In addition, cardholders are covered by travel insurance and get additional discounts at various shopping centers in countries serving as shopping destinations. In addition, UOB Buana credit cards allow a payment of 0.35 percent of the monthly billing statement. “In short, UOB credit cards give interesting benefits, programs and features to customers,” he said.
Banks compete with each other to lure big-wig customers, which is not without reason. The Credit Information Bureau estimates that platinum credit card potential may stand at over one million customers, but to date only 70,000 have been tapped.
According to the country manager of Visa International Indonesia, Ellyana C. Fuad, Visa Platinum credit cards are intended for people with a minimum income of Rp 500 million annually. They are, therefore, entrepreneurs and members of a company’s board of directors. In Indonesia, however, the use of a credit card as an instrument of payment is still at a low level, not more than 1.2 percent of the population. Abroad, meanwhile, it is 4 percent of total population, particularly in advanced countries.
According to data compiled by Morgan Stanley of Singapore, there are 7.2 million super rich people controlling assets worth $27 trillion. In 2005, the assets of wealthy families in Asia was estimated to stand at $7.3 trillion.
How does Indonesia stand in all this? Apparently there are an estimated 3,328 families controlling assets worth $5 million to $20 million. Meanwhile, there are 167 families with assets worth $20 million to $100 million. Incredibly, about 80 percent of these super rich families are domiciled in Jakarta and its surroundings.
In 2006, the growth of the High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) group in Indonesia reached 16 percent. Indonesia is recorded as a country with the third highest growth rate in the Asia Pacific, following Singapore and India.
It is this phenomenon that has caused the demand for premium services to rise. In addition to demand for wealth management services, demand for platinum credit cards is also on the rise. Nearly all major banks, such as those mentioned above, offer platinum credit cards. Are you part of a platinum community? (Burhan Abe)
The Jakarta Post, November 19, 2007
