Edgars 'no fee' Mastercard credit card through Standard Bank
06 Sep '05
5 min read
Johannesburg based retailing company Edgars Consolidated Stores Limited (Edcon) has teamed up with Standard Bank to offer qualifying Edcon store-card clients a MasterCard, the first credit card available in South Africa to carry no annual fee.
Leading fashion and textile retailing group The Edcon-Standard Bank partnership will provide a credit card to Edcon's customers with a proven credit track record and who therefore represent a low credit risk. Edcon currently has over 3,8 million store-card customers, 86% of whom are current and able-to-buy.
"They are pleased to be able to extend the service offering to the customers with a strong record of managing their finances, but who currently have not obtained a credit card through normal banking channels," stated Ian Wood, Financial Services Executive for Edcon.
"The research shows that of the existing Edcon account holders, approximately 68% do not currently own a bank credit card. Many of these people mistakenly believe they would not qualify."
Wood explained that the new Edcon-Standard Bank card offering is targeting this untapped market without over-extending individuals.
Barry Fergus, a Divisional Managing Director of Credit Cards at Standard Bank, said the Edcon customer base was extremely attractive to Standard Bank.
"They will be able to apply the world class value management model which looks beyond just risk minimisation to focus more broadly on achieving a balance between short term returns and long term value.