March 17 (SeeNews) - Romania's non-banking financial institution AXI Finance, a subsidiary of Bulgaria-based Access Finance, plans to focus on its operations on the Romanian market in 2017, while considering expansion in other European markets, the company CEO, Laur Emilian, told SeeNews on Friday.
"We see that our product is well positioned on the Romanian market. The encouraging results validate our plans to fully invest in the brand awareness from the first year of operations. We expect to have a good brand recognition by the end of 2017," Emilian told SeeNews in an e-emailed interview.
On Wednesday, AXI Finance said that its AXI Card – an international revolving credit card MasterCard - has attracted 7,000 customer applications since its launch in January.
The AXI Card expansion strategy is a long-term approach which the group embraces upon successful implementation of the business model on a larger geographical scale and in-depth understanding of market segmentation, Emilian added.
"It is a logical step that will help us achieve economies of scale and further strengthen our brand. Such new product projects are already underway in Bulgaria where the standard credit card enjoys excellent brand awareness on the market", he said.
The company's product provides ease of access to financial products and services with a facilitated application process for all underbanked clients as well as a customer service level usually guaranteed for the high income segments in the banking market, the CEO of AXI Finance noted.
AXI Card has no issuance, service and transactions fees. It provides services free of charge when the customer uses ATMs in Romania.
The company also aims to offer a personal account manager to each of its clients in order to boost customer satisfaction with its services. It aims to provide clients with guidance for AXI Card usage and personal financial advice.
Sofia-based Access Finance, established in 2013, employs 100 people and has a client base of 65,000 active White Card holders. The first White Card, the Bulgarian equivalent of AXI Card, was issued in 2013.