SINGAPORE and AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, Dec. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Kasikornbank, Thailand’s third largest commercial bank, today announced the
launch of a new strategic credit card merchant promotion program, empowered
by payment technology from Welcome. The innovative merchant-driven
promotions are geared to get merchants excited about the bank’s credit
cards, which will in turn drive higher acceptance and usage of the cards.
The new move is congruent with the bank’s efforts to accelerate the growth
of its consumer banking business.
Along with a rebranding of the bank from "Thai Farmers’ Bank"
to "Kasikornbank" in 2002, Kasikornbank began restructuring their retail
business in 2005. The new credit card merchant promotion program, officially
known as "Smart Shopping", is strategic in modernizing the bank’s card
business, giving it a competitive edge to compete against other players in
the market. The program is the first of its kind in Thailand.
"We are very glad to be the payment technology enabler for Kasikornbank
in this innovative program," states Craig Bennett, CEO for Welcome in Asia
Pacific. "This launch is another great endorsement for Welcome."
Kasikornbank’s "Smart Shopping" was launched on 28 November 2006. The
official opening event was held at the glitzy up-market Central World mall.
There are 39 participating retail brands totally more than 300 outlets across
Bangkok and the surrounding regions. The bank plans to substantially grow the
number of retail partners over the next few months.
About Welcome
Welcome is the world’s leading provider of payment software that
utilizes the full capabilities of EMV standard (Europay-MasterCard-Visa) chip
credit and debit cards to create a much more exciting and richer payment
experience. Payment commoditization, resulting in rate wars and fee reforms,
has recently been shown to cost banks five to ten times more than fraud. EMV
cards without Welcome’s software can only combat fraud, whereas the same
cards with Welcome’s software can also fight commoditization, for
essentially the same cost as fraud alone. Welcome was awarded the 2004 ‘ROI
of the Year Award’ by The Banker magazine. Welcome was also recently
honoured with 2006 Frost & Sullivan "Industry Innovation & Advancement
Leadership Award for Smart Cards Payment Software in Asia Pacific". Welcome
is headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, with offices and R&D facilities
in Singapore, London, Miami and Sao Paulo. For more information, visit:
http://www.welcome-rt.com .
About Kasikornbank Public Company Limited
KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited was established in 1945 with
registered capital of Baht 5 Million and has been listed on the Stock
Exchange of Thailand (SET) since 1976. As of September 30, 2006, the Bank is
the fourth largest commercial bank in Thailand as measured by total assets.
The Bank provides a broad range of consumer, commercial, and corporate
banking services, including lending, deposit-taking, credit card services,
international trade financing, custodian services, asset management, and
investment banking services. As of October 31, 2006, the Bank operated 552
branches; 168 Metropolitan branches and 384 Upcountry branches. The Bank
branch network extends throughout Thailand’s 76 provinces, as well as
internationally with four branches overseas in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Cayman
Islands and Shenzhen and three representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai
and Kunming. For more information, visit: http://www.kasikornbank.com .