Hyderabad, Sep 13: SBI Cards, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital, is targeting to add one million new customers by 2014-15.
SBI Cards is presently the second largest issuer of credit cards in the country in terms of new cards issuance and the third largest in terms of Accounts-in-Force.
With a current customer base of over 2.3 million and a total asset base of Rs 2500 crore, SBI Cards operates through a footprint of 50 cities in the country.
"SBI Cards is doing extremely well. We turned the corner as on March 31, 2011. 2012 we made very good profits. Our expectation is that in the next many years, our profitability will go up definitely. Also, we plan to add one million new customers by in next two-three years. But more than that, we will be delivering on our brand promise of make life simple ," Kadambi Narahari, Chief Executive Officer, SBI Cards (SBI Cards and Payment Services Pvt. Ltd), told reporters here.
The total spends made on all credit cards issued in the country as on March 31, 2012 was Rs 96,000 crore and it is likely to go up to Rs 1,20,000 crore as on March 31, 2013, he said.
The credit card industry in the country has matured dramatically over the years with delinquencies coming down substantially, he said.
"You don't have a situation where people are using their credit cards recklessly. They are very responsible. They are now using the credit card as a financial instrument for their own personal financial planning. So, I can see that the delinquencies come down dramatically from the good old years. That is because the number of card holders who are defaulting on the cards is also coming down. So, today we are seeing a mature credit card market compared to what it was a few years ago," he said.
SBI Cards today launched Click2Card, a customer-friendly online credit card application service, in Andhra Pradesh here today.
"With the internet and e-commerce boom in India, customers are increasingly looking for financial products online. Click2Card is another innovative service offering from SBI Cards and is in line with our digital roadmap. The new platform will offer significant customer benefits," Narahari said.
