Securing Exclusive Issuance Rights for US Amex
Apple Pay Also Prioritized for Domestic Supply... Accelerating 'Differentiation'
Hyundai Card has partnered with the American credit card company American Express (hereinafter Amex) to exclusively supply Amex's premium credit card 'Centurion,' which was previously issued by Samsung Card, in South Korea. Following Costco, it is expected to actively target the market with differentiation by adding the 'exclusive' label to Apple Pay recently.
According to industry sources on the 3rd, Hyundai Card will exclusively supply three types of Amex's 'Centurion Design Card' to individuals in South Korea starting in May. Previously, the Amex Centurion card was exclusively supplied by Samsung Card for about 13 years since 2008. This card, featuring the distinctive Roman soldier design, offers various benefits such as hotel membership tier upgrades and free access to airport lounges worldwide, with an annual fee of up to 1 million KRW. Although it was discontinued temporarily in 2017, requests for reissuance poured in despite the 700,000 KRW annual fee, leading to its reissuance in April 2021.
Hyundai Card also joined the Amex competition around this time. From November 2021, Hyundai Card began issuing the Amex Centurion card, and from May, it will become the exclusive supplier. When launching the Amex Centurion, Hyundai Card became the first in South Korea to remove both the accumulation limit and validity period.
Hyundai Card cited premiumization as the reason for winning the 'Centurion competition.' Having consistently pursued a premium strategy, such as launching 'The Black,' the first VVIP-targeted credit card in South Korea in 2005, Hyundai Card's approach aligned with the premiumization emphasized by Amex Centurion. Chung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card, stated, "Through comprehensive collaboration with Amex, we will further strengthen Hyundai Card's leadership in the domestic premium card market."
Hyundai Card's differentiation strategy, which began with Costco, is expected to accelerate further with the recent exclusive supply of Apple Pay and exclusive issuance of the Centurion card. Hyundai Card secured an exclusive contract with the U.S. warehouse discount store Costco, which adheres to the principle of one card per country, in 2019. The previous domestic operator was Samsung Card. After the Costco contract, both Hyundai Card's credit sales volume and membership numbers surged.
The industry expects Hyundai Card's differentiation strategy to be even more effective with the launch of Apple Pay this year. According to the Credit Finance Association, the market share of the card industry in the fourth quarter of last year (based on credit card usage performance) was Shinhan (19.6%), Samsung (17.8%), Hyundai (16.0%), and KB Kookmin (15.4%) in that order. Hyundai Card rose from 4th place in the third quarter to 3rd place. Among the top four companies, Hyundai Card was the only one to increase its market share. This is interpreted as a result of the exclusive contract with Apple Pay. According to a survey conducted last month by the domestic credit card platform Card Gorilla targeting 2,082 people, 57% (1,187 votes) chose the answer "I would like to use Apple Pay first with Hyundai Card (including new issuance)."
An industry insider said, "Recently, with economic uncertainty prevailing, most card companies are in a wait-and-see mood, but Hyundai Card seems to be pushing forward significantly with differentiation as the focus," adding, "They will surely capitalize on the Apple Pay special, which is virtually exclusive."
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