Visa expects zero growth this year
Visa expects zero growth this year
JAKARTA (JP): Visa International expects zero growth in the
number of cardholders in Indonesia this year, but in terms of
transaction value the credit card company estimates an increase
of 15 percent.
Ellyana C. Fuad, Visa International country manager for
Indonesia, said on Monday that the increase in the transaction
value was mainly due to the country's high inflation rates.
Ellyana said that the inflation rate, which reached 75 percent
for the 10 months ending in October, pushed up people's
expenditures.
She also said that the country's political and social
uncertainty had caused more people to make transactions with
credit cards rather than with cash.
"More people now prefer to have more security in settling
their business. Using cards, both credit or debit, will minimize
the risks," she said following the announcement of the company's
new deal with Bank Central Asia (BCA).
Visa agreed on Monday to link BCA's 1,800 automated teller
machines (ATMs) in Indonesia to the Visa/Plus global ATM network.
Under the agreement all Visa cardholders will be able to
secure cash advances from any one of BCA's 1,800 ATMs, the
largest ATM network in Indonesia.
In addition, BCA ATMs will accept Visa Electron cards, a new
debit card launched in June, which, like a credit card, will
allow holders who have bank accounts to settle their transactions
without cash.
Ellyana said that Visa's agreement with BCA builds on the
company's commitment to provide Indonesia with the third largest
Visa/Plus ATM network in the Asia Pacific.
She also stated that Visa recorded growth in sale's volume and
numbers, reflecting a continued tendency in the Asia-Pacific
region to replace existing cash and check payments with credit
card payments.
The number of Visa cards in the Asia-Pacific region grew to
112.9 million for the 12 month period ending in March 1998, while
the total transaction volume reached US$186.6 billion, a 10
percent and 28 percent increase respectively, over the same 12-
month period.
Ellyana said that Visa's member banks in Indonesia have
proved able to handle transactions from both cardholders and
merchants despite the economic crisis.
"Our member banks in Indonesia continue to meet all of Visa's
requirements and we continue to maintain a close relationship
with them," she said.
Visa, which began operations in Indonesia 15 years ago,
estimates that Indonesia has over 1.7 million credit cards in
use, 1.3 million of which were issued by Visa.
Worldwide, the company claims to be the preferred brand of
credit card. It has issued 620 million cards which generate over
$1.2 trillion annually in transaction volume. Visa cards are
accepted at more than 15 million locations worldwide, including
450,000 ATMs in the Visa Global ATM network. (gis)