Alpen Bank and the Launch of Credit Card - Case Study Example

The paper "Alpen Bank and the Launch of Credit Card" is a great example of a Business Case Study. This report looks critically at the issues that face the Alpen bank concerning the launch of the credit card in Romania. Romania's economy has greatly improved since joining the European Union. This has led to an increase in the number of affluent and middle-class citizens. Alpen bank has potential in Romania through the launching credit card. The bank should launch the credit card targeting the affluent. This is due to the cost of acquiring them is low. The group has a high rate of utilizing the credit card compared to the middle class. The bank should position the card as a high-end product so as to attract affluent customers. The bank should utilize branch cross-selling and direct sales in their marketing. This is due to the fact that both methods are cost-effective and can target affluent customers well. The credit card venture in Romania is a venture that will enable Alpen bank to achieve its target.

• Introduction

Alpen Bank has been in operation in Romania since 2000. The bank had been serving affluent customers and gained reputation due to its quality services. Introducing a credit card to Romania has been handled with skepticism as the country has a low per capita income. There have also been observations that the country has a poor infrastructure that would not enable proper operation of the point of sale terminals. Another issue has been the fact the Romanian population is not well versed with card use. From the time Romania joined the European Union, there has been great improvement in the country's credit card infrastructure which has led to looking again at the decision to introduce credit cards. The country has experienced a significant rise in the income status of the middle class and tremendous changes have been observed in the economic sector. Alpen Bank faces several issues in Romania. One of these issues is whether to launch the credit card business in the country or not. The other issue lies in case they launch the credit card, which group they are supposed to target. The bank requires a program that has the capability of generating 5 million pounds as a profit in a period of two years. The economy of Romania has changed and the country has a big potential for business. The earlier effort which the bank concentrated on which included building a strong customer base will help a lot in launching the credit card in the country. The bank has a great opportunity to introduce a credit card in the country. This is due to fact that the economy of Romania has been growing at a high rate since it joined European Union. There are many reasons that credit card business will succeed in Romania. These reasons include the bank has already established a huge customer base, there has been an increase in demand for luxury spending and the likelihood of the population using a credit card has risen. This report will establish that Alpen bank should launch a credit card in Romania targeting the Affluent class in the country (Rangan & Sunru, 2010).