BC Card’s standard tactics to knock on overseas market has finally succeeded. BC card did not detour or try selling a similar business model but BC Card actually tried and successfully exported its core business – payment processing technology.

BC Card’s target market, Indonesia, is a country with the fourth largest population (250 million) in the world, a bustling young population, average age being 29, and high potentials as a growing credit card market. With this new business, BC Card has not only come up with a new source of profit to break through the ever-stagnant local market but also opened a new door to the global market for all financial companies in Korea.

BC Card (President and CEO, Joon Hee Suh, www.bccard.com) has signed an agreement to build a Joint Venture (JV) with Bank Mandiri on September 23rd in Jakarta, Indonesia. The signing ceremony was attended by CEO of BC Card, Joon Hee Suh and President of Bank Mandiri, Budi G. Sadikin.

BC Card is planning to finish setting up the joint venture by December and begin its credit card processing business through the newly built entity, which include developing systems, expanding merchant acquiring, providing terminals, developing marketing platform and more.

Bank Mandiri will use BC Card’s system and solutions to build efficient processes and create new services, which will ultimately become assets in recruiting new merchants, local card businesses and expanding the payment business.

BC Card’s relationship with Bank Mandiri stems from the year 2011, when BC Card won Bank Mandiri’s consulting project on card acquiring. After the consulting project, BC Card has competed with 10 global processing companies for over a course of one year to finally be selected as the priority negotiation partner in Bank Mandiri’s acquiring processing project bidding. This would not have been possible were it not for BC Card’s 30-year business knowhow in Korea and ICT capacity of KT, Korea’s key telecommunications service provider and also BC Card’s holding company.

Indonesian card market is full of opportunities and potentials, according to Bank of Indonesia and Euromonitor, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of Indonesian debit and credit card has reached and will amount to 21% and 17% from 2014 to 2020. Also based on transaction amount, Indonesian credit and debit card market is expected to grow from 36 trillion KRW (30 billion USD) in 2014 to 46 trillion KRW in 2015, 64 trillion in 2017 and 107 trillion in 2020.

Indonesia is a young nation - 70% of Indonesia’s population is economically active and elderly population (over 65 years of age) is less than 10% of the entire population. Also the percentage of payment card usage on family expenditure reached 7.3% in 2014 and is expected to continue growing. For reference, card usage on private consumption in Korea records a total of 75.7%.

CEO of BC Card, Joon Hee Suh, stated, "This is the first case in the history of Korean finance that a local Korean company successfully exported its processing technology and knowhow. Through this opportunity, BC Card has gained a momentum to actively expand its business spectrum to other South East Asian countries that have economic intimacy with and similar business needs to those of Indonesia."

"Also we plan to include ICT infrastructure of our holding company KT, as our asset and skillset in our sales package. We hope to utilize KT group’s assets and capacities, use these opportunities of synergy to the utmost to create and expand diverse business models."

KT group is planning to sell its ICT converged model including internet bank, which is currently in process of building in Korea, to other South East Asian countries.

Bank Mandiri’s history began in 1998 with the merge of four government banks to create the biggest government-run bank in Indonesia. Its assets reach 74 trillion KRW and 60% of its shares are held by the Indonesian government. Mandiri owns around 2,300 branches, 15,000 ATMS around the nation, and numerous subsidiaries including Islamic bonds (sukuk), securities, life/indemnity insurance businesses and more.