Banks’ credit card retreat is creating new challengers
New challengers and international banks are stepping in to fill the void left by the big four.
Despite the economics of traditional credit cards straining in Australia, competition is hotting up between local banks, their global rivals and new challengers in the $60 billion market.
Clayton Howes, the chief executive of non-bank lender MoneyME, said international banks were fiercely competing to fund rival credit card offerings like his, which secured a $300 million warehouse facility earlier this year.
“The competitive pressure from multiple banks coming in to try to provide warehouse funding for us was actually quite shocking and really pleasing,” Howes said. “The rates they are offering are phenomenal. They’re beating our local big four banks on pricing because they want exposure to Australian consumer assets.”
Eventually opting for British multinational Standard Chartered, the fintech challenger fielded interest from a few domestic names as well as a raft of others from the United Kingdom, United States, and France, all attracted to a relatively robust economy.
