JCB releases highest-status card in South East Asia, the JCB Ultimate Card

JCB International Indonesia, a subsidiary of JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., (collectively "JCB") launched the highest-status JCB Ultimate card for the expanding market of affluent Indonesians.

In the month of October, PT CIMB Niaga Tbk sent out invitations to selected customers to apply for the CIMB Niaga Ultimate JCB Card. Card application is by invitation only.

The number of affluent and ultra-affluent consumers is expanding as Indonesia's economy continues its rapid growth, creating a market for high-status JCB cards.

With platinum JCB cards already available to Indonesians since 2012, the Ultimate JCB card is being launched to meet the demand of the affluent for a higher status card with top quality added-value services.

The new card is a strategic product for Indonesian banks in capturing this important market segment.

CIMB Niaga was established under the name Bank Niaga in 1955, and joined the CIMB Group, the second largest financial group in Malaysia in terms of assets, in 2002.

Currently CIMB Niaga has a nationwide network of 600 branches and 2,000 ATMs, acquires credit card transactions though a wide-spread merchant network and has issued about 1.5 million credit cards in Indonesia. Since CIMB Niaga was granted a JCB card issuing license in July 2013.

CIMB Niaga and JCB have been working together to design and provide the kind of high-quality card services that cater to affluent Indonesians demand. The JCB Ultimate card is the first JCB card in Southeast Asia to be issued with a higher status than JCB Platinum.

Ultimate card members receive nine times as many reward points as standard cards for purchase transactions and 4 percent cash-back on spending transactions in selected countries such as Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan.

Other services include the Ultimate Concierge Desk, free access to airport lounges in Soekarno Hatta Airport (both international and domestic), special offers at about 350 JCB privilege merchants in Indonesia and airport lounge check-in service exclusively for Ultimate card members.

The card also provides access to about 1,600 JCB privilege merchants outside Indonesia and a wide network of JCB Plaza card member service desks around the world.

"This partnership with one of the leading banks in Indonesia is a remarkable step forward for JCB to increase its presence in this market," said Kimihisa Imada, Deputy President of JCB International.

"CIMB Niaga is a rapidly growing bank with a card business providing a variety of benefits to its customers, in particular, services catering to premium customers, such as golf and fine dining. JCB tops them up with unique worldwide services which meet CIMB Niaga's customers' diversifying needs," he said.

"With the success of this product, we are hoping to broaden the partnership with CIMB Group to cover the whole ASEAN region," he added.