The launch was partly the result of research from Nielsen Media Research that found that 90 per cent of Vietnamese consumers would be interested in applying for a credit card.
The card will come in two forms, the Visa Gold and Visa Classic, and will be accepted by 15,000 retailers in Vietnam. HSBC Credit Card holders will also be rewarded with discounts and sales promotions at 9,000 retailers across Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe.
The card will come in two forms, the Visa Gold and Visa Classic, and will be accepted by 15,000 retailers in Vietnam. HSBC Credit Card holders will also be rewarded with discounts and sales promotions at 9,000 retailers across Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe.
“The HSBC Credit Card is targeted at today’s emerging smart consumer who is becoming increasingly sophisticated with their financial and purchasing needs and is looking at efficient ways of spending their money,” said Thomas Tobin, president and CEO of HSBC, Vietnam.
The launch campaign, by JWT and MindShare, will use print, out-of-home and online advertising to establish the brand.
Rose Leng, the head of marketing for HSBC Vietnam, explained: “Initially, we will be targeting the opinion leaders and trend setters. As is the case with many new product concepts, it’s the early adopters who will help evangelize the brand to their friends and extended social network.”
Leng pointed to the emergence of an urban middle class in Vietnam as an assurance that the new card will succeed. According to research from Taylor Nelson Sofres, the proportion of well-off consumers in Vietnam’s cities has risen from 31 per cent to 55 per cent over the last seven years.
Vietnam has the second highest proportion of young people in the region. TNS’ attitudinal studies have shown that young, single Vietnamese are more open to the idea of personal credit - they want to spend money while they can.
HSBC first established a presence in Vietnam in 1870, with an office in what was then called Saigon, but closed in 1975 at the time of the American War. The bank reopened with representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in 1992, and launched a full service branch in Ho Chi Minh in 1995 and in Hanoi in 2005.
Leng concluded: “From a market perspective, Vietnamese consumers are getting increasingly savvy, are travelling more and are pursuing more of the global lifestyle trends. From a strategic perspective, the launch of the HSBC Credit Card is a significant milestone for us amid the in-principle approval we have recently received on our local incorporation in Vietnam.”
Meanwhile, HSBC confirmed last week that it was making “preliminary investigations” into market conditions in neighbouring Cambodia - Asia’s “youngest” country - with a view to launching there. HSBC Cambodia would initially be run from Vietnam, Leng said.
