KB Kookmin Card Rises to Second Place in Market Share for the First Time

Card Company Rankings Shake Up
KB Kookmin Surpasses Samsung with 17.71% Market Share in Q1
Samsung Holds 2nd Place in Personal New Credit Cards

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] KB Kookmin Card has risen to second place in credit card market share for the first time in nine years. The fierce ranking battle among Samsung, KB Kookmin, and Hyundai Card for the second position, which has continued for several years, appears to be reaching a turning point.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's Financial Statistics Information System on the 29th, KB Kookmin Card ranked second with a market share of 17.71% in personal and corporate credit sales (excluding corporate purchases) among the seven specialized card companies (Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori, Hana Card) in the first quarter of this year. This is the first time in nine years since its spin-off in 2011. The difference with Samsung Card, which ranked third with 17.67%, is 0.04 percentage points. KB Kookmin Card has been narrowing the gap with Samsung Card by showing an upward trend every quarter until recently.

The advancement of KB Kookmin Card is attributed to efforts to expand its member base and diversify its business. In particular, the increase in corporate customers such as companies and local governments was effective. KB Kookmin Card's credit sales to corporate clients increased from 11.7 trillion won in 2017 to 12.4 trillion won in 2018. Last year, it surged to 14.2 trillion won. The first quarter of this year also performed well with 3.4 trillion won despite the impact of COVID-19. A KB Kookmin Card official explained, "The increase in market share is due to continuous customer base expansion and business diversification such as automobile installment financing."

Samsung Card, which had held the second position, was pushed down to third place. Its market share in the first quarter was 17.67%. However, excluding corporate card performance, the personal credit sales market share is still second at 18.24%. The third place in this market is KB Kookmin Card with a market share of 17.42%. This is interpreted as a result of differences in management strategies between Samsung Card and KB Kookmin Card. A Samsung Card official said, "We are pursuing profit structure improvement by refraining from excessive marketing competition according to a management policy focused on soundness and efficiency," adding, "We are reducing cashback in the automobile finance market, which is a representative cutthroat competition market, and also scaling down sales in the less profitable corporate tax market."

Hyundai Card's upward trend is also noteworthy. Hyundai Card recorded a market share of 16.28% in the first quarter, ranking fourth. It has steadily increased its market share from 15.55% in the same period last year. It is analyzed that the expansion of the member base was effective through the exclusive new partnership with the membership-based large discount store 'Costco' in May last year and strengthening of private label credit cards (PLCC).

Meanwhile, Shinhan Card maintained an overwhelming first place with a market share of 21.97%, creating a gap with the second tier. The gap in market share between small and medium-sized card companies such as Lotte, Woori, and Hana Card and large card companies is widening. Lotte Card's market share slightly increased to 9.61% in the first quarter compared to the previous year, but Woori Card and Hana Card decreased to 8.68% and 8.08%, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.