BPI sees 20% growth in credit card businesss

MANILA, Philippines - Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is looking to grow its credit card business by another 20 percent from 920,000 cards-in-force to 1.1 million, a top bank official said.

The country’s cards-in-force is total estimated at six million, still one of the lowest in Asia.

In 2009, BPI registered a 22-percent growth in its card business, well above the four percent growth rate of the country’s card industry. That is equivalent to P16 billion in credit card-related loans.

“It is a very high and aggressive target which we set on ourselves but it is achievable,” BPI senior vice president for cards issuing business head Maria Cristina L. Go said during the launching of its BPI SkyMiles Mastercard. The new credit card is in partnership with Delta Air Lines.

BPI is the country’s third largest credit card issuer in terms of policies-in-force and usage.

Go said the biggest competitors for BPI’s credit card business is not other banks or card issuers, rather “it is (the preference for) cash over plastic money.”

“Then there is the ability of the card issuers to utilize technology to make banking more convenient,” she added.

For BPI, the challenge is to reach out to the bank’s deposit base, and that includes the top executives and corporates.

Go said the potential for its card business extends beyond loans or billings.

There is also cross-selling partnerships with the bank’s depositors or borrowers base and the corporations under the Ayala Group.

“After all, the business of cards is not just paying bills, but also doing transactions,” the BPI executive said.

BPI credit card business accounts for approximately 12 percent of its consumer banking business. It issues seven variants of cards with 80 percent co-branded with MasterCard.

It has a merchant base of 20,000, which includes airlines, hotels and restaurants, supermarkets, department stores and malls.