Fortis targets Main Street clients

Fortis Bank wants to expand into the mass market and is hoping to issue some 400,000 credit cards within the next four years, winning a 10-percent share of the market. The company is targeting Poles with a monthly income of between EUR 250-1,250. Fortis estimates the number of potential customers at six million. Currently, the bank's share in the credit-card market is next to nothing, while its customers belong to the most affluent segments.

"We are going to enter the mass market with a new offer and it'll be cards and cash loans," says Angelo Gelsumino, Fortis' consumer finance director. Less wealthy customers will be targeted with a photo card. This is a credit card that they can design themselves using a favorite picture.

"This offer could really boost our growth potential," says Gelsumino. A four-week advertising campaign promoting the photo card will be launched in June and it will be continued for three weeks in August.

Fortis will also offer cash loans with an interest rate of 8.5 percent, and in the next five years is planning to open between 50 and 70 credit centers. Two centers will soon be opened in Warsaw and three openings are scheduled for September. "We are now researching the market regarding where to open the centers," adds Gelsumino.

With four million credit cards, Fortis Bank is the number-one card issuer in the Benelux countries. "We want to grow outside Benelux," says Gelsumino and stresses that the Polish market shows huge potential for development as incomes and consumer spending are growing.