The partnership was established to increase the lender’s customer base, particularly in targeting Indonesians that preferred traveling to Japan and online shopping, said Bank Mandiri retail banking director Donsuwan Simatupang.

"We hope that, through this cooperation with JCB, we are able to issue 50,000 credit cards to customers and reach Rp 500 billion (US$34.65 million) in transactions next year,” he said during an event marking the launch of the cooperation.

Bank Mandiri believed the cooperation was a good opportunity, because the number of Indonesian visitors to Japan had been showing an increasing annual trend over the past few years.

Last year, 350,000 Indonesian tourists visited Japan, with this year's figure expected to grow 20 percent.

"Japan is one of the top five international destinations among Bank Mandiri’s credit card customers. This corporate action is also in line with the company's business focus to strengthen our market share in the retail sector," he said.

Bank Mandiri is providing promotional offers such as nationwide free internet access via wifi.id, premium insurance that covers online transactions, plus Blibli.com e-vouchers worth Rp 250,000 for new customers in the premium segment.

JCB International president and COO Kimihisa Imada said, “This is the fifth time JCB has collaborated with banks in Indonesia to launch credit cards."

The Japanese credit card company has previously partnered with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Maybank Indonesia and CIMB Niaga. (bbn)

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