Bank Niaga launches new debit card

JAKARTA (JP): Visa International and publicly listed Bank Niaga launched on Saturday the Kartu Niaga Visa Electron debit card, giving the benefit of the Visa network to Bank Niaga's 400,000 ATM cardholders.

Niaga's Director for Individual Banking Diana Soerarso said the new debit card is expected to add an additional 100,000 customers to the existing ATM cardholders, making a total of 500,000 by the end of the year.

"In 2001 we hope to achieve between 100,000 to 150,000 additional ATM cardholders," Diana (right in above picture) said at the card's launch at Plaza Senayan at a ceremony, which was also joined by the bank's president Peter B. Stok.

Niaga currently has 117 automatic teller machines (ATMs), and 76 branches across Indonesia. It has two overseas branches in Los Angeles and the Cayman Islands.

Visa Executive Vice President for Asia Pacific and Greater China James Murray said Visa cards on issue in Indonesia have increased by over 20 percent in the past 12 months, and the card sales volume generated on these cards grew by nearly 40 percent.

He said that consumer debit products like Visa Electron in Indonesia have a 30 percent annual growth.

"We expect the number of Visa Electron cards to cross the one millionth mark shortly, and we are projecting 12 million Visa Electron cards in the next five years," Murray said. (10)