Credit card sales on the rise: CTBC

• By Kao Shih-ching / Journalist

CTBC Bank (中信 銀行) yesterday gave optimistic outlook for credit card spending in the next quarter, thanks to an easing of the COVID-19 situation, the launch of the Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program and the peak season of vehicle sales .

That is expected to increase year-round credit card spending by more than 7% year-over-year, the nation’s largest credit card issuer said.

The bank’s customer credit card spending in the first quarter rose sharply from last year, but spending slumped in the second quarter amid a worsening COVID-19 situation, Anderson Chen (陳德 風) told reporters at a press conference in Taipei. , adding that transactions did not fully recover in July or August.

However, thanks to robust growth in the first quarter, cumulative credit card spending in the first eight months of the year still saw an annual gain of 7%, above the national average of 3%, Chen said. .

“We saw credit card spending start to rebound last month and, fueled by the Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program, fourth quarter spending is expected to rebound to first quarter levels,” Chen said.

If momentum continues, year-round credit card spending would likely increase by more than 7%, Chen said.

CTBC Bank yesterday issued a new co-branded credit card with its partner Hotai Motor Co (和 泰 汽車), the local sales agent for Toyota and Lexus vehicles, with the aim of issuing at least 200,000 cards in one year, the bank said.

The collaboration with Hotai Motor and the new credit card is expected to generate new expenses, as Hotai’s revenue amounts to around NT $ 200 billion ($ 7.18 billion) per year, mostly in cash, Chen said. .

“While most local vehicle buyers have to make a cash purchase or take out a loan, we are allowing consumers to pay in full through our new co-branded credit card and reward them with 1% cash back,” he said. Chen said.

If a cardholder’s credit limit is lower than the selling price of the vehicle, they will need to deposit money with the bank in advance to facilitate payment, but they will still earn the reward points, a Chen said.

This is CTBC Bank’s last co-branded credit card, after the bank issued cards with CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣 中油) and China Airlines Ltd (華航), according to company data.