Major issuers of cash-advance cards increased their spending on advertising during the second quarter to maintain visibility amid stiff competition, banking executives said yesterday.
This marketing strategy also indicates issuers' confidence in the market potential of the personal financial tool, they added.
"With 35 banks jostling for a bigger share in the cash-card market, we have to invest in ads placement to make our voice heard and maintain our leading position," said Sarita Hao (郝名媛), a public relations official of Taishin International Bank (台新銀行).
In terms of the number of cash cards issued as of the end of July, Taishin is ranked second with 14.2 percent of the nation's 5.59 million cash cards, behind Cosmos Bank Taiwan's (
According to a Nielsen Media Research survey released yesterday, advertising of cash cards in the print media, on radio and television and on outdoor media increased by 7 percent in the first quarter this year compared with the fourth quarter last year.
The figure jumped a further 143 percent from the first to the second quarter, the report said.
Among the 12 banks that promoted cash cards from April to June this year, Taishin, Chinatrust Commercial Bank (
Of the total of NT$3.5 billion that was spent on advertising in this period, Taishin accounted for 25.9 percent, Chinatrust for 19.7 percent and Hua Nan for 14.2 percent.
Perry Chang (
He said that Chinatrust would remain active for the rest of the year to transcend its current No. 3 position in the cash-card battle.
But huge advertising expenditure is not necessarily related to the number of cash cards issued.
Hua Nan, who launched a cash card early this year, increased its spending on cash-card ads by 500 percent in the second quarter, but with its market share standing at just 1.8 percent, it has yet to make in into the ranks of the top ten issuers.
A Hua Nan personal financial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bank remains optimistic about its market prospects and would continue promoting the product in different ways, without elaborating.
The Nielsen report also showed that around 1.35 million people, or 8.3 percent of Taiwanese aged between 12 and 60, had cash cards by the end of June.
The main client base is concentrated in the 25-to-34 age bracket, with 44 percent of all cash-card holders, according to the survey, which was conducted among 3,750 people in the first half of the year.
Linda Chang (張小玲), executive director of Nielsen Media Research Asia-Pacific, said that diverse cash-card products and high penetration rates via advertising placements have convinced a growing number of consumers to apply for cash cards.
While 35 percent of cash-card holders have not borrowed money on their cards, nearly 30 percent of those polled have more than two cash cards, the report said.
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