CONTINUING changes in the population's payment habits should sustain the growth momentum of Manhattan Card this year, despite fierce competition from bigger banks.
The Hong Kong payment scene saw a major breakthrough this week as supermarket chain Park'N Shop began accepting Visa credit cards.
Market players felt it would not be long before other supermarkets and convenience stores joined the fray.
Sunny Cheung, Citibank's card products centre general manager, said: 'Such a breakthrough will boost total spending by credit cards this year.' He said growth in the number of cards in circulation might fail to reach double digits this year, given the maturity of the market, but he expected a 20 per cent increase in purchase volume.
Credit card payments are gradually eroding the traditional cash payment system, expanding the card payment pie.
'That explains why, despite a fall in retail sales last year, credit card receivables grew by more than 20 per cent,' Mr Cheung said.
In a quickly maturing market, profitability of credit card operation hinges more on purchase volume per card rather than the number of cards in circulation.