Many more affluent credit cardholders emerged in Singapore over the past year as individuals became wealthier and banks became more aggressive in targeting the high-end segment of the card market.
The number of affluent cardholders expanded by 27 percent to 23,122 in 2010 from the level in the previous year, according to statistics released by Credit Bureau (Singapore) (CBS) on Monday.
The growth last year was a big jump from the 1.8 percent increase registered in 2009 to 18,142 cardholders as against 17,826 cardholders in 2008.
Elite cardholders make up about 2 percent of the credit card population in Singapore, and, as a group, are one of, if not the fastest, growing segments in the local credit card market, the bureau said in a statement.
Big spenders
CBS statistics showed that big spenders drove the growth in the segment. For instance, cardholders with an average monthly card spend of more than $40,000 grew by 44 percent in 2010 compared to 2009.
Within this group, the super-affluent pie — cardholders who spent more than $50,000 — shot up by 42 percent, while the high spenders with a balance of $40,000-50,000 grew by 48 percent.
The next highest growth at 38 percent was exhibited by cardholders with a monthly expenditure of $30,000-$40,000.
The emerging affluent groups — cardholders with a monthly spend of $20,000-$30,000 and $10,000-$20,000 — climbed at a slower pace of 30 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
"The rise of the affluent cardholder segment is a result of the rapid growth of wealthy individuals in Singapore and the region in the last two years," said William Lim, executive director of CBS.
"It can also be attributed to banks pulling out all stops to court and serve this elite group with more creative credit card programmes and personalised services," he added.
According to a report by The Boston Consulting Group, more than 15 percent of households in Singapore have over a million dollars in assets under management.
Profile of cardholders
CBS' study also threw light on the profile of these affluent cardholders:
• They are predominantly male (80 percent), with females making up only
20 percent of the elite group.
• The average age of an affluent cardholder is 46 years old.
• At 3.1, the affluent cardholder has a higher number of average banking relationships than the general population, which has 2.8 average credit card banking relationships.
Women, however, may be catching up with the men. From 2008 to 2010, the number of affluent female cardholders went up by 45 percent, outpacing their wealthy male counterparts' grow rate of 28 percent.
CBS used two criteria to define affluent cardholders: a total monthly credit card balance of $10,000 or more, at least three times in the year; and full settlement of the balance immediately or by the next payment due date.
