Because of new regulations from the Bank of Thailand
(BOT) which apply to issuing credit cards, Visa says its growth in Thailand
will drop from 80 percent to about 25 percent this year.
Last year the central bank last year introduced a new
rule restricting credit card companies and banks to issue cards only to
people whose salary is above 15,000 baht a month.
Visa International Thailand manager Somboon Krobthiranond
said the new rules to control credit card spending would reduce credit card
growth in Thailand and for Visa this could mean be a drop in growth up to a
possible 25 percent.
Somboon said the company remained positive about credit
card use this year because the Thai economy was performing well and people
were more likely to spend during times of economic prosperity.
Only about 4 percent of purchases in Thailand are made
with credit cards. The global average is 7 percent.
Domestic consumption has increased with expansion
expected to be between 5 and 10 percent. Visa spends between 70 and 80
million baht a year on advertising, which it hopes will also help growth.
(TNA)
