'American Express credit cards offer extraordinary privileges'
Thursday, 12 November 2009
FE Report
The recently launched American Express credit cards in Bangladesh by City Bank Ltd will help the local consumers improve their lifestyle needs.
"The brand value, superior product benefits and finally the franchise monopoly of the global financial giant American Express Company will propel us to reach a new height in the growing competition among the leading private commercial banks of Bangladesh," City Bank Managing Director and CEO K Mahmood Sattar told the FE in an interview Wednesday.
The usual mixture of flamboyance and flair of the newly-launched credit cards (American Express Credit Card and American Express Gold Credit Card) will attract the consumers, he hoped.
"The gold card will give the consumers an exclusive privileges and unsurpassed benefits to support the lifestyle needs, like receiving a return ticket to Kolkata in Jet Airways, getting special access to the lounge at ZIA airport exclusively built for the card-holder, using the first-ever fast track immigration services at ZIA airport, dining out at Westin Hotel round the year complimentary or realizing enormous saving or buy the groceries from Agora and Nandan," Mr Sattar said.
On the other hand, the Credit Card offers privileges like receiving two return tickets to Cox's Bazaar, getting free entry and all ride passes to the most premium theme park, realizing enormous savings in selected restaurants and shop at premium retailers.
City Bank has recently formed an alliance with the global financial giant American Express Company to introduce the internationally acclaimed American Express credit cards in Bangladesh.
Through the move, American Express, which claims to be the world's largest issuer of credit and charge cards with 92 million card members globally, has entered a country with one of the smallest credit card user base, apparently to explore this highly untapped market.
The two companies formally announced their partnership through a formal launching of two American Express credit cards, namely the Green/Blue card and the Gold card at a city hotel Saturday last.
Under the arrangement, City Bank has become the sole issuer of the American Express credit cards and sole merchant acquirer for the Bangladeshi market, the bank authority said.
City Bank Ltd, country's one of the leading first generation private commercial banks is now well positioned to meet the challenges in the coming years and will continue to strive to innovate new products for the clients.
"We will continue to strive to innovate and capture opportunity for satisfactory growth, improvement of asset quality, customer services and value creation," the CEO said.
The bank has now 86 branches across the country and four more branches will be opened by the end of this year (2009).
The CEO of the bank further said that the bank will continue to harness the potential of retail operations, SME financing, on-line banking channels throughout all the branches, internet banking, phone banking and NRB remittance market.
The Bank started commercial operation on March 27,1983.
The recently launched American Express credit cards in Bangladesh by City Bank Ltd will help the local consumers improve their lifestyle needs.
"The brand value, superior product benefits and finally the franchise monopoly of the global financial giant American Express Company will propel us to reach a new height in the growing competition among the leading private commercial banks of Bangladesh," City Bank Managing Director and CEO K Mahmood Sattar told the FE in an interview Wednesday.
The usual mixture of flamboyance and flair of the newly-launched credit cards (American Express Credit Card and American Express Gold Credit Card) will attract the consumers, he hoped.
"The gold card will give the consumers an exclusive privileges and unsurpassed benefits to support the lifestyle needs, like receiving a return ticket to Kolkata in Jet Airways, getting special access to the lounge at ZIA airport exclusively built for the card-holder, using the first-ever fast track immigration services at ZIA airport, dining out at Westin Hotel round the year complimentary or realizing enormous saving or buy the groceries from Agora and Nandan," Mr Sattar said.
On the other hand, the Credit Card offers privileges like receiving two return tickets to Cox's Bazaar, getting free entry and all ride passes to the most premium theme park, realizing enormous savings in selected restaurants and shop at premium retailers.
City Bank has recently formed an alliance with the global financial giant American Express Company to introduce the internationally acclaimed American Express credit cards in Bangladesh.
Through the move, American Express, which claims to be the world's largest issuer of credit and charge cards with 92 million card members globally, has entered a country with one of the smallest credit card user base, apparently to explore this highly untapped market.
The two companies formally announced their partnership through a formal launching of two American Express credit cards, namely the Green/Blue card and the Gold card at a city hotel Saturday last.
Under the arrangement, City Bank has become the sole issuer of the American Express credit cards and sole merchant acquirer for the Bangladeshi market, the bank authority said.
City Bank Ltd, country's one of the leading first generation private commercial banks is now well positioned to meet the challenges in the coming years and will continue to strive to innovate new products for the clients.
"We will continue to strive to innovate and capture opportunity for satisfactory growth, improvement of asset quality, customer services and value creation," the CEO said.
The bank has now 86 branches across the country and four more branches will be opened by the end of this year (2009).
The CEO of the bank further said that the bank will continue to harness the potential of retail operations, SME financing, on-line banking channels throughout all the branches, internet banking, phone banking and NRB remittance market.
The Bank started commercial operation on March 27,1983.