RHB hopes its credit card spending growth will outpace industry's

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd is hoping that its credit card spending grows above the industry's 6% growth this year as it develops new campaigns to reward its customers, its senior vice president and head of cards and unsecured business Elvy Kassim said.
"We hope to do more than the market but looking at the situation with the tightening of rules for credit cards, we'll be able to grow at par with the market," said Elvy.
Rising household debt in Malaysia over the past few years had forced the central bank to take steps to curb it.
Household debt to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio rose to 76.6% in 2011 from 75.8% in 2010. In 2012, it reached 80.5%, which is one of the highest in the region.
Malaysia's household debts came up to 86.8% of GDP as at end-December 2013.
Despite rising cost in the country, Elvy noted that credit card spending has increased.
She said in the first quarter of 2014, RHB's credit cardholders' spending was in tandem with the growth in the market.
"People tend to use their credit cards when there's a good offer attached with the credit cards and we continue to come out with offers to entice people to continue spending," she told reporters after the prize giving ceremony of RHB Cards Spend and Win Contest here yesterday.
RHB currently has 2.6 million debit and credit cardholders. It has a 6.5% market share in the credit card business and a 9% market share in the debit card business.
The Spend and Win contest, which was held from Oct 24, 2013 to Jan 31, 2014, helped to push RHB's cardholders spending up 14% from a year ago.
Credit cards form the bulk of the payment cards' market, compared with debit cards.