MANILA, Philippines - I was once largely skeptical about the concept of credit. Like me, for many Filipinos, spending beyond one’s means and earnings is a big red flag. But recent trends in our green-lit economy and the rush of lifestyle possibilities that follow make us somehow pause and ponder otherwise. With prospects of international travel now more of a convenient reality than fantasy, skyscrapers soaring high, inviting us all to look up, and consumption at an all-time high, as seen from our supermarkets to our supermalls, even one of the country’s oldest banks has come out of its conservative shell and taken charge over the liberating powers of plastic cash.
“Originally, we were a bank that caters to the entrepreneurs,” says Ricardo Chua, president and CEO of the 95-year-old China Banking Corporation. “We were not in the consumer space for a long time. We have our own unique way of doing business. We are very close to our customers.”
Cautious as China Bank may be, it is no late bloomer. In 1969, it was the first bank in Southeast Asia to process deposits online. Yet, much of its early-adaptive stance was targeted to benefit the small and medium business owners and their savings — for convenience, ease of doing business, and security. Now the sleeping dragon of the Philippine banking industry has finally woken up and decided to give its depositors the freedom and the luxury of choice. “It took us a while to prepare for this, so we want to do it well,” Chua assures.
“We just want to be relevant to our customers,” explains China Bank EVP and head of lending William Whang. “When we thought of coming up with a card, first thing that came to mind was, ‘What do our customers want?’”
As a single consumer with a bit more disposable income than before, perhaps I would answer travel, shopping, and maybe a few other experiences in between. But while I have no problems settling these in cash, I find some instances when doing ATM runs or lining up for currency exchanges can be quite taxing. Apparently, this has been the sentiment of many of China Bank’s clients all along.
“With everything that we were offering, our clients would still pay another bank’s credit card, because it was the missing link with our financial relationship with the client,” shares Maire Viola, OIC of China Bank’s credit card division.
So, upon celebrating the bank’s 95th anniversary last August, the China Bank team also unveiled what was to be the financial institution’s first foray into credit card banking with its commemorative credit cards.
Banking’s new guards: (from left: China Bank’s VP for global payment John Vic Bolido, Asia-Pacific regional head for global payments Rowen del Fierro, China Bank president and CEO Ricardo Chua, county head for global payments Kay dela Paz, and global payments general manager Peter Cruz
“We have a rewards program that lets you earn one point for every P25 that you spend,” Viola shares. “Some banks would offer a catalog of rewards. We made it very simple. We checked what’s relevant for our consumers, and they are travel and shopping. If it’s travel, we have Mabuhay Miles. If it’s shopping, we have SM. Now you can exchange your points for miles or shopping credits in your Mabuhay Miles or SM Advantage card.”
To date, China Bank has three types of credit cards. The China Bank Prime MasterCard provides the needed flexibility for daily consumption, while giving its cardholders more value through rewards points. The China Bank Platinum MasterCard, on the other hand, extends priceless privileges with life’s most-desired experiences, be it shopping, dining, or traveling. And finally, the China Bank World MasterCard, which the bank describes as the “total luxury card,” provides exclusive access to personal concierges, VIP lounges, global perks, and exclusive events wherever you may be in the world.
On matters of security and fraud that are prevalent in the current credit card banking system, Chua stresses, “The best thing about it is we bypassed all the problems of credit cards in the past.” With the EMV chip card technology, cardholders can swipe anywhere without worrying about identity theft.
China Bank even went as far as getting rid of a common complaint associated with credit cards: the annual fees. “A lot of people are complaining about their annual fees, so we decided to waive it,” notes Viola. Through China Bank Credit Card’s Founder Member privileges, early subscribers can get their annual membership fees cancelled forever.
And, just as China Bank is building its empire in the credit card industry, it is giving its cardholders a taste of the total Empire State experience as well. “Now we’re launching the ‘2 Million Miles Raffle Promo’ with the New York Priceless Package,” Viola says, which lets existing cardholders from Sept. 19 to Nov. 15 enjoy a shot at biting the Big Apple with every single-receipt local or foreign purchase worth at least P1,500. Over two million Mabuhay Miles are in store, which will take you straight to New York on an all-expenses-paid four-day, three-night trip, with plenty of MasterCard Priceless Package credits to spend, making sure that you get that invaluable NYC experience all in a swipe. “Aside from just giving the usual freebies, we would like to offer more, and those are the priceless experiences that come with a memorable trip,” Viola adds.
For Philippine Airlines president Jimmy Bautista, this promo not only cements the bank’s foothold in credit card banking, but also its key position in elevating the lifestyles of its most loyal patrons. “China Bank is not only a partner of PAL in this venture,” Bautista says. “This is a continuation of a partnership that we started long before. We’re happy that China Bank is into this business and decided to partner with Philippine Airlines, to encourage more Filipino families to travel.”
But that doesn’t mean China Bank is pushing its mindful clients — or even their newer ones — to spend more than they save. Still the conservative conscience of commercial banking, Whang reminds us, “We’re not really selling a card. We’re selling a relationship. And this card is the symbol of that.”
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To apply for a China Bank credit card, visit any China Bank branch near you or www.chinabank.ph/creditcards.aspx for more information.