Asian bankers reveal massive opportunities in Asia’s premium cards market

It’s an exciting market as Asia Pacific beats North America with the largest number of HNWIs.

ABF: What are the growth opportunities and challenges for the premium cards market in Asia that serve the ultra high net worth individuals? Do you think banks are innovating enough to serve this increasingly competitive market?

CIMB Bank: Renzo Viegas, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking
There is a tremendous opportunity in Asia to grow the premium cards segment given the rapid growth of mass affluent and high net worth consumers across the region. A study conducted by Cap Gemini published this year revealed that Asia Pacific hosts the largest number of high net worth individuals, surpassing North America and we anticipate this trend to continue over the next few years. Opportunities to provide premium card level offerings is expected to increase and we hope to leverage on this to further boost our market share.

Amidst all this, it is crucial for service providers to maintain a high standard of customer service as customer base grows and customers’ expectation increase. Financial institutions also need to expand their propositions, covering beyond just credit card. They need to crystalise an integrated value proposition for customers to also include asset management and other attractive credit products.

In the cards segment, innovation in terms of marketing and technology is key and many banks have been pushing this in full force. CIMB provides our premium regional customers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore free access to golf courses, premium dining privileges, shopping, travel and hotel stays. These attractive offerings are seamlessly available across all the three markets and we will continue to expand these propositions to other ASEAN countries as we move forward.

In the payments space, significant innovation is already underway in contactless payments such as in mobile phones via the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. There is also potential in the growth of e-wallets to support online / internet purchases.

DBS Bank: Jeremy Soo, Managing Director and Head, Consumer Banking Group (Singapore)
There is a growing number of affluent in Asia and they behave differently from the HNWI of the past or from their peers in the west. With Singapore becoming a hub for Asia and the world’s finest events, the DBS Insignia Visa Infinite card speaks to the sophisticated needs of Singapore’s top 5% high net-worth individuals (HNWIs). It is the first card to offer a credit starting at 1 million. DBS Insignia Visa Infinite cardholders are using the card for down payments on cars, travel and luxury items.

RCBC: Ismael Sandig, Senior Executive Vice President - Retail Banking Group
In the Philippines, there remains to be a huge market for cards and payments owing to the big gap between the population and ATM cardholders. While banks are doing their best to keep innovating, the challenge lies on the merchants' capabilities to adopt new technologies.