the Razer Card?
Similar to Apple Card, the Razer Card is a virtual prepaid card. A user needs to sign up on Razer Pay Services with zero subscription charges. The card does not mandate a minimum balance or spend requirement. Payment by the Razer Card can be done at outlets where Visa is accepted. The virtual card offers year-long cashback benefits on all types of transactions.
However, the surprise lies with the premium physical card. A virtual Razer cardholder can upgrade to the Premium card which the company claims is the world’s only card that lights up on making chip or contact-free payment.
Razer has not used RGB to light up the transaction. Instead, it uses the necessary power from NFC readers and the card lights up only when tapping to pay. It is the logo that lights up in the signature green color of the company whenever a payment is done on the prepaid credit card. Hopefully, the company plans to get the RGB version on full launch in the future. The Razer premium card is numberless similar to Apple Card.
Though the company has not yet clarified the charges associated with the physical cards. However, the reference to upgrade virtual and standard cards is likely to attract fees. Do keep in mind that the virtual card and the standard black card don’t light up.
In the past, Razer had tried to reach the gaming community through chewing gum and caffeinated water. The announcement of Razer Card is another such initiative to gamify in its fintech department. Check out the feature which stands out from the rest
Access a unique gamified rewards system through the Razer Pay app, where unlike traditional cards’ loyalty programmes, users go through a personalised experience to track, score and redeem rewards based on tasks and everyday transactions.
There stands a chance for gamers to redeem “up to $2,000 worth of Razer gear and free card upgrades.” Also, it does offer cashback on all purchases and 5-10% on Razer products. So it might be worth getting for more than just the light up.
Razer is not the only one exploring to venture out into the fintech space. Google is rumored to be working on a smart debit card whereas Samsung had announced its plans of entry in the money management system in early 2020.
