RIYADH, 12 April — A leading Saudi bank, Riyad Bank, yesterday announced the release of the “2002 FIFA World Cup MasterCard” card on the occasion of the World Cup soccer event, which will be watched by one billion people around the world on the grounds and on their TV sets.
The bank also announced the launch of a promotional campaign for this card entitled the “Riyad Bank Challenge” with prizes worth one million riyals. The launching of this new card by Riyad Bank coincides with supporting the Saudi national football team, which has qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time.
There will also be 12 fully-paid travel packages to World Cup (Korea and Japan) for the winners under this program. The cards will be free of annual charge for the first year. Addressing a press conference here yesterday at the Inter.Con Hotel. Suliman Al-Gwaiz, Riyad Bank’s deputy chief executive officer, said that the travel packages including return airfares, a two-night stay in a deluxe hotel, quarterfinal match tickets, meet and greet at the airport with hotel transfers, round-trip match transfers, pre and post-match hospitality and a souvenir gift package. “As an official sponsor of the World Cup, we at MasterCard International are able to pass through the benefits of the sponsorship to member financial institutions. This campaign provides a priceless opportunity for new and existing Riyadh Bank MasterCard holders to experience an event that millions of others can only dream”, said Mohammed Belarj, senior vice president and general manager of MasterCard International, Middle East and North Africa.
Referring to the prizes worth SR1 million under this program, Al-Gwaiz said that there will be 16,000 “Instant Win Prizes” in the form of electronic systems such as TVs, video cameras, high-tech stereos and games. These prizes will be won on presenting the coupons at the reception centers on three locations — Hera International Mall in Jeddah, Akariah Mall in Riyadh and Fouad Center in Alkhobar.
Besides this, an “Exclusive Football Penalty Kicks Competition” will be organized in these three shopping malls from April 28 to May 24. The participant can score points to enter the finals of the competition every Friday and winners name will be announced live on MBC FM every Friday. This will be in addition to three Infinity QX4 vehicles, which will also be part of an additional prize draw.
Riyad Bank is the first Saudi bank, which issued credit cards for the first time in Saudi Arabia. This bank also issues the only Al-Ataa Affinity credit card, whose part of proceeds are donated to the Disabled Children Association. The bank also issues a MasterCard Student and a MasterCard Internet Card. MasterCard International has a comprehensive portfolio of widely accepted payment brands including MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro. More than 1.7 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation today.
An association comprised of more than 15,000 member financial institutions, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses, both large and small in 210 countries. With more than 24 million acceptance locations worldwide, no card is accepted in more places and by more merchants than the MasterCard said.
