Use your plastic money and win fabulous prizes<\/p>\n
I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The credit card business has undergone a revolution in recent
\nyears, with issuers offering more incentives and benefits than
\never to cardholders.<\/p>\n
Previously, consumers had limited choices when applying for
\ncredit cards due to the small number of issuing banks.<\/p>\n
The times have changed with the rapid growth in the country's
\ncard industry. As the competition is getting fiercer, issuers
\nhave no options but to offer more incentives such as lower
\ninterest rates and free membership fees to lure new customers.<\/p>\n
In addition to such services, the issuers have also launched
\ncash prize contests to enable them to compete in the tight
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
The credit card industry in Indonesia is still relatively new
\ncompared to those in developed nations. Although the number of
\ncardholders is about four million at present, the future
\nprospects are tremendous.<\/p>\n
Data from the Indonesian Credit Card Association, credit card
\nholders only made up 0.5 percent of the population. With its high
\npopulation, Indonesia could, however, become one of the largest
\ncredit markets in the world, at least in Asia.<\/p>\n
Many banks in Indonesia, both of local and overseas companies,
\nare involved in the fierce competition to lure more credit
\ncardholders and increasing transactions. Besides international
\nnames such as American Express, Citibank and HSBC, almost all
\nmajor banks in the country such as Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank
\nMandiri and LippoBank have undertaken serious efforts to
\ncapitalize on the growing credit card market.<\/p>\n
Their fascinating promotion campaigns have significantly
\nincreased the number of new cardholders.<\/p>\n
BCA, for instance, offers a program offering its credit card
\nmembers to buy a DVD home player through an interest-free 14-
\nmonth installment.<\/p>\n
The members will also receive a purse with famous name-brand
\nif they participate in the program.<\/p>\n
The state-owned Bank Mandiri also offers a prize program
\ndesignated for prospective members. It provides a drawing for
\nnewly-approved gold card members to win a prize of shopping worth
\nup to the maximum limit of the card for three months. The
\nprospective members, however, should have a deposit or savings
\naccount with a minimum of Rp 50 million, if they want to
\nparticipate in the program.<\/p>\n
American Express, the world's leading charge and credit card
\nissuer, has also launched a marketing campaign offering a prize
\nof free holidays and Jakarta-Singapore tickets. Under this
\nprogram, American Express Card members are entitled to win
\na free holiday to Singapore.<\/p>\n
All they have to do is to charge their expenses to the
\nAmerican Express card. Every time they use the card, they earn a
\nchance to enter the lucky draw. There will be five lucky winners
\nevery week from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15 this year, offering a daily
\nprize that includes two airplane tickets, accommodation (three
\ndays and two nights) and a 20 percent cash refund of up to
\nUS$200 for the largest purchase made with their American Express
\nCard during the trip. American Express has launched prize
\nprograms since 2000.<\/p>\n
\"Competition is getting sharper. There are currently only 3.5
\nmillion credit cards, held by some 2 million people,\" said senior
\nvice president personal financial services of HSBC Lily Budiono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Riko Abdurrahman, vice president marketing public Riko
\nAbdurrahman, vice president marketing public relations of
\nCitibank Indonesia, agreed that the market for credit cards in
\nIndonesia was very promising.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the much higher potential of cardholders
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"It has a huge potential. The total bankable population is
\nestimated to reach some 20 million. The total people eligible to
\nhave credit cards is between 8 million and 10 million,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Most banks potentially share the same opinion, and
\nthat's why they are eager to have more cardholders, and that
\nprize program is one of the efforts to see increasing members.<\/p>\n
HSBC first launched a prize program in 2001 with a cash prize
\nof up to Rp 1 billion (including 25 percent tax).<\/p>\n
Currently, the bank offers a prize worth Rp 1 billion net, as
\nHSBC will pay the tax for the winner. The program began on July 1
\nuntil 31 December 2002. Any payment with a an HSBC credit card
\nworth Rp 100,000, will give the holder one point to participate
\nin the draw. Meanwhile, a newly approved cardholder will have
\nfive points.<\/p>\n
HSBC introduced its credit card in 1997. The number of issued
\ncredit cards has increased steadily from year to year.<\/p>\n
\"HSBC cardholders now total some 250,000, and it is expected
\nto increase to 300,000 by the end of this year. Since the
\nlaunching of the ongoing prize program last month, there have
\nbeen 25,000 new cardholders,\" Lily said.<\/p>\n
Citibank has also brought in many products and programs, for
\nexample Easy Pay and products offering various prizes such as VW
\nBeetles. At present, it is holding three types of prize programs.<\/p>\n
\"Our program is a bit different compared to other card
\nissuers. We focus on the existing card users. So this is really a
\nprogram to show our appreciation to our loyal members,\" said
\nRiko.<\/p>\n
He said there were about 1.4 million Citibank credit card
\nusers in Indonesia, or about 35 percent of the total cardholders.
\nThe figure increases steadily by about 30 percent annually, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The prize program held by Citibank offers a total of 32 WV
\nBeetles. The ongoing program will end in January next year.<\/p>\n
To participate in the program, Citibank credit cardholders
\nshould have a transaction of at least Rp 100,000 with their card
\nto be eligible for the draw each month. Every transaction of Rp
\n100,000 will have a number for the drawing.<\/p>\n
The winners are randomly selected based on numbers mixed in a
\ndrawing bin. Government officials from the Social Affairs
\nMinistry, municipality and the public notary witness the draws
\nwhich are generally held in public areas like shopping malls.<\/p>\n
Credit cards offer the ease and convenience to the holders to
\nmake payments and withdraw cash with confidence wherever they
\nare; whether at home, traveling abroad or at the mall. The
\nissuers make this possible through a global network of acceptance
\nlocations and ATMs based on the latest IT developments.<\/p>\n
With the prize programs, many cardholders want to try their
\nluck to win the huge grand prizes. But remember that instead of
\nwinning the prize, card members may also become big,
\nuncontrollable spenders and debtors.<\/p>",
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