By Marketing of bank payment cards is the activity of payment systems and commercial banks to develop the payment functions of bank cards, expand the network of their use and promote card products in the card marketing services.
For card payment systems, the implementation of targeted marketing means the development of payment functions of bank cards in relation to the needs of individual segments of the bank’s clientele. Thus, to meet the demand for debit card products with low operational risks, companies offer banks the following cards: VISA Electron Plus, Euro pay Cirrus/MasterCard. The needs of banks for credit products of an exclusive nature are provided by cards such as Gold or World Signia.
For commercial banks, as issuers, target marketing consists in analyzing the client base of potential cardholders and choosing a target market segment for selling payment system products on it.
For commercial banks, as acquirers, target marketing means identifying trade and service enterprises whose business profile matches the image of the bank, capable of providing maximum turnover, and becoming potential partners for joint card programs in the future (see Loyalty).
Promotion of card products in the banking services market is achieved by the coordinated activities of payment systems and commercial banks in two areas:
Payment systems stimulate demand for their card products.
Banks are engaged in positioning the products of payment systems in the local market.
Accordingly, the methods of marketing policy also differ. For the payment system, this is the sponsorship of large-scale events (for example, VISA – the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. MasterCard – the World Cup in 1998) with an emphasis on a single card design.
Commercial banks ensure a competitive position in the banking services market by reducing card tariffs, offering additional services (insurance, issuing discount and telephone cards) and convenience when using cards in the bank’s own network of branches and ATMs. To stimulate turnover, banks use systems for accruing points for completed transactions, which can be used to reduce the amount of fixed payments to the bank (service fees), as well as for preferential or even free receipt of various types of goods and services (for example, air tickets).
