Aeon lowers income requirement for platinum card
Consumer finance company Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand) has created a new market for platinum credit cards by setting the minimum monthly income for applicants at Bt30,000 instead of the industry norm of Bt50,000.
“We see room to grow in the platinum credit card segment because the gap in income of Bt15,000 to Bt50,000 is wide enough for us to offer platinum cards for individuals with a monthly income of Bt30,000,” Yasuhiro Kondo, managing director, said yesterday.
Aeon has also launched a co-branded platinum credit card with Thai Airways International called the Aeon Royal Orchid Plus Platinum Card to attract high spenders. Passengers of the national carrier are regarded as high spenders, which matches Aeon’s target customer profile.
People earning Bt50,000 a month can apply for the Aeon Royal Orchid Plus platinum card.
People are spending more in line with the economy’s growth prospects and the recent policy of the government to help upgrade the salaries of white-collar workers, which could help the company draw premium customers.
The company plans to issue 160,000 cards within five years, mostly to new customers. It believes it can achieve this goal because people with monthly income of Bt30,000-Bt50,000 will jump at the chance to get a prestigious platinum card.
The company has 6 million customers now and projects to issue 700,000 cards this year.
Developing a new platinum segment in Thailand is part of the company’s objective to extend its finance business in the regional market to prepare for the Asean Economic Community.
Aeon recently invested Bt2.07 million to set up Aeon Microfinance (Myanmar) and Bt30.4 million to set up Aeon Leasing Service (Lao). The two subsidiaries are expected to start operating in the neighbouring countries in two years, he said.
The company has been granted a Bt5-billion loan by a syndicate of Japanese financial institutions led by Mizuho Corporate Bank’s Bangkok branch for working capital and future expansion.
