Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) yesterday teamed up with electronics retailer Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co (燦坤實業) in the hope of increasing its customer base by 1 million over the next decade, senior executives said.
The Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控)-owned lender signed a contract with Tsann Kuen to issue co-branded credit cards for the coming 10 years in a bid to reach the consumer electronics vendor’s 4 million members.
“We expect to issue 80,000 co-branded credit cards in the first year of cooperation, with per-card spending estimated at NT$7,000 a month,” Taishin retail banking executive Oliver Shang (尚瑞強) told a media briefing.
Photo: Lu Kuan-cheng, Taipei Times
That would add to Taishin Bank’s 3.48 million credit cards in circulation, consolidating its fourth place among local peers after CTBC Commercial Bank (中國信託商銀), Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) and E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行).
According to the deal, Taishin Bank is to offer bonus credit and other benefits for cardholders shopping at Tsann Kuen’s 345 outlets nationwide.
However, the increase in the number of credit cards may not generate much profit, as regulators define credit cards as a payment tool instead of a credit vehicle through which banks can charge customers high borrowing costs, Shang said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission is inspecting all domestic credit card issuers to ensure fair pricing on concerns some banks charge unreasonable revolving interest rates of between 18 and 20 percent. The commission insists banks should set discriminated interest rates for customers depending on their different credit profiles.
Tsann Kuen also operates a travel agency, bakeries, restaurants and coffee shops, as well as Aurora Corp (震旦行), an office automation equipment and furniture supplier.
Tsann Kuen chairman Jerry Yen (閻俊傑) forecast mid-single-digit percentage growth in revenue this year on the back of wearable devices, while older-generation products and their accessories will generate limited profit contributions due to constant price discounts.
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