Driving Credit Card Strategies by Providers, Competitor Overview and Future Implications

Driving Credit Card Strategies by Providers Report Overview

The global economy has experienced more than a decade of low interest rates as governments across the world looked to stimulate their faltering economies and boost investment. Mortgage interest rates have been at historic lows, and credit of all kinds have become cheap compared to previous decades. In the recent years, the phenomenon of ultra-low interest rates has seen the growth of alternative credit suppliers such as buy now, pay later providers. Such players have been able to offer interest-free and fee-free credit options to customers due to the low cost of capital available, making them among the most successful of all fintechs with valuations more than $50 billion prior to market corrections.

This report discusses four credit card providers (Maybank, BBVA, Banorte, and Ziraat Bankası) who have each made significant gains in their respective market shares over the past 10 years. The strategies followed by each of these banks are analyzed and common trends identified, with the aim of providing an understanding of the types of products and marketing that contribute to a successful credit card strategy.

Driving Credit Card Strategies by Providers – Competitor Overview

Between 2010 and 2020, Maybank managed to increase its credit card market share by five percentage points (pp), overtaking Citibank as the largest credit card provider in Malaysia. In 2021, BBVA emerged as the leader with the highest Spanish credit card market share, owing to the economy’s concerted campaign to modernize its product suite in a way that better met customer needs. BBVA also sought sponsorship deals with big sports brands such as the NBA, which likely expanded the brand’s reach and further secured the bank’s position both domestically and abroad.

Banorte saw its market share in Mexico grow from 6% in 2010 to 10% in 2020. This spike in the market share was mainly attributed to several smart marketing decisions that in combination with one another helped generate this significant increase in the bank’s credit card market share. Ziraat Bankası introduced its innovative Bankkart card, which served as both a credit and a debit card dependent on the consumer’s needs at a particular moment. The extra financial control this card afforded was clearly something consumers were looking for, as Ziraat Bankası’s credit card market share increased from 4–7% between 2017 and 2020.

Leading Credit Card Providers

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Driving Credit Card Strategies by Providers – Key Highlights

Maybank (Malaysia): Maybank recorded the strongest organic credit card growth in Malaysia over the review period. The bank’s success can be attributed to new product releases that included innovative features and rewards. The company has also focused on partnerships with global brands and tech companies to drive growth. For instance, In 2020, Maybank entered into a partnership with Singaporean ecommerce site Shopee and went on to launch the new lifestyle and ecommerce Platinum card, known as the Maybank Shopee credit card. This card allowed customers to accumulate Shopee coins, which could later be spent on items sold on Shopee’s online store.

BBVA (Spain): BBVA recorded the strongest organic credit card growth in Spain over the review period. BBVA segmented the Spanish market (as well as other markets it operated within), analyzing customer needs and aspirations on the basis of what types of customers they were. Furthermore, the company has engaged in sponsorship deals with the Spanish football league and the US NBA to boost brand awareness.  Also, other differentiating aspects of BBVA’s app include the ability to withdraw cash from an ATM using cardless/NFC technology, simplified access to account activity, and educational videos to offer customers guidance on financial products.

Banorte (Mexico): At the start of the decade, Banorte was in fifth place in the country’s credit card market, trailing BBVA Bancomer, Banamex, HSBC, and Santander. Banorte revised its marketing strategy to highlight its status as a domestic bank. In 2020, Banorte entered a joint venture with Mexican food and grocery delivery app Rappi, with the two planning to launch various financial services products together. Rappi has close to 9 million customers and has taken this opportunity to integrate financial services offerings such as credit cards, debit accounts, insurance, and loan products within its app. Banorte previously worked with Rappi to create RappiPay, a payment system integrated with the Rappi platform.

Ziraat Bankası(Turkiye): Ziraat Bankası’s credit card market share accelerated post-2017. Like other banks, Ziraat used sponsorships to increase brand value, recognition, and strength. For Ziraat, this initially included being the key sponsor of men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments in Turkiye. By the end of 2020, the number of digital customers with the bank had reached 23.8 million, with a total of 14 million active digital banking users. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, there were a total of 9.36 million customers using Ziraat Bank credit cards.

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Scope

• All the banks covered in this report have developed strong digital banking platforms that have made banking services more accessible to customers previously underbanked in rural or nonurban areas.
• The most successful marketing campaigns have been prolonged, lasting many years and reaching wide audiences on a regular basis by being associated with sporting events and entertainment.
• Links with payments and ecommerce providers have allowed banks to increase their shares of credit card markets by both increasing customer exposure to their products and offering rewards tied to partners’ services (such as digital money to spend with a partnered ecommerce provider).

Reasons to Buy

• Determine the factors that are critical to a successful overall credit card strategy.
• Improve your marketing approach by analyzing some of the most successful strategies implemented over the last decade.
• Develop an understanding of the credit card products that are likely to offer the best value proposition to customers.