Danish neobank Lunar has launched a debit card with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) that allows users to gain and use EuroBonus points.
EuroBonus points can be used for SAS flights and travel perks such as hotels, car rentals, and more. The move marks a strategic partnership for Lunar to cement its place in Scandinavia, by joining forces with a major airline for the region.
Through the new debit card, both new and existing users of the EuroBonus programme will be able to gain points through everyday purchases on the Lunar app. The debit card will be available to all Lunar users in Scandinavia both physically and via digital wallet.
Users can gain 8 EuroBonus points for every 100 DKK spent using the card, and new Lunar customers will gain 3000 welcome points, with the first 10,000 getting 6000.
Speaking exclusively to Finextra on the benefits of the new partnership, Ken Villum Klausen, CEO and founder of Lunar commented: “It's a true Scandinavian brand; Danes feel it's Danish, and Swedes feel it's Swedish. It's really makes us feel that it's a local brand, since we are currently live in Scandinavia. Being able to partner with one of the most well-known Scandinavian brands is obviously a big thing for us, because SAS has enormous brand value. Joining forces with another Scandinavian brand is a good opportunity for two companies with a Scandinavian focus to partner up.”
He adds that Lunar is “laser-focused” on the Nordic region, and due to the Nordic’s defensive infrastructure it provides the challenger with an opportunity to grow with little competition. Klausen states that the Nordic banking landscape is likely one of the most unique and profitable on the planet.
On the EuroBonus points programme, Klausen points out the move to debit from credit: “They have 5 million members already in Scandinavia. A lot of those members are running on credit cards now, which has been really great for Scandinavian airlines in the past, but we can also see there's a massive need now for opting out of credit, and tapping more into debit cards.
“I think the majority of the airline programmes we have in the region are old credit, mainly connected through credit cards. This is also Scandinavian Airlines’ first endeavour into debit at all, so it is a unique proposition. If you look to other territories, the US airline miles are predominantly connected to credit cards. So not only in the Nordics, but also elsewhere this is very unique, to give users an opportunity to obtain miles and points with EuroBonus even though it's a debit proposition.”
Klausen noted that the challenger bank’s ambition for the next year will to be continue driving growth across Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
“Within the next six months, we have unique partnerships coming up with some of the world's largest fintechs who are now running on Lunar Infra in the Nordic Region, to offer their merchants and customers access to Nordic payment rails and an infrastructure. On the other side of summer there will be more major announcements to look forward to with very big companies in the industry.”