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itibank Indonesia is optimistic that it will be able to meet its goal of increasing credit card transactions, thanks to rising customer spending.

The company'€™s cards and loans business head, Vikas Kumar, said the bank aimed to see transaction growth of 12 to 13 percent for each credit card available in the market this year, a slight increase from 11 percent last year.

'€œLast year was good for us. In terms of card transactions, our growth is better than the industry rate of 10 percent,'€ he told The Jakarta Post after the launch of the Citi Prestige credit card on Wednesday.

Vikas refused to disclose the total number of credit card transactions last year but revealed that the number of Citibank cardholders reached more than 1 million, giving it a market share of over 6 percent. Besides eyeing an aggressive target for card transactions this year, the bank also hopes to see a credit card issuance surge of 60 percent year-on-year.

'€œWe believe we can achieve our goals like we did last year. In 2015 we rejuvenated our credit card programs and partnerships with prominent public firms, such as Garuda Indonesia and Telkomsel [PT Telekomunikasi Seluler],'€ he said.

The regular review of marketing strategies is important for the bank to achieve its targets, according to Vikas.

The bank and Visa Worldwide launched on Wednesday Citi'€™s first global card, Citi Prestige, targeting the affluent market segment.

With a monthly interest rate of 2.69 percent, the card offers various rewards, ranging from air miles, special assistance at certain airports, free GarudaMiles Platinum membership and special offers at selected department stores and cinemas.

Vikas noted that around 15 percent of transactions last year were made on flights and hotels, around 12 to 13 percent on dining and the remainder on shopping and others.

The most frequently visited countries by Citi cardholders were Singapore, US and Hong Kong.

Visa Worlwide and UOB Indonesia, part of Singapore'€™s financial giant, the United Overseas Bank (UOB) limited, recently launched the UOB PRVI Miles credit card, a travel-focused card.

The card gives one airline mile for every Rp 3,500 spent abroad or Rp 7,000 spent locally. UOB recorded 15 to 20 percent growth in credit card transactions last year and is eyeing 20 percent growth this year.

Total transactions last year reached Rp 6 trillion out of 350,000 cards, giving it a market share of 2 to 2.5 percent.

Indonesian Credit Card Association chairman Steve Marta estimated that less than 10 percent of the country'€™s total 16.8 million cards targeted affluent customers but contribution from the high-end segments reached up to 50 percent of total transactions. (rbk)