- Gaming company Razer is launching a prepaid credit card with Visa in Singapore.
- The card is virtual, similar to the Apple Card, but users can request a premium physical card that lights up when you make payments.
- Razer is the latest tech company to branch out into the personal finance space, along with Apple and Samsung.
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First there was the Apple Card, now there’s the Razer Card.
Gaming company Razer just unveiled the Razer Card, a prepaid credit card it created with Visa that will be available in beta in Singapore. Razer previously announced its ambitions to build a prepaid card in partnership with the payments giant last year, but unveiled the card and beta program on October 5.
Similar to the Apple Card, the Razer Card is a virtual card that can be accessed via the company’s Razer Pay service. There’s also an option to upgrade to a premium physical card, which the company says can light up when making a chip or contactless payment. Razer’s physical cards are numberless, the company says, another characteristic is shares with the Apple Card.
The company hasn’t explicitly said whether it will charge users for the light-up card. But it does refer to the virtual and standard cards as complementary, saying the users can upgrade to the premium card — implying that there may be a fee to do so.
Coming from a gaming company, it’s no surprise that Razer is trying to “gamify” its prepaid card. The company claims its rewards system will differ from that of other cards since it will allow card holders to track and score rewards based on everyday tasks and transactions.
The card offers 1% cash back on all purchases and 5% on purchases made through Razer's store and Razer Gold, the company's virtual credit system for buying games and in-game content. During the beta, cardholders will get 10% cash back on purchases made through these Razer channels.
The prepaid card is being launched by Razer Fintech, the gaming hardware firm's digital payment network in Southeast Asia. It may seem like an unexpected move for a company best known for its line of gaming accessories and laptops, but Razer views its Fintech arm as an important part of its growth strategy along with mobile and cloud gaming and esports.
Razer is just one of several tech firms that's expanded into personal finance recently. Venmo introduced a credit card on the very same day, and Apple launched the Apple Card last year. Google is also said to be working on a smart debit card, according to TechCrunch, and Samsung announced a money management system that includes a Mastercard debit card earlier this year.