Leander Paes puts his tennis skills to the test to promote CRED UPI

After staying away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023, CRED has once again created an eye-ball grabbing ad for this season. This time, it has got former Indian tennis player Leander Paes to swat mosquitoes to promote its UPI offering. It has also got its American contemporary Andre Agassi to appreciate his techniques in a social media post.

In the ad, Paes is seen seeking a discount in a restaurant. However, the waiter informs him that the discount is available only for CRED UPI users. The only other option before Paes is to put his tennis techniques to use- albeit with a mosquito bat. The veteran player reflects on it, with the audience seeing terrific visuals of perfect forehand, strong backhand and solid serves. But then he finally decides it's better to upgrade to CRED UPI.

Created by Moonshot, the ad ‘Buzzkill’ is written by Devaiah Bopanna, Tanmay Bhat, Puneet Chadha and Deep Joshi and directed by Ayappa.

His spectacular moves may not have eventually rid the restaurant of mosquitoes, but it was appreciated by Agassi on X. His performance saw a host of Indian sports stars such as Sania Mirza, Harsha Bhogle, and Abhinav Bindra cheer on as set after set saw Leander press every advantage. And it was all for CRED UPI.

Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED, said, “The replacement of cash with UPI has made physical wallets redundant in favour of the smartphone. But changing form factors don’t address the human instinct to differentiate and signal our success. CRED UPI is a payment experience for the 1%; it’s the UPI equivalent of flaunting a premium credit card or opening a designer wallet. We’re excited to see members flash CRED UPI for all their payments, win big, and reduce credit card bills at the same time."

While many fintech companies began promoting UPI after Paytm’s recent fiasco, CRED has been promoting its UPI since last year. In 2023, it launched an OOH campaign, in which it was written, “Our Only ad this Year” which was placed in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Delhi. Below it was mentioned, “Send money to anyone via Cred UPI and earn assured cashback”.

In fact, through the recent ad, CRED is promoting its elevated UPI makeover. It involves a rhodium-inspired redesign, rewards on every transaction, and luxury drops at select locations across India. In addition to the redesign of the QR code scanner, CRED will extend its rewarding experience to every transaction on the platform during the cricket season, not just credit card bills. All CRED members can experience the upgrade starting March 22, 2024.

Distinctiveness in every transaction

The immersive experience begins with a silver skin that interacts with the environment and takes on its colours. Along with an aura that glows while scanning a QR code, and jade, rose gold, and rhodium medallions on completing transactions, the experience is contextual, distinctive, and sophisticated. 

More payments, bigger wins

As part of the upgrade, CRED will extend its rewarding experience to every transaction on the platform during the cricket season, not just credit card bills. 

The fun begins early for first-timers on CRED UPI, who will be welcomed with a special reward on playing an augmented reality game on the scanner page. Five consecutive UPI payments form a “streak”, completing which entitles members to even bigger rewards and mega jackpots. Whether they make UPI payments, utility bill payments, or challenge friends to join CRED and begin their own “streak”, members will earn cashback to pay their credit card bills.

Luxury drops for a lifestyle upgrade

During the course of the season, CRED will bring luxury rewards to Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. Members can scan and win bragging rights for the Meta Quest 2, Nothing phone, goodies from Apple, Marshall, Tumi, Tom Ford, Gucci and more. These rewards - which will pop up at select bars, restaurants, stores, airports, and malls for a limited time - ensure that the status upgrade goes beyond transactions to last a lifetime.

Celebrity-approved features

In summary - more payments translate to bigger rewards and lower credit card bills. And who wouldn’t give an arm and a leg for that? Members can keep an eye out for yesteryear artistes, athletes, and film personalities doing things they never thought they would, on their preferred digital platforms during and between matches.