Singapore, 4 June 2014 – OCBC Bank has launched its new OCBC 365 Credit Card, whose holders could earn up to $960 in annual cashback – the most lucrative such reward in Singapore. The card is projected to sustain and enhance OCBC Bank’s excellent recent track record in the cards business, by registering $1 billion in annual card billings in its third year, and by acquiring more than 400,000 customers within five years.

The OCBC 365 Credit Card is the fifth card to be launched or refreshed by OCBC Bank in the past three years (refer to Annex A for the list of new and refreshed cards). New card launches and programme enhancements are critical components in the cards business in Singapore because:

• Competition is keen with 11 card-issuing banks (including Diners and AMEX) competing for a market size of only about 1.1 million consumers eligible for a credit card.
• Evolving consumer needs have become more niche than in the past. Card-issuing banks have to constantly innovate and improve their card portfolios with new launches or enhancements to sustain interest.
• The need for finer customer segmentation to drive growth via more specific, and more effective customer targeting.

OCBC Bank has embraced these realities in the past three years – and delivered growth that has consistently outpaced the industry’s. Consider these numbers for the year ending 2013:

• Year-on-Year growth in card billings: OCBC Bank – 14%, Industry – 8.3%
• Year-on-Year growth in number of cards: OCBC Bank – 14%, Industry – 2.3%

In the next three years (2014 – 2016), OCBC Bank expects its cards business to grow at a faster pace, thanks in part to the OCBC 365 Credit Card. OCBC Bank aims to grow its annual card billings at twice or three times the rate achieved by the market, and Mr Desmond Tan – Head of Group Lifestyle Financing – foresees the OCBC 365 Credit Card accounting for at least 30% of this growth.

Features of the OCBC 365 Credit Card

The OCBC 365 Credit Card is designed for consumers who prefer to be rewarded with cashback – that is, cash credited to their card accounts – instead of reward points when they charge their purchases to their cards.

There are four tiers of cashback that OCBC 365 credit cardmembers can receive when they spend using the card (refer to Table 1). Cashback can be earned at all merchants so long as at least $600 is spent in a given month:

Table 1 - Types of spend and cashback

Cash rebates and casbback credit cards are highly popular amongst consumers. Close to 60% of the respondents who had participated in OCBC Bank’s research last year shared that their primary card is a cash rebate or cashback credit card.

Mr Desmond Tan, Head of Group Lifestyle Financing, OCBC Bank, said: "Through research, we know that the feature of cashback ranks high in the mind of the consumers. We want to make it simple and almost effortless for our customers to be rewarded. To do so, we have chosen to reward them more when they spend on areas where they are transacting more frequently than ever before – dining, petrol, groceries and online spending."

Ms Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager, Singapore and Brunei said: "We expect the OCBC 365 Visa Credit card to be one of the most sought-after cards for savvy Singaporeans. Singaporeans can enjoy attractive rewards when making everyday purchases such as groceries and petrol and for doing the things they love most like dining out and shopping online. The card also features Visa payWave contactless technology, making everyday purchases both rewarding and more convenient."

On the targets that he has set for the OCBC 365 Credit Card and the cards business, Mr Tan added: ‘There are very few credit cards in the market that register card billings of $1 billion in a year. We are confident that OCBC 365 Credit Card will not only be part of this exclusive group of cards but will also take a shorter time frame to do so. The launch of this card will significantly accelerate our overall cards business growth and allow us to take pole position."