Credit card agents go all out to meet monthly target

Credit card companies plagued by rising defaults are aggressively chasing new customers with special offers and incentives at higher interest rates.

Recent reports said credit card companies have non-performing assets of Dh20 billion and about 2,500 credit card customers are leaving the country every month without paying their dues.

To offset this, telemarketing and direct marketing efforts to attract new customers have become intense, with sales agents told to achieve targets every month or face retrenchment.

The number of SMS text messages, telephone calls and direct visits by sales agents to prospective customers have increased, with agents desperate to meet their monthly targets.

"I have to sell a minimum of 21 credit cards per month, which I have managed to achieve for the past six months. This month, because of Ramadan, I think it will be difficult to achieve my target. And if I don't, I am likely to be fired next month," said a sales agent of a foreign bank in Dubai.

The agent gets a commission of Dh50 for each card he sells and a monthly salary, which together come to about Dh5,000 per month.

He said the bank has extended special incentives to its credit card customers, such as free valet parking in major shopping malls in the emirate and free movie tickets, among others.

The interest rate charged by credit card companies, ranging from special offers of 2.48 per cent per month to four per cent per month, work out to a whopping 40 per cent annual interest rate – several times the current interest rate for personal loans, automobile loans or other such products.

Naturally, banks and credit card companies are keen to sell more cards and profit from the high interest income. The focus is on employees of good credit worthy companies, but agents are targeting customers from across the board.

Leading international banks are offering air mile programmes, free airport transfers to and from Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi international airports, privileged access to priority lounges, and free meet and greet programmes at the airports.

Some international banks have tied up with leading travel agents to offer these privileges to customers who use credit cards to book their airline ticket. There are also dial-a-gift programmes for card customers with a wide range of gift vouchers for jewellery, restaurants, sports, spas, perfumes and cinema tickets, which will be delivered the next working day.

"I am given a target to sell a minimum number of credit cards to employees of 'good' companies.

"We have a list of good credit worthy companies and we avoid several companies in certain fields, especially in finance and real estate. Therefore, all the focus is to get more customers from the good credit worthy companies and we have to aggressively peruse them to buy more cards," said Singh, a credit card sales agent of a leading bank.

He said every sales agent has a list of such "good companies" and they are all targeting this group.

This aggressive sales pitch by agents, however, is not always well-received by customers. An agitated customer, who did not want his name published, said: "Every day I get about two or three unsolicited calls from agents offering new cards. I already have several cards. The real picture comes clear only if you go through their monthly statements."


Credit where no credit is due

Employees of a contracting company in Sharjah recently found they owed huge amounts of money to a bank on credit cards they had no knowledge of taking.

It emerged that their employer took several credit cards in their names, using their passport copies and forged signatures.

When business was normal, the employer was able to make payments on time, but when the money flow stopped the card payments got delayed, prompting the banks to call up the employees who were the listed card owners in their records.

They are now unable to leave the country as the owner of the company is in financial difficulties and cannot pay back the dues.

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