This article was first published 21 years ago

Amex eyes telecom, tourism sectors

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Riding high on the 40 per cent growth in its cards business, American Express is now eyeing telecom sector, super markets and lifestyle stores for its co-branded cards.

With a boom in the tourism sector, the world's leading plastic money company is also targeting hotel chains for possible tie-ups, Amex vice-president and country manager K L Muralidhara told PTI.

"There is a lot of opportunity in India for card business. In terms of spending, our card business is growing by 40 per cent," he said.

"We look at two things -- convenience and repeatability of transactions. Amex will tie up with such companies which will give value and where the tie-up is long-lasting," he said.

For instance, the Amex-Indian Airlines co-branded card offers various benefits to the frequent fliers, including 5-15 per cent concession on airfare, he said.

Amex now has tie-ups with Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd, Air-India, Indian Airlines and ITC Welcome Group.

The emerging sectors for card business are telecom, groceries, life-style stores and super markets, he said, adding there is also a lot of scope in the cellphone sector, which is growing rapidly now.

Amex could either tie up with telecom majors for co-branded card or distribution, he said, adding the foreign bank already has tie-ups for bill payment services.

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