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Published on November 14, 2007

This would come about if proposals by the Credit Card Club aimed at solving problems with merchant acceptance are implemented.

Credit Card Club chairman Shoke na Ranong yesterday said his organisation would request cooperation from two international credit-card providers - Visa International (Thailand) and MasterCard Thailand - to set clear qualifications for applicants.

"We want to set a minimum monthly income and credit limit for premium applicants. The income of the cardholder should be greater than Bt50,000 a month," he said.

Premium credit cards are now available from issuers in different names, including platinum, titanium and premier cards.

Currently, there are no regulations governing premium credit cards.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has set a minimum monthly salary of Bt15,000 for those who apply for a silver card. The central bank also limits credit lines for all types of cards at five times the holder's salary.

In the absence of criteria for premium-card applicants and tougher competition in the credit-card market, some card issuers have set their own minimum salary for premium applicants at Bt30,000, Shoke said.

Moreover, some card issuers offer titanium cards to holders who earn only Bt15,000 a month, and many general cardholders have been upgraded to premium cards.

The issue was raised after many premium cardholders faced problems with card acceptance. Merchants have a narrower margin when customers pay with premium cards, because of price discounts and the higher fee charged by electronic data capture (EDC) service providers. Some merchants have refused to accept premium cards.

The merchants are subject to an EDC fee of 1.28-3 per cent for general credit cards, compared with 5-6 per cent on average for premium cards.

The BOT said consumers had been cautious about paying with credit cards, as overall private consumption remained fragile.

Card spending abroad in the third quarter dropped 8.3 per cent, or Bt700 million, quarter on quarter to Bt7.7 billion. All card issuers, particularly non-bank companies, reported decreased spending abroad.

Moreover, cash withdrawals via plastic also decreased 3.11 per cent to Bt47.7 billion in the third quarter. Domestic spending through cards grew slightly, by 3.8 per cent to Bt147.1 billion. Total spending via cards rose only 1.6 per cent from the second quarter, to Bt202.5 billion.

Cardholders have also sought to pay off their debts, with outstanding loans on credit cards in the third quarter rising only 0.83 per cent quarter on quarter to Bt170.42 billion.

Somruedi Banchongduang

 Anoma Srisukkasem

 The Nation