THE Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP), composed of the 14 largest banks in the country, has expressed confidence that the number of credit-card holders in the Philippines is expected to grow by double digits in the next few years.
In a media discussion on Friday at a Makati City hotel, CCAP said 6.9 million credit cards have been issued to over 3 million card holders in the Philippines. It said it is ready to further penetrate the market in lowering the wage requirement to possess a credit card.
“Younger working population means a more opportunity for us to give credit to the people who are entering the work force,” CCAP Chairman and Senior Vice President of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) Simon Calasanz said on positioning the local credit-card industry to young working individuals.
Calasanz also said the penetration of the credit card is still low compared to the savings card.
“At present, 65 percent of point of sales in malls is cold cash and 35 percent is credit card,” Calasanz said.
The group is calling for the issuance of a National ID system in the country for easy access to information and described the absence of one as a “stumbling block” for credit-card issuance. This system will determine the consumers’ capacity for repayment.
The CCAP is also hopeful that the Credit Information System Act (CISA) will be passed into law in the middle of 2015.
The group said this is “consistent with the need to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the financial system.”
The CCAP also noted the need of infrastructure for more access to credit. It also planned to offer a contactless card and mobile-payment solutions to the market and “is cognizant to adapt to changing trends and technologies.”
CCAP executives said that before 2017, credit-card holders will be equipped with contactless technology wherein they will just have to tap their card for payment in participating merchants instead of swiping it. Executives reiterated the challenge to infrastructure and terminals to this kind of advancement.
The group said it is expanding its membership and plans to add two more members this year. Its current membership of 14 is composed of Asia United Bank, BPI, China Bank, Citi, EastWest, Equicom, HSBC, Maybank, Metrobank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., PNB, Security Bank, Standard Chartered and Union Bank.
The CCAP is encouraging the youth to start building their credit score as early as now to secure their plans in the future and financially educate consumers to be responsible in using it as a payment facility.
Special to the BusinessMirror