Banks partner with popular brands to promote credit cards

Every man in the Czech Republic is said to be a fan of either Sparta or Slavia. For credit card company CCS, the enthusiasm for soccer and fans' traditional loyalty to the country's most famous clubs have become a lucrative business opportunity. In December 2003 CCS teamed up with soccer powerhouse Sparta Praha to introduce a Sparta-brand debit card. By catering to supporters of the country's most famous soccer club, CCS is attempting to further boost its image on the rapidly growing credit card market. The decision to issue a Sparta credit card also served to popularize credit cards with the general public, CCS General Manager Patrik Dada said. "Co-branded cards enable providers to target specific groups and people for whom usual universal payment cards do not appeal," Dada said. "Issuing co-branded cards is an effective way to further spread [payment-card use]." While CCS' move would have been considered rare a few months earlier, branded credit cards are quickly becoming a hit in the banking industry. Development of the credit market in Eastern Europe is heading toward incresed use of credit cards, and branded cards in particular, said David Redheffer, an analyst with the reseach company Opinion Window RI. The Czech Republic lags behind its neighbors in the issuing of credit cards in conjunction with popular brand-name products and companies, Tothova said. In contrast to the rest of the European Union, where the share of payment cards per person is 1.4, a mere 6.6 million payment cards have been issued among the Czech Republic's 10.5 million people as of the end of June.