BDO unit expands share in PH credit card business

BDO unit expands share in PH credit card business
By Daxim Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:35:00 12/01/2010

MANILA, Philippines— The credit card unit of Banco De Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) now has the largest merchant acquisition base in the industry, the Sy family-controlled bank said Wednesday.

At the same time, it also reported a sharp rise in the number of business partners that accept its credit cards.

In a briefing, executive vice president and consumer lending group head Rolando C. Tanchanco said BDO now dominated the credit card merchant acquiring business in the Philippines with a market share of 41 percent.

In contrast to the card issuing business, the merchant acquiring business thrives on fee-based revenues by handling, routing and settling transactions.

BDO-affiliated merchants now number about 48,000 nationwide representing a 12-percent increase over the 2009 figure.

Industry reports showed BDO had the largest base at over a million holders.

At the same time, BDO predicted the steady growth in the value of trade between the Philippines and China, prompting it to launch a credit card aimed at clients doing business in both countries.

In the briefing, the publicly listed bank unveiled the BDO China UnionPay (CUP) Credit Card with the intention of providing its cardbase of over one million and other prospective consumers “greater convenience when traveling to China.”

BDO said CUP also aims to provide its merchant partners with more possible credit card transactions for business growth.

CUP is the most widely used credit card in China, the world’s second largest economy.

The bank said it also appealed to overseas Chinese with strong ties to the mainland, and was accepted in more than 90 countries, many with significant Chinese communities.

Tanchanco said he expected the new card “to become an indispensable travel companion to the many Filipino entrepreneurs and business executives who go to China for both business and pleasure.”

Data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed that bilateral trade grew by over 52 percent to $13.1 billion in the first semester of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. Next to Japan and the US, China is the Philippines’ third largest trading partner.

China’s imports from the Philippines in the first half of 2010 registered at $7.5 billion while it exported $5.6 billion to the country.

--
---------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
Email: carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline: +63495010127 Cellphone: +639152919580
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com http://phildevfinance.wordpress.com
CONSULTING - http://www.carlosani.com
My Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
------------------------------------------