Security Bank targets growth in credit card billings, cards in force this year

SECURITY BANK Corp. expects its credit card billings and cards in force to continue growing this year, an official said.

“Our target this year for billings is almost double. For cards in force, our target is close to 700,000 coming from 507,000 [last year],” Security Bank First Vice-President and Unsecured Lending Head Christian Eugene S. Quiros told reporters on Monday.

“Right now, I think the credit card industry has gone out of the pandemic stage. That’s why even the other banks are not saying they are growing. It’s just that we’re growing faster than them,” he added.

At end-2023, Security Bank’s cards in force grew by 30% year on year, while its billings rose by almost 50% to around P76 billion from P50 billion in 2022, Mr. Quiros said. New approvals also increased by 45%.

Growth this year will be boosted by Security Bank’s plan to launch an online cards platform in the coming months to allow cardholders to redeem rewards easily, he said.

“Once we launch this platform, it will enable them to choose from thousands of partner merchants. So, they can convert it to miles, vouchers, cash, or credit on their own,” he said.

Meanwhile, Security Bank on Monday launched the Wave Mastercard, which has no annual fee and offers 1% cashback on all online purchases.

“For us to really grow the cards in force, we revisited the customer value proposition of the cards. That’s why we came up with this decision to launch a no frills card,” Mr. Quiros said.

“Last January, we approved new cards close to 20,000, but of course we have to consider attrition. If some would go bad and if cards get delinquent, they might not be able to use them anymore. So, we target to at least approve or process 8,000 Wave Mastercards this year. Next year, it will incrementally increase,” he added.

The Wave Mastercard is made of 100% recycled PVC, making it the bank’s first credit card made of fully recycled material.

“So far, we did some pencil pushing in terms of profitability because it’s more expensive than the usual plastic, but what’s important is we’re able to help the environment. Our direction is to continue it, so most probably, our next card will be recycled,” Mr. Quiros said.

Security Bank saw its net income rise by 14.73% year on year to P2.65 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

Its shares went up by P1.05 or 1.46% to end at P73 apiece on Tuesday. — A.M.C. Sy