In 2011, the credit card business of Industrial Bank sailed in the storm current.
Facing the complicated and changing economic and financial situation both at home and abroad and the tightened credit scale and increasingly furious market competition, IB credit card kept all businesses growing steadily through continuous innovation and giving priority to quality. Credit cards issued by the bank exceeded 9 million, including nearly 50 products from nine series such as the platinum card, standard card, theme card, and co-branded cards, and profits were realized for three years consecutively. By the end of 2011, transaction values totaled RMB 114.452 billion, up 72.76% YoY; income totaled RMB 2.5 billion, up 111.49% YoY; the active card ratio reached 55.3%, up 5.8% on the beginning of the year. The quality of assets maintained a leading position among banks.
Stressing integration and making continuous innovations is the main theme for the development of IB credit cards.
In 2011, IB credit card marched onto the field of business travel in strides, issuing co-branded credit cards jointly with China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. Following the finance networking trend, the bank released a co-branded credit card in collaboration with Taobao.com and Alipay under Alibaba Group, offering characteristic functions meeting the individualized demands of internet shopping group s such as fast payment, fast payment points, reduction of purchase price with points, and credit card bill s online inquiry. Of the characteristic functions, there duction of purchase price with points and credit card bills online inquiry were industry firsts. In addition, IB continued its commitment to providing differentiated services, and on the basis of successfully offering products targeting high-end customers such as the standard platinum credit card, YOU series platinum card, GOLF platinum card, XING card, and wisdom platinum card, IB further released the UnionPay VIP platinum card providing high-quality and globalized services to card holders. Attaching importance to the refined management of marketing and promotion, and relying on its retail business system, IB intensified resource sharing and cross - selling, and customers with “one form and two cards” (one application form for both the wealth management card and credit card) increased by 40.5% YoY. The integrated marketing of the head office and branches boosted the rapid growth in tra nsaction volume.
In recent years, IB credit cards have not only realized business profits consecutively, but also didn't forget to give back to society, launching public welfare projects and performing social responsibilities.
In May 2008, IB released the “China Heart Credit Card”, the first with the theme of patriotism in China, and launched the “China Heart Public Welfare Program” along with the card, meaning, when a customer successfully applies for a China Heart Credit Card or performs a purchase transaction, installment or cash advance with a China Heart Credit Card, the bank will donate RMB 1 to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. In the same year, IB built new playgrounds for four poverty-stricken primary schools in Longlin County, Baise, Guangxi. In 2009 and 2010, the “China Heart Public Welfare Program” raised funds to build “sunshine playgrounds” for six poverty-stricken schools in Longlin County, Baise, Guangxi and Yixian County, Hebei, solving the problem of lacking sports facilities for students. In 2011, the Program raised funds again to provide heart packages for all students in the Primary School Attached to the Changting Normal School (also known as Huangwu Primary School) in Changting County, Longyan, Fujian, solving the problem of students lack ing enough stationery.
On April 22, 2011, the World Earth Day, the public benefit oriented fund “Low-carbon Happy Life Fund” set up by the IB Credit Card Center purchased 1,108 tons of voluntary carbon emission reductions in a centralized way, equivalent to neutralizing the carbon emissions of 8,000 people traveling 1,000km by air, as a special gift to our “earth mother”. This activity was another innovative public benefit action of IB in practic ing “green finance to advocate a low-carbon life” following the release of the first low-carbon credit card in China. With unique functions, the IB low-carbon credit card has attracted more and more people to join the low-carbon campaign. In 2011, the carbon-purchasing funds of cardholders also lent great support to carbon emission-reduction projects such as the Dongping 72MW Hydropower Station in Hunan and Xiaping Waste Landfill Gas Collection and Utilization Project in Guangdong. By the end of 2011, 153,889 China low-carbon credit cards had been issued, and the purchased carbon emissions reduction totaled 32,000 tons, equivalent to neutralizing the carbon emission of 230,000 people traveling 1,000km by air.
Along the distinctive business road of “issuing cards in certain scales, providing characteristic products, convenient functions, and integrating financial payments, low-carbon environment protection and social charity”, IB credit cards will, by adhering to the differentiated business concept and refined management concept, continue developing its business scale and meeting the increasingly diversified demands of consumers in innovative development models with a steady development pace, creat ing greater value for cardholders.