SB Cards registers P6-B transactions last year, eyes new services

SB Cards Corp., the credit card subsidiary of Security Banking Corp., was able to register transactions amounting to P6 billion last year, its top official said.

SB Cards chairman Belen C. Lim said 70 percent of the amount came from transactions using the high-end Diners Club credit cards while 30 percent came from MasterCard.

SB Cards is the exclusive franchise holder for Diners in the Philippines. MasterCard, on the other hand, has several other bank issuers.

Lim said card issued grew 16 percent, billings by almost 35 percent, and sales by 20 percent, with Diners cards issuance averaging a 20-percent growth.

"We have an estimated five percent market share in the credit card business in the Philippines," she added.

There are almost five million credit cards in the country with the actual cardholders roughly half the number, as cardholders tend to have an average of two credit cards. There are roughly 500,000 merchants tapped by all card issuers.

The principal market for Diners cards are the A and B class, or those earning a minimum of P2 million annually. Diners, through SB Cards, transacts business with 30,000 merchants such as airlines, restaurants, malls, entertainment outlets, shopping centers, and hotels. Airline transactions account for nearly 60 percent of Diners business.

As an incentive, cardholders also have access to 88 Diners Exclusive airport lounge globally, high-valued rewards program, cash advances, and use of one million ATMs worldwide.

Diners is accepted in over 13 million merchants in 207 countries.

Lim said that they would want to grow by another 20 percent overall this year as they will be introducing new products, including Internet merchanting.

The card business contributes almost seven percent to Security Bank’s income through its consumer banking arm. That is due to the fact the distribution of the cards is done through its 114 branches nationwide.