Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the country's third-largest lender by assets, remains focused on the upper-income group for its credit card business to maintain the asset quality of its unsecured loan products.
SCB has 2 million credit cards circulating in the market and 100,000 are held by wealthy customers with a minimum income of 2 million baht a month, said executive vice-president Pakachat Taychaburapanone.
Those earning at least 30,000 baht a month are the bank's large customer base, Ms Pakachat said.
The bank aims to double the number of new credit cards to 400,000 this year, she said.
SCB also aims for 10% growth in credit card spending in 2017 from last year's 200 billion baht, which was up 10% from the previous year.
Ms Pakachat said SCB will retain its lead in terms of monthly credit card spending this year.
The bank's non-performing credit card loans are a mere 1.02% of the total, well below the industry's average of around 3%.
SCB classifies its wealth customers into three segments based on assets under management (AUM): SCB Prime customers with AUM of 2-10 million baht, SCB First with AUM of 10-50 million, and SCB Private Banking with AUM above 50 million.
Mass-market customers are also divided into four groups with a minimum monthly income of 15,000 baht to comply with Bank of Thailand regulations.
The government's national e-payment scheme and the low credit card penetration ratio in Thailand will support business growth, Ms Pakachat said.
SCB has launched a new credit card, SCB My Travel, focusing on the mass-market segment with a minimum income of 50,000 baht per month. This is the first mass-market credit card launched in the past three years.
SCB shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 153.50 baht, unchanged, in heavy trade worth 1.49 billion baht.