The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The credit-card industry projects a double-digit growth rate this year in line with the continued strong growth of the economy but the government should strengthen information services on card users, RCBC Bankard Services Corp. (RBSC) President and CEO Simon Calasanz said.
The past years saw single digit growths in outstanding receivables of credit card firms of an average of five percent to six percent while cards’ subscription grew at a rate of 3 percent average yearly.
The levels of growth in the industry is now heading toward double-digit figures, Calasanz said.
Calasanz told The Market Monitor the credit-card industry also experienced an improvement in the delinquency rate which decreased to a range of four to five percent from an average of ten percent some years ago.
Calasanz said he believed the industry will post strong growth to reflect the robust economy.
The growth of automobile loans as well as housing loans reached 20 percent in 2015 from the previous year.
He said, however, that the industry wanted a stronger credit-investigation services through the state agency Credit Information Corp. (CIC) to provide banks and financial institutions the credit profile of Filipinos.
Calasanz emphasized the importance of the government’s credit profile report for the credit-card industry since the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) requires each bank to make an assessment of a potential credit-card customer.
Such assessment profiles a customer’s credit behavior, among other things, which may include data profile on utilities payment. According to him, Republic Act 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act (CISA) will be instrumental in promoting growth for the credit card industry.
In particular, the CISA created in 2008 the CIC, which is a government-owned and controlled corporation that provides independent, reliable and accurate credit information in the Philippines.
Calasanz, however, said RCBC Bankard sources most of its clients’ credit profile from TransUnion rather than the CIC. RCBC also relaunched its top-of-the-line credit card RCBC Bankard Diamond Platinum Mastercard that goes with it the company’s campaign to contribute to the government’s fight against hunger among children.
During the event, a donation worth P1 million from RCBC Chairman Helen Dee was given to social entrepreneur group Gawad Kalinga (GK) with founder Toney Meloto receiving the check.
Calasanz said RCBC once again extends its philanthropic goal by giving cardholders opportunity to lend hand in GK’s fight against hunger among children.
“For every P100 spent using the card, P0.20 is automatically donated to Gawad Kalinga’s Kusina ng Kalinga,” Calsanz said. “We believe in Kusina ng Kalinga’s noble purpose.
We hope that our cardholders will prefer to use their RCBC Bankard Diamond Platinum Mastercard to help support the fight against hunger, and to help the less fortunate children reach their full potential,” according to Angela Mirasol, RCBC Bankard Services Corporation first vice president and Marketing Group head. RIZA LOZADA