Citi has launched a service that enables its customers in Singapore to make purchases on US-based online shopping Web sites.
The bank says most US e-commerce Web sites do not ship goods outside the country or accept foreign credit cards.
The new Citi-Globeshopper service allows users to bypass these constraints through a US - Singapore shipping option and free concierge service that buys products on behalf of the customers on sites that don't accept foreign credit cards.
Citi says the service provides its Singapore card customers with access to almost all of the 300,000+ shopping sites in the US.
Users sign up for the service online and receive an ID and US shipping address. Customers use this as their delivery address before the goods are shipped to Singapore through the Globeshopper service. Cross-border e-commerce outfit Borderlinx and shipping firm DHL facilitate the service.
Radha Suvarna, director, portfolio management and cross sell, Citi Singapore, says: "We want to be able to capture and enlarge this already growing segment by making it easy for our customers to shop and ship from US as they would from a local merchant."
Citi cites a survey from Nielsen showing eight out of ten Singaporeans shop online. The bank says a favourable currency rate has seen growing popularity of US Web sites selling apparel, gadgets, books and cosmetics.
Since its introduction a few weeks ago, the service has already received more than 2500 sign-ups and over 1200 orders and shipments, says Citi.