Transcription:
Kate Fitzgerald (00:08):
Small crowd, global audience. This session is being recorded and we will be writing it up for American Banker and I've already spoken to these guys and is really interesting and we're not going to have time to go into the history of Carnival Cruises, but it is Sid Krishna on the end, Vice President of Loyalty. Sid, I'll just make it easy on you. Sid started at Carnival 18 months ago and he joined from the what industry? Airline industry. Airline industry. So he took loyalty from one travel vertical to another one, but this is an entirely new thing. He had never been in the cruise industry. And Carnival has multiple cruise lines. I mean the parent company, but he's responsible only for Carnival's loyalty program and Doug Villone, Head of Cards and Partnerships at Barclays, also relatively new there. You started at Barclays?
Doug Villone (01:04):
Yeah, I rejoined Barclays a year ago, but had spent a decade at Barclays from 2008 to 2018.
Kate Fitzgerald (01:10):
And your history, your background is in cards.
Doug Villone (01:13):
Right. 20, 28 years in credit cards. Yes.
Kate Fitzgerald (01:17):
So the two of you are together because let's have Doug give a little history of your background, Barclay's history with Carnival briefly.
Doug Villone (01:26):
Sure, absolutely. So Barclay's, US consumer bank issues, credit cards for some of the best brands in America including Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival is actually one of our oldest partners and we've had a relationship for 20 years. And so we have together been issuing the Carnival Cruise MasterCard and it's been a very successful relationship for us over the past two decades.
Kate Fitzgerald (01:52):
So Berkeley's has how many co-branded cards altogether?
Doug Villone (01:56):
We have 20 partnerships and 20 million customers throughout the United States. And so whether it be cruise lines, hotels, airlines, retailers, we are one of really only a couple of partner focused banks in the US.
Kate Fitzgerald (02:14):
That is exclusively partner focused?
Doug Villone (02:15):
Yes, exclusively. Exclusively partner focused.
Kate Fitzgerald (02:17):
And so what is unique about the Carnival relationship?
Doug Villone (02:22):
Well, other than the fact I get to work with Sid now and it's just an absolutely wonderful partnership. I mean Carnival is growing rapidly and I'm sure Sid can talk about that because we've worked together for so long and with so many of our partners that we deeply embed ourselves in, we learn how to meet the customer where they are. Travel is very important to people, it's very emotional, it's very aspirational. And so creating a product that harnesses that and delivers value to the consumer in a frictionless, seamless way is a real winning combination, especially when you can create some real value and real relevance in the time in which they are probably enjoying some of the most special time with their families.
Kate Fitzgerald (03:07):
So Sid, when you came aboard Carnival, did you have plans to change anything with in your relationship with Barclays? And if so, what's on the roadmap?
Sid Krishna (03:20):
So I think first of all, I mean the relationship between Barclays and Carnival so long and has been built on a strong foundation in terms of doing the things right and really putting technology as the focus. So for example, I think Doug just mentioned a little bit around how they have helped the guests in the path where they're trying to interact and transact with the cruise line itself. So one of the biggest things that when I got here that they were working on and they have developed and launched it since, is being able to apply for a credit card when you are on your cruise, when you are in the internet and into spaces.
Kate Fitzgerald (04:02):
So that's not a new thing. You've been able to apply for a credit card when you're on the cruise line, but before you had to what? Fill out a paper?
Sid Krishna (04:07):
Correct. You had to fill out a paper or there would be an actual app that that's be filled out by a person and be sent in, which is error prone and a lot of issues with it.
Kate Fitzgerald (04:16):
And this would take, maybe you're on the cruise, but you really don't get registered until you get back, whereas you're working on, or you already have a new digital process.
Sid Krishna (04:26):
We already have the new digital process out there.
Kate Fitzgerald (04:28):
When did that launch?
Sid Krishna (04:29):
About I would say eight to nine months ago.
Kate Fitzgerald (04:33):
What happens? Walk me through the passenger experience.
Sid Krishna (04:36):
Yeah, absolutely. And this is the part that was fascinating for me as well because looking at it from the airline side, this was really cool because you get it on the flow when you are on your crew. So you get to basically go up, scan a QR code at any of our stores. So for example, if you guys don't know, people make a lot of large purchases on cruise line, for example, shore excursions for three, $4,000, Rolex watch, diamond jewelry, all of those kinds of things are brought on a cruise line. So when they're making those large purchases, we have this opportunity where we present this opportunity of saying, okay, you can sign up for the Barclays card and get 0% financing for 12 months. Here's a QR code. They can scan the QR code right now, they have to fill out a quick form that immediately is sent transmitted within 10 to 15 minutes. They get a response, they're approved, and the card is also put into their as sale and sign statement so they can get the credit instantly, they can get the 0% financing on everything they're purchasing on that cruise.
Kate Fitzgerald (05:35):
So I get the feeling that you've got one more leg to complete. What's the final leg on that?
Sid Krishna (05:39):
The final leg is to pre-populate and make sure that all of that information to make it less error prone. We are trying to basically because we have their sale and sign statement, their information, so we want to help the guests make it more seamless so that they don't have to go and enter every information their member ID and all of those things, which we all know how often we forget those member IDs. I know my advantage number and that's about it.
Kate Fitzgerald (06:03):
So, If I'm on the carnival cruise line, I don't have a relationship with Barclays, I'm going to have to get the Barclays app if I'm on the cruise lines or no, wouldn't I?
Sid Krishna (06:12):
Well, not for the cruise itself, but obviously when you sign up for the credit card, we want them to use their market app.
Kate Fitzgerald (06:18):
I'm on the ship, I decided to buy a Rolex watch on the Carnival cruise lines. I think my priorities are off base, but I'm buying the Rolex, putting it on there on there. So now I can shop with my mobile app on the rest of the trip.
Sid Krishna (06:32):
You don't even need the mobile app at that point. Wow. At that point, it's automatically positioned into your sale and sign statement. So any purchases you do from there onwards on a carnival cruise that you're on automatically goes to that virtual card number that's provisioned into that sale and sign.
Kate Fitzgerald (06:47):
Let's cut over to Doug since you have, Barclays has multiple different travel cards. How many other examples do you have in travel verticals where you're doing that exact kind of experience?
Doug Villone (07:00):
I don't know the exact number, but many because again, what makes it consumers have lots of options for credit cards and I've always believed for it to really work, it needs to be a great value prop. It also has to be relevant and frictionless at the point in which the customer would like to get credit or earn rewards or whatever the case may be. We have a relationship with the GAP brands. We recently brought that program on about two years ago, and it allows at the point of sale that frictionless experience, which I think has been common in retail for a long time, but to then bring that into airlines, hotels, cruise lines has been, I think part of the evolution that we've done with a number of our partners.
Kate Fitzgerald (07:51):
So is there something, anything about the carnival experience that's at the cutting edge? Are you doing anything unique there or for the first time maybe.
Doug Villone (08:01):
I would say we've really been bringing cruise lines up to probably where airlines and others have been in the past or retail.
Sid Krishna (08:07):
I would think so, yeah. And I think to me the thing is, I mean, cruise line is very complicated experience because of the fact that on an airline you have one transaction with the airline and that's about it. How you transact afterwards, they're all going to the same thing on a cruise line. You have eight different industries within an industry. You have retail, you have spa, you have shore excursion, and all of these are usually third parties that have their own payment systems. So we had to basically find a way that those integrated payment systems are talking and sending the things to the sale and sign statement and also use the internet that's available when you are out in the sea to be able to make that transaction happen. And then again, be able to position that card into your sale and sign immediately so that we get the full benefit for the guests without losing a moment in that whole transaction process. That to me is a little bit more unique.
Doug Villone (09:01):
I think that's right. It's it's a more complicated ecosystem.
Kate Fitzgerald (09:05):
So there isn't really another vertical it compares. Right. I know you haven't been there all that long, but do you know whether the other cruise ship lines that aren't Carnival have exactly. Do you feel like Carnival and Barclays are at the forefront of the instant credit? Let's buy it.
Sid Krishna (09:22):
I think other cruise lines probably have instant, but I don't know if they have instant provisioning.
Kate Fitzgerald (09:28):
Instant provisioning in terms of being able to, and that you mean just to be really clear, provisioning into.
Sid Krishna (09:33):
Your sale and science statement is what we call it.
Kate Fitzgerald (09:35):
Within the Cruise folio? Correct. And that's unique because you're doing a financing inside of the Carnival experience. This is different, but that doesn't mean I couldn't have the Barclays mobile app for that same car. Absolute. It might have both.
Doug Villone (09:48):
And with other partners, we've been able to create virtual card numbers that instantly provision into your Apple wallet or whatever the case may be. And so that's the other part that having that digital technology allows you to not only use it on property, but also on.
Sid Krishna (10:05):
When you get on the port, if you want to use that Barclays card, they can go off and use it.
Kate Fitzgerald (10:09):
Okay, just to be, I'm sorry to be this specific, but you haven't yet reached that point where I sign up online and now I've got it on my Apple Watch and I can go off the boat and use it. Not yet there.
Sid Krishna (10:21):
I don't think the digital provisioning.
Kate Fitzgerald (10:23):
But it's on the roadmap. Right, okay.
Doug Villone (10:25):
It's a virtual card number all the way out.
Kate Fitzgerald (10:26):
When you do that, you might be at the forefront of the cruise industry. Okay.
Sid Krishna (10:30):
I think already we are, to my understanding, I think we are in the sense of that provisioning piece very where the sale and sign itself has it. Yes. And again, I think you asked about the other cruise lines. I think two of our sister cruise lines also partnered with Barclays.
Kate Fitzgerald (10:46):
Which ones are they?
Sid Krishna (10:47):
Princess in Holland America. They're also part there.
Kate Fitzgerald (10:50):
They have similar program, but I obviously don't oversee that part. And do you have any sense since, I dunno how far along you are in this latest iteration, but what has been the consumer response?
Sid Krishna (11:02):
Yeah, so I think to me at least since I have gotten there, I've seen the growth of the portfolio, right?
Kate Fitzgerald (11:07):
They're actually seeing a bump.
Sid Krishna (11:08):
Yes. So even compared to pre pandemic levels where we're seeing a bump in terms of applications and engagement.
Kate Fitzgerald (11:15):
In terms of volume transactions.
Doug Villone (11:17):
Yeah, absolutely. Both. We've had, again, this is a 20 year relationship. This program has grown sevenfold over those 20 years. Obviously that's a long horizon of time, but we've had double digit growth every year, and that's not an easy thing to sustain. We are benefiting from the fact that carnival's growing tremendously and cruising is really popular and is continuing to be popular, but you take great technology, something that's really aspirational, like cruising the growth of your company. I think it's been a powerful combination.
Kate Fitzgerald (11:52):
Speaking of growing, someone in my family got an electric car and I had to learn to drive it. And it was like I said, this is like driving a bumper car because you pull out, it stops when you.
Sid Krishna (12:03):
I Have an electric car.
Kate Fitzgerald (12:04):
There's no break, which made me think, okay, how do bumper cars work? Next thing I know, I'm on line reading about bumper cars, on cruise lines. They have bumper knock on Carnival. Carnival. Has you tell him Sid?
Sid Krishna (12:15):
Yeah, absolutely. No, it's been fascinating for me to learn about Carnival since I've gotten there. And Doug mentioned the growth, right? So in the last few years since Pandemic, we have bought on already three new ships. In fact, four if you include the Costa ships we took on and we just are getting three more ships. So basically Renze will be coming into our fold in April, which again, we're working on a great ship.
Kate Fitzgerald (12:41):
That's a different cruise line?
Sid Krishna (12:42):
No, it's all ours. It's all Carnival Cruise line.
Kate Fitzgerald (12:44):
It's a new Renze.
Sid Krishna (12:45):
Renze is the name of the ship.
Kate Fitzgerald (12:46):
Yeah. So Carnival and did you mention it was one of these xl?
Sid Krishna (12:50):
Yeah, so the Carnival Renze is actually what we call as Venetia class, or it's a Vista class with Italian styling because the ship that we took over from Costa, and so it's a ship that we are bringing onto our side, similar to what we did with Carnival Venetia. On top of that, we just ordered two more Excel class ships. So Excel class to your question is 180,000 ton ship that holds 6,400 guests and 1800 crew. So you can imagine the size of that ship. And we are the first and only right now cruise line to have a roller coaster in the sea. So we have rollercoasters on each of those.
Kate Fitzgerald (13:27):
It has a roller coaster on it? No, it does not have bumper cars, but it has a roller coaster, which roller coaster on a giant cruise ship in the ocean on a roller coaster. And then you sell Dramamine with the credit card, right? Yes. Okay.
Sid Krishna (13:42):
It is amazing, by the way. It's called Bolt, our roller coaster, and it's pretty bolt, BOLT.
Kate Fitzgerald (13:48):
Okay. That means a lot of things when you're at sea. So the expansion of the, this also expands, I don't know, do you pay extra for some of these experiences?
Sid Krishna (14:00):
No, I think so. So some of it, for example, bolt or the roller coaster, we do have a small fee just to make sure the lines and things are not going to be interesting.
Kate Fitzgerald (14:08):
It's another revenue opportunity. You could put on your card.
Sid Krishna (14:11):
It's actually lesser of a revenue opportunity than probably managing it from an operation standpoint.
Kate Fitzgerald (14:16):
Did you say that Carnival is doing something with a private island?
Sid Krishna (14:19):
Yes. So that's another exciting piece is that other than the two big ships that are coming on board in 27 and 28 in 25, we are excited to open our new private, 2025 private destination called Celebration Key. That's going to be purely curated for Carnival Cruise Line. And this private destination in Grand Bahamas is one of the destinations that has two of the largest water lagoons in Caribbean. And we'll be able to house two to three Excel ships at the same time, which means about 15,000 to 16,000 folks in terms of the space and amount of things that we can do there.
Kate Fitzgerald (14:55):
And I might be getting off the topic of payments, but are you taking over a used island or is it a brand new island?
Sid Krishna (15:03):
It's actually not an island itself. It's a private destination because it's part of Grand Bahama, which is a larger island. But this whole area is going to be curated by us for us in a way that it has five portals where again, there's a lot of opportunities with the card as well.
Kate Fitzgerald (15:17):
Wow, that's so a lot of off ship purchasing opportunities.
Sid Krishna (15:21):
Exactly, exactly. Because have a family friendly portal and adult friendly portal, a private portal that's going to be more of a purchased portal where you have to purchase and get access to a retail portal, which we will have Bahamian stores and things that will be selling a lot of pieces there. And we just think that that kind of interaction also high-end dining that we will be available on that particular island. So we're really excited about the opportunities for the card as well on that island as we expand our opportunity.
Kate Fitzgerald (15:48):
Bringing it back to the cards. Does Barclays do any signage or promotion on that island or as part of these experiences?
Doug Villone (15:58):
So we do quite a bit of marketing for the program and there's actually some interesting stuff we've done, whether it be media, whether it be obviously on the web, properties on the ship. I think we need to talk about the island. I don't know what we had planned for the island at this point, but clearly we still being built.
(16:17):
There's a lot of opportunities, so I'm going to be lots of opportunities, but generally speaking, we want to make sure the awareness is very, very high, especially in places where consumers may be thinking about how do I want to finance the interaction they're about to make? Interesting. That's why Sids mentioned, whether it be jewelry or all these different things that happened on the ship, consumers may not have thought about that when they got on the ship, but now in the moment they were looking for a way to finance it. And that can be true of excursions and all kinds of things.
Kate Fitzgerald (16:48):
Absolutely. Okay, so let's talk about another angle on this, which is the card program, but it fits into Carnival's existing loyalty program, right? Well, what's the art and science between those two different things?
Sid Krishna (17:03):
So yes, carnival has a loyalty program called VIFP, very important. What's it called? Person, VIFP. Very important Fun Person because fun is our lingo and fun is what we try to do and sell to our guests. So VIFP program is basically something that recognizes you for the number of times you have sailed with us. Now, the biggest, so I would say a gap that we have in terms of that is that the credit card is not directly connected to it, but the credit card definitely earns you points that then you can use towards statement credit and pieces towards purchasing that cruise, which can then earn you their nights and points for the program, but not directly. That's something that we are working together to expand and improve. And that is going to be one of our key, probably pivotal things that we are working is to improve that loyalty program and bring it to a new level where we can get the card more integrated and connected towards it.
Doug Villone (18:00):
Because that is many of your travel programs are, the credit card is an accelerator of a loyalty program.
Kate Fitzgerald (18:08):
Of an existing loyalty program.
Doug Villone (18:10):
Of an existing loyalty program, you think of AA advantage, the card is accelerating off.
Kate Fitzgerald (18:15):
Off= an existing program.
Doug Villone (18:16):
An existing program. So that is an opportunity we see for sure.
Sid Krishna (18:19):
Absolutely.
Kate Fitzgerald (18:20):
And how much consulting do you bring to that concept? I don't know whether you are the loyalty, whether you have loyalty knowledge that you bring to some of these partners.
Doug Villone (18:30):
So we have decades of experience running our own loyalty programs because for some of our partners we are the loyalty bank and we create the loyalty program for our partners. In other cases, we are an accelerator or an extension of loyalty program. So we do have very deep loyalty experience across the team, and so we absolutely work in collaboration with our partners on the development of programs.
Sid Krishna (18:54):
Barclays is a core partner for us and they have been working hand in hand in developing and making these changes for the program that we are thinking about because we do think there's a huge value for our guests by bringing these two closer, bringing these two to be valuable so that we can give more things to our guests and make their memorable experiences even better.
Kate Fitzgerald (19:13):
And the loyalty programs are going to be different between each cruise line. Is that true?
Doug Villone (19:18):
I don't think I can answer that.
Sid Krishna (19:19):
Yeah. So for Carnival Corporation, yes. Carnival Cruise Line has a loyalty program, princess has it.
Kate Fitzgerald (19:26):
How many cruise lines does Carnival operate?
Sid Krishna (19:28):
Nine cruise lines. Wow. Nine different cruise lines.
Kate Fitzgerald (19:31):
So nine altogether and only three of them so far are with Barclays.
Sid Krishna (19:34):
With Barclays? Well, because the others are in Europe and Asia. Other places.
Kate Fitzgerald (19:38):
Among the three, there are a lot of differentiation.
Doug Villone (19:42):
I'd say there is. I mean, Sid could speak better than me, but Princess Holland Carnival I think serve different needs, different demographics. They provide different cruising options.
Sid Krishna (19:56):
Yeah, I think it's fascinating when I learn about cruise lines again because I'm new to it, I've been spending a lot of time learning about it, but Carnival Cruise Line has and attracts a certain segment and group of guests. Princess has a certain segment how in America has a certain segment, which really kind of helps compliment each other rather than.
Kate Fitzgerald (20:16):
So, they learn things, borrow things, maybe best of class you would pick and choose. Okay. So we were talking earlier about the cruising industry and maybe since you're in it, you've got two, three programs now. What's happening with the cruise industry that Is it growing? Yes. And why is that happening?
Sid Krishna (20:34):
No, it's been exciting, I think since I have been there, and I can again obviously take any credit for that part, but the cruise industry has been booming in the last since pandemic. There was a lot of obviously pent up demand and that demand came back very strongly for us. Obviously we had our earnings call yesterday, and as you can see, we had record profits that ever before.
Kate Fitzgerald (20:57):
What is going on? Why? What's driving this demand?
Sid Krishna (21:01):
Yeah, I think there is a concept of a one-stop shop when it comes to vacationing and cruise lines offer that for our guests because if you think about airlines and hotels and your vacation to let's say Italy or something, you have to book a hotel book, the flight book, the Uber book, the place that it gets you. Then once you get there, you have to do your own excursions, you have to do the whole piece on a cruise line, everything is taken care of you from that moment you get on that cruise ship. So seven day cruise, basically everything from, so I went on a seven day cruise just recently. In fact, when I chatted with you, I was on a cruise line where, and I was on our cruise ship called Mardi Gras, and I was in the middle of the sea right next to I would say Dominican Republic.
(21:43):
So Amber. So I went to three countries in seven days, was able to explore all those places because the shore excursions were all set for me. We had private beaches in those destinations that were all carnival cruise line and on the ship you have, we have about 12 restaurants and 10 different entertainment centers, four to eight pools difference. And so you have your whole vacation brought to you where you can go into your room, cabin room anytime you want get out. So we do think that the future of vacationing and doing a lot more things is coming more and more towards exclusive.
Kate Fitzgerald (22:19):
And all inclusive. Exactly. Whether it's on the ship or off the ship in the island. And in each of these cases, the payments is a common theme.
Sid Krishna (22:27):
And it's making it seamless. So you can use your sale and sign statement without needing to pick out your different cards at each place.
Kate Fitzgerald (22:34):
Rr bring cash or worry about currency.
Sid Krishna (22:35):
You use your sale and sign statement as you and security. Yeah, absolutely. And even in fact, you are absolutely right because when you get off at one of the ports, your sale and sign statement is all what's needed for you to get back on the ship. You don't need your Passport.
Kate Fitzgerald (22:47):
You don't have to worry.
Sid Krishna (22:48):
They do a facial recognition and you get back on the ship.
Kate Fitzgerald (22:51):
No, it really makes a big difference when you're traveling to different countries and there's just that break point where you're off, on and off and you have to plan ahead. And this is an interesting thing. Now we hit on a lot of the basics. Was there any news you guys had to tell us what's new?
Sid Krishna (23:07):
Yeah, I think the biggest news is kind of like what we hinted at just a few minutes ago, which is we are trying to build and improve the loyalty program that's here at Carnival.
Kate Fitzgerald (23:17):
So, you're just beginning of a journey where you're going to modernize. Yep. Is it something that you need to do periodically anyway.
Doug Villone (23:25):
Refreshing value props and things I think are needed from time to time. Absolutely. Obviously, we're always looking at the competitive set. We're always looking at, we're always researching what customers want. We're looking at what the competition is doing. So I think that that's needed from time to time.
Kate Fitzgerald (23:40):
And will there be a strong digital element?
Doug Villone (23:44):
A hundred percent, absolutely.
Sid Krishna (23:44):
Yeah, 100%.
Kate Fitzgerald (23:45):
Any AI part of this throwing in all the buzzwords?
Sid Krishna (23:49):
Exactly.
Doug Villone (23:51):
I'm sure at some point in the future.
Kate Fitzgerald (23:54):
Has anybody got any questions for these guys? Here we go. Just talk. Yep. Hold on, hold on.
Audience Member 1 (24:11):
For ship instant issuance. And you were talking about the customer. They're doing the QR code on their advice or device not prompted by an associate, and did you say it was 12 to 15 minutes for them to get the confirmation? Yeah. What do they do during that time and what is the experience for that?
Kate Fitzgerald (24:36):
If you heard her clearly. Can you replay that question? Yeah,
Sid Krishna (24:39):
Absolutely. So the question was around basically the instant issuance on board. We talked about how they have to scan the QR code and after they fill out the application, there could be about 12 to 15 minutes when they have to get the response back, what do they do? What does this experience look like? Now? First of all, the 12 to 15 minutes is probably sort of like that worst case scenario in terms of internet connectivity, all of those things. There's also a lot of security layers in place because of the fact that it has to go from the ship to Barclays. Then Barclays has to go through their approval channels, send the feedback, the feedback has to then go through Carnival Corporation secure server, then head back into our systems. Then we provision into the sale and science statement. So that is what kind of adds that little bit of time from an experience perspective.
(25:25):
We try to explain that saying, Hey, it's going to take a few minutes before it comes back. The good news is that they're on a cruise ship for seven days. So time is not necessarily a big factor for that sale at that moment. So thankfully that's something that's helpful for us in the sense of saying, Hey, our salespeople are very, very good at, again, making it guest friendly and making it more about the fact that they have more time to explore and look at things and explore the things. Again, they're purchasing a Rolex or a Diamond jewelry, they have some time to play with.
Kate Fitzgerald (25:57):
And you're going to work on cutting that down.
Sid Krishna (25:59):
Yes. We are constantly working on cutting that down to see how we can, while making sure that security or safety and fraud and those issues are taken care of. Yeah, it's whitelisted.
Kate Fitzgerald (26:16):
I didn't hear the question. What?
Doug Villone (26:17):
If the customer doesn't have wifi.
Sid Krishna (26:19):
So they don't have to purchase wifi in order to apply?
Kate Fitzgerald (26:21):
I See. Okay, gotcha.
Sid Krishna (26:22):
Yeah, that's a good question though, because that is always a concern and we always make sure that that's the first thing we do is when a new internet connection, we have to whitelist that links.
Kate Fitzgerald (26:31):
So there's still technical improvements that you'll capture when they become available.
Sid Krishna (26:38):
Yeah. And that's why we're excited with Barclays because they have a lot of technology improvements that they're providing to make it faster and quicker. In terms of those provisions.
Kate Fitzgerald (26:44):
Although do you have some new stuff that you've just acquired? This is a long-term relationship.
Doug Villone (26:51):
Yeah, I mean as far as new partnerships we've done.
Kate Fitzgerald (26:53):
New technology, where is that coming from?
Doug Villone (26:56):
Yeah, I mean we work with the best providers in the industry. I mean, there are a lot of great tools out there that allow you to, we're working on some really neat instant pre-screen technology, which allows you to see your decision before you actually have a credit bureau head. There's a number of services we're working with today with some other partners that allow you to put in very limited information like your mobile number, anything it allows you to prefill the full application. So there's a lot of things we're doing to try to make sure that the data integrity is there, making sure consumers get decisions quicker. They could see, understand their decision and the offer before they actually would have an inquiry on their credit bureau. All those things we're either doing with current partners or we're in the process of onboarding.
Sid Krishna (27:41):
And we're in the process of getting those as well. Honestly, there is like six or seven product that Barclays has brought to us. We are trying to take baby steps, get in there and be able to do one thing at a time and get that out because we're really excited because pre-screen technology, for example, is something that be very, very useful in all of our digital channels.
Kate Fitzgerald (27:58):
Outstanding. Anyone else? Question. How many people in this room have been on a cruise?
Doug Villone (28:08):
Quite A few cruises.
Sid Krishna (28:09):
How many of you have been on a carnival cruise?
Kate Fitzgerald (28:14):
I never thought I'd go on a cruise either. Now I'm one.
Sid Krishna (28:16):
Well, I mean, you got to try it at least once.
Kate Fitzgerald (28:18):
But I have a lot of family members who say, well, we never go on a cruise. I'm like, you're missing out. Yep.
Sid Krishna (28:25):
No, it's exciting and it's very family friendly. That's the other thing, right? I mean for your whole family there's so gener generations. Exactly.
Kate Fitzgerald (28:34):
Another question,
Audience Member 2 (28:38):
Have you found that the card appeals to certain customer segments more than others? And if so, which ones?
Kate Fitzgerald (28:47):
I didn't hear the question, sorry.
Sid Krishna (28:48):
Yeah, the question is, does the card seem attractive to certain segments over others, and what would those segments be? Great question. I think, to be honest actually, it's more about if they're loyal to Carnival and who are somebody who cruises a lot with Carnival, it's a no-brainer card for them, right? Because whatever they're purchasing outside, they get two fun points per dollar spent on Carnival and one fun point for everything else. So it's more around people who are cruising and know for a fact they're going to be cruising with Carnival. Now that's another place. Again, we want to expand and bring in more folks who it might be attractive to.
Kate Fitzgerald (29:24):
Since you brought it up. Do you have multiple layers of cards? Is there an annual fee? Just one. And no annual fee.
Sid Krishna (29:31):
No annual fee. Okay. Right.
Kate Fitzgerald (29:35):
I think we might wrap it up two minutes early. I have to catch a plane, but thank you very much and thanks. Thank you. We'll see you on the High Seas, on the rollercoaster.
Doug Villone (29:45):
Thank you.
Track 3: Nothing but Smooth Sailing for Carnival and Barclays
April 12, 2024 10:53 AM
29:55