MCC sees nat’l ID as driver for credit card growth

DAVAO CITY — Metrobank Card Corp. (MCC), the credit card arm of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., sees the implementation of the national identification system as a driver for expanding its business, including in unserved areas of Mindanao.

Francis Ramon L. Tioseco, MCC first vice president, said Mindanao is among the biggest growth areas given the low penetration rate and the ID program will help them and other companies validate the credit capability of applicants.

“One of the things that we want to be able to do is to tap the unbanked, and hopefully credit card is one of the products that we can provide to more individuals, especially in Mindanao,” said Mr. Tioseco during Thursday’s launch of the NCCC Mastercard, a partnership between MCC and homegrown retail firm New City Commercial Corp.

For her part, Jocelyn Lim-Bata, MCC senior vice president for credit card sales, said while Mindanao has all the qualities of a growth area, they also need to carefully assess which parts are “serviceable.”

“We first need to understand if it is serviceable, so, obviously the level of economy that exists in that area because that creates the demand and the need for the product,” she said.

She added that other factors for considering expansion include the presence of merchants willing to partner with MCC and the presence of payment facilities.

Mr. Tioseco said one advantage they have is the bank has “a strong presence” in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Joseph G. Uy, chief information officer of NCCC subsidiary LTS Pinnacle Holdings Inc., told

BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the launch that they are targeting to enroll about 50,000 loyal customers to the NCCC Mastercard before the end of 2020.

Of the target, Mr. Uy said the “sizeable” number would come from the 275,000 NCCC Rewards Card holders, or the KaNegosyo customers.

He explained that it is easier for them to apply for a credit card because the value that they buy from the NCCC stores can be readily computed, providing the credit card company with a basis for granting the credit line.

“The good thing, and this makes the product more attractive, is that the banking industry is secured and it is hard to steal the account,” he said. —