Citibank lures more clients

JAKARTA (JP): Citibank relaunched its unsecured credit card to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the improving economy, M Triwardhany, the company's vice president for business card products, said on Wednesday.

"We believe that the improving economy in the near future will increase Indonesians' purchasing power," she said during a media conference.

She added that with the unsecured credit card, the public would receive the service and still have full control over their savings account.

"We are optimistic about the economic improvement and set a target of 250,000 new credit card holders next year," she said, adding that the company was emphasizing competitive services for its credit card in order to attract more customers.

During the economic crisis, the banking sector, including credit cards, experienced stagnation, and Citibank, which has 40 percent of the credit card market, was forced to adjust its credit card policies.

Citibank, with nine branch offices and 55 ATM machines in the country, has about 880,000 Visa and MasterCard customers with total estimated transactions at US$500 million annually. (06)