International Journal of Bank Marketing

Credit and Charge Cards Selection Criteria in Greece

Arthur Meidan Dimitris Davo
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Arthur Meidan Dimitris Davo, (1994),"Credit and Charge Cards Selection Criteria in Greece", International Journal of Bank
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 36 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING 12,2
Reviews the Greek credit and charge card
market. Are cardholders more practical and less
prestige oriented than previously thought?
Credit and
Charge Cards
Selection
Downloaded by Monash University At 22:46 22 February 2016 (PT)
Criteria in
Greece
Arthur Meidan and Dimitris Davos
International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 12 No. 2, 1994, pp. 36-44
© MCB University Press, 0265-2323
Until recently, the Greek card market was under-
developed. Traditionally, the Greek society was cash
oriented and only lately consumers have started to use
plastic money as a method of payment, especially in
urban areas. In the last few years, credit and charge card
usage has expanded rapidly. Many reasons contributed to
this expansion: the deregulation of the Greek banking
market and the establishment of private banks, the
introduction of new technology which enables banks to
operate at more efficient levels, and the realization of
bank managers that Greek banks must adapt to the new
competitive environment in a unified Europe.
Over the last four years the growth in the number of new
credit card accounts has been (on average) over 25 per
cent per annum. Despite this increase, there is still a huge
potential on this market, since only 10 per cent of the
Greek urban population owns a charge or credit card.
From the marketing point of view, this dynamic
environment poses a challenge for the development of
effective strategies. Literature and research in this field in
Greece are relatively poor, although some basic – and
confidential – bank studies do exist. This article aims at
identifying and quantifying the attributes and factors
that affect credit and charge cards selection.
The Greek Credit and Charge Card Market
The Greek card market has recently expanded dramati-
cally, both in terms of new card accounts and of credit
card usage. A wide range of local and international cards
are present on the market, issued by a large number of
different financial institutions. Although market leaders
and followers have already been established, the situation
in the market is still very fragile and a huge potential for
further penetration exists. As is known in the financial
services sector, products can easily be copied by
competitors, so the advantages of innovation diminish
rapidly after the introduction of a new product, or the
enhancement of an existing one. The same applies to
credit and charge cards where card issuers often copy the
services provided by their competitors. The only different
major card in Greece is the American Express card, where
the card member must repay his/her bills in foreign
currency and not in Greek currency (drachmas). This
condition differentiates American Express from the other
cards, particularly as Greece still operates exchanges
controls. This card is available to a certain segment of the
market, the one with the highest income and an
“international” life style. As a result AMEX’s potential
cardholders are restricted to those who possess a foreign
currency account. AMEX’s efforts to broaden their card
member base are bound to be obstructed by this
requirement.
The major cards operational in Greece are:
● Diners Club, which was the first card issued in
Greece in 1960 by a non-banking organization.
Now this card is issued by Citibank.
● Ethnokarta, which was the first card issued in
Greece by the National Bank of Greece in 1972. It is
a local card and a market leader, mostly because it
was the first card introduced by a Greek bank and
because of the very lenient requirements for
someone’s eligibility to acquire this card. One
could say that Ethnokarta is an unusual example
of a purely national credit card with a large market
share, such as Carta Si in Italy, which is another
relatively underdeveloped European market as far
as the card market is concerned.
● Mastercard, the international card which in Greece
is issued only by the National Bank of Greece.
● Eurocard, which is also issued by the National
Bank of Greece. Managers of the bank stated that
their target customers are the people with the
 CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDS SELECTION CRITERIA IN GREECE
highest incomes; both Eurocard and Mastercard
entered the Greek market in 1979.
● Visa, issued by many banks under the umbrella of
the Visa International credit organization. The
most “popular” are Emborokarta/Visa, issued by
the Commercial Bank of Greece, Ionokarta/Visa
issued by the Ionian Bank of Greece, and Citibank/
Visa issued by Citibank. Hios Bank (a new bank),
and the Agricultural Bank of Greece issue Visa
cards as well. Visa issued in 1981 and quickly
outstripped its international rivals, Eurocard and
Mastercard.
● American Express is issued by the American
Express Travel Related Services. It was launched
in Greece in 1988.
● Emborokarta and Inokarta are two more local
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cards, issued by the Commercial Bank and Ionian
Bank respectively. They were among the first
cards to be introduced in the Greek market.
All the cards mentioned above are Credit cards, with the
exception of Diners and American Express, which are
travel and entertainment cards (T&E) and do not offer
credit.
Not all the cards target the same market segments. In the
international market place, Visa considers AMEX as its
major competitor, along with Mastercard (Benett, 1992).
All the cards, especially Visa and Mastercard, are
fighting for market leadership in the European and world
markets. Of all the major card issuers, Visa and
Mastercard dominate the European and world markets.
The former leads in all the major European markets with
the exception of West Germany, where it is overtaken not
only by Mastercard, but also by American Express and
Diners Club.
The Competitive Environment
At present, the Greek card market is booming. In the last
six years, the penetration of the cards was quite
impressive, the number of card holders increasing five-
fold. Visa, in particular, has increased its market from
65,000 card holders in 1985 to 400,000 in 1991, and
probably to over 500,000 today (1993).
This in comparison to the total number of all credit cards
that has increased from 215,000 in 1985, to about
1,500,000 cards in 1993. If we consider that still only
about 10 per cent of the Greek population is a holder of a
charge or credit card, whereas in other European
countries the respective percentage is close to 40 per cent,
we can say that there are still prospects of high market
growth in Greece.
Looking at the above summary of increase in card
ownership in Greece, it seems that the card industry is in
37
the growth stage of its product life cycle. Intensive and
effective distribution are essential methods for
penetrating the mass consumer market. From this point
of view, bank credit cards possess an advantage over
American Express or Diners because the banks can sell
their cards through their own branches.
Advertising is quite aggressive and expenditure is
heavier on newspapers and magazines than on TV
because the nature of the product is such that a huge
amount of information must be passed on to the con-
sumers. On the other hand, each card tries to differentiate
itself by using a “creative” slogan. Most of them target the
target users’ lifestyle emphasizing the prestige and
welfare of their cardholders. Table I presents the main
advertising slogans of each of the major cards.
Apart from the traditional marketing tools in the financial
services industry such as personal selling, direct mail and
advertising, organizations are trying to increase credit
card usage by offering various promotional gifts. For
example, the company that administer Ethnokarta
Eurocard and Mastercard (both cards belong to the
National Bank of Greece) offers quite expensive gifts,
such as video cameras, if the customer spends a certain
amount with their cards. The higher the amount spent,
the more expensive the gift.
Another recent development in the Greek card market is
the launching of credit cards by large insurance com-
panies. Greece’s largest insurance company, Intera-
merican, is poised to launch a Visa card licensed by
Interbank. These cards will carry a range of enhance-
ments aimed at the T&E (travel and entertainment)
market which is gaining importance on the Greek market.
Trying to exploit all the possible advantages, financial
organizations add to their cards extra services. ATMs are
a novelty in the Greek market. The system is still in its
infancy and banks are promoting their cards by
connecting them with ATMs. This gives the Greek banks
an additional advantage over the traditional T&E cards,
American Express and Diners.
Table I. Charge and Credit Cards’ Advertising Slogans
Card Slogan
Ethnocarta First and everywhere
Citibank/Visa The only VISA from Citibank
Mastercard The art of living
Ionokarta/Visa Go out with her
Diners No other card will ever be Diners
American Express Membership has its privileges
Emborokarta/Visa “Live” with Emborokarta/Visa
 38 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING 12,2
Cardholders’ Profiles
A cardholder profile is basically an outline of the
cardholders’ background in terms of education, income,
residence, family and age. In addition it must include
frequency of card usage, types of purchases and the
number of cards a cardholder possesses. Analysis of
cardholders’ profiles and cardholders’ attitudes is
extremely important for effective marketing policy. The
demographic profile of cardholders in Greece shows a
high concentration in urban areas. Different cards attract
different types of customers. Ethnokarta and
Emborokarta are slightly more popular among women,
while Diners, American Express, Mastercard and
Eurocard are more popular among men. While
Ethnokarta usage increases with age, Emborokarta users
are mainly in the 18-24 year old group. Mastercard users
are usually 18-34 year olds. Ethnokarta and Emborokarta
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have a substantial penetration in the lower socio-
economic classes.
The majority of credit and charge card spending is
concentrated on three types of purchases; clothing,
special items and night clubs. Clothing is the most
frequent type of purchase. Credit and charge card
spending for purchase of clothing is estimated to be 16
billion drachmas per year. Special items such as jewellery
and furs are the second most frequent type of purchase,
with 7 billion drachmas spent per year. Credit and charge
card spending in night clubs and restaurants is the third
most common type of credit card usage, with 5 billion
drachmas per year.
Literature Review
Although there is quite a lot of literature on credit and
charge cards usage internationally, very limited pub-
lished research is available on Greece. Most of the studies
have been conducted in the USA, and the main publi-
cations are reviewed below.
Slocum and Mathews have conducted two studies to find
out how the use of credit cards is affected by social class
(1969) and by income level (1970). In their first research
they found that members of the lower socio-economic
class tend to use their cards for instalment financing
much more than higher socio-economic classes. Upper
classes tend to use their cards as a convenient method of
payment. The reason for this is the difference in deferred
gratification patterns between social classes in the USA.
Lower classes show more impulse buying than the
middle class, who feel that they should save money and
postpone purchases. The upper classes do not need to
save and defer gratification, and since there is no reason
for instalments they use credit cards for convenience.
Mandel (1972) found that primary determinants of credit
card usage were family income and education. Higher
income and better educated families were more likely to
use credit cards than lower income families. A reason for
this is that credit cards were initially marketed to higher
income people. Another finding of his research was that
families living around the largest cities are more likely to
use credit cards. This finding matches with the Greek
cardholders’ demographic profile, where a very high
concentration of cardholders is observed in urban areas.
Mandel also found that families with different incomes
perceived differently the advantages and disadvantages
of credit cards. Lower and middle income families
considered the credit facility as a definite advantage,
while high income families found safety and convenience
to be definite advantages.
Awh and Waters (1974) carried out a study relating card
use to economic, demographic and attitudinal variables in
order to find any differences between active and inactive
cardholders. They found that attitude towards bank
credit cards is the most differentiating factor
distinguishing active from inactive cardholders. Other
factors were age, socio-economic standing, types and
number of other cards held by an individual, attitude
towards credit generally, education and income.
Hirschman (1979) focused her research on the influence of
method of payment on purchasing behaviour. She found
that individuals who possess both credit bank cards and
in-store cards are more likely to buy than those who own
only bank cards or in-store cards. She also found that
cardholders were more likely to make bigger purchases
than non-holders. This finding suggests that credit cards
facilitate and induce purchases, as compared to cash.
Kinsey (1981) investigated the determinants of credit card
accounts. He found that although income is a very
important determinant in the number of credit card
accounts held, low income does not decrease the number
of card accounts held as much as living in a small town or
rural area. High income on the other hand, is the most
important determinant for increasing the number of
credit card accounts.
Kaynak and Ugur (1984) conducted a cross-cultural study
of credit card usage behaviour of Canadian and American
cardholders. In the first stage of their research, card-
holders’ attitudes towards credit cards were evaluated.
Both populations of cardholders agreed that credit cards
are useful in a sense that cards are safer than cash and
help making impulse buying payments. The conclusion
was that both Americans and Canadians show similar
patterns in attitudes toward ownership of credit cards,
but their behavioural characteristics are different.
Feinberg (1986) carried out a study on credit cards as a
spending facilitating stimulus. He suggested that as
people use their credit cards, a conditioning may occur as
credit cards become associated with spending.
 CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDS SELECTION CRITERIA IN GREECE 39

In a cross-cultural comparison of attitudes towards the Methodology

usage of credit cards between English and French
speaking Canadian cardholders, Chebat et al. (1986),
identified various attitudinal statements about the usage
of statements on the usage of credit cards. Chebat et al.’s
findings suggest that many cardholders develop an
attitude of using credit cards for emergency situations.
In an attitude and usage survey conducted by Bold
Advertising Company (1990), Greek cardholders’
attitudes towards credit cards were identified. The most
positive attitudes are related to the advantages of credit
card usage. These advantages were: that one does not
have to worry about carrying cash and the additional
safety that this implies, that cards could offer extended
credit, and finally that foreign currency is more easily
available to cardholders. On the other hand, some
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Through literature review, in-depth interviews with
marketing personnel at major card issuing companies in
Greece, as well as a number of card users, a list of 15
attributes which are considered important in the selection
of a card were identified.
A questionnaire attempting to identify the importance
attached by the card holders to each of the attributes, on
a Likert type, a five point itemized scale was developed
and pilot tested. A quota sample of 151 cardholders was
randomly selected to take account of factors such as card
holder’s sex, income and age. A national media survey in
Greece suggests that over 62 per cent of the total
cardholders live in the Greater Athens area, with another
32 per cent in Thesaloniki (which has a similar large city

negative attitudes towards credit cards were a result of
their perceived disadvantages; fears of credit card fraud
and a perception that cards lead to excessive purchasing
and credit, were the most import “negative” attitudes.
Table II presents the main findings of the literature on
credit and charge cards.
profile); 52 per cent of Greek cardholders are male; 47 per
cent belong to the middle class (with 250-400 thousand
drachma income per month); 41 per cent are high income
earners (over 400,000 drachma); and 12 per cent are low
income earners (under 250,000 drachma monthly). The
data was collected via personal interviews with
cardholders living in Athens.

Table II. Review of the Main Consumer Research Literature on Credit and Charge Cards
Author(s) Field of study Key finding(s)

Slocum and Mathews Social class and commercial bank credit Credit card holders exhibit different card-use
(1969) card usage. patterns related to class membership.
Slocum and Mathews Social class and income as indicators Within certain income categories social class
(1970) of consumer credit behaviour. membership affects consumer attitudes.
Mandel (1972) Credit card usage in USA. Primary determinants of credit card usage are
family’s income and education.
Awh and Waters Economic, demographic and attitudinal Attitude towards credit cards is the most
(1974) characteristics of bank and charge card holders differentiating factor distinguishing active
from inactive cardholders.
Hirschman (1979) Differences in consumer purchase behaviour, Credit cards facilitate purchase as compared to
by credit card payment system. cash. Cardholders of both bank credit cards
and in-store cards are more likely to buy than
holders of one single type of card.
Kinsey (1981) Determinants of credit card accounts. High income is the most important
determinant for increasing the number of
credit card accounts.
Kaynak and Ugur Credit card usage behaviour: Americans and Canadians show similar
(1984) Canadian and American credit card patterns in attitudes toward owning credit cards.
users compared. They differ on the behavioural characteristics.
Feinberg (1986) Credit cards as spending facilitating stimuli Credit cards may be associated with overspending.
Chebat et al. Cross cultural comparison of attitudes towards Identification of attitudes towards credit cards.
(1986) and usage of credit cards. Investigation of differences between French and
English speaking Canadian cardholders.
Bold Advertising Co. Usage and attitude study on Greek cardholders. Cardholders have more positive attitudes towards
(1990) credit cards than non holders. Identification of
positive and negative attitudes.
 40 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING 12,2

Factor analysis (R type) was employed to investigate
whether any specific dimensions underlie the set of
attributes that play a role in card selection. Factor
analysis is one of the most commonly used methods for
analysis of interdependence. It identifies a set of dimen-
sions that are not directly observable and summarizes
them in terms of relatively few new categories or factors.
Financial services organizations offer a wide variety of
products. Credit cards are just one of these products, but
the services offered by these cards are numerous.
Reducing the data and identifying these dimensions
where services differ is an essential task for focusing
marketing strategies in specific areas.
In addition, the mean scores of each attribute that
influence card selection criteria, as well as the total sum of
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(2) Large acceptance abroad, and
(3) Protection when the card is stolen.
The least important attribute is the Card status symbol.
Each factor contained a certain number of variables. In
order to determine the value of the factors, the weighted
sums of their underlying variables were calculated. The
weightings of each variable were obtained by calculating
the ratio of the mean score of each variable to the total
sum of the mean scores of all 15 variables, e.g.
weightings of variable al =
a1
a1 + a 2 + …a 5 + b1… + b3 + c1… + c3 + d 1… + d 3 + e1

means of the attributes, were calculated. The weighting
of each attribute enabled us to calculate each attribute’s
relative importance.
Table III presents the mean scores and the relative
importance of each of the 15 attributes that play a role in
card selection criteria. It can be seen that the most
important attributes are:
(1) large acceptance in Greece;
This weighting scheme was used because:
(1) It took into account the relative importance that
the actual cardholders assign to the selection
attributes and
(2) It made the sum of weightings equal to 1
From the above procedure, we can derive an equation for
determining the factor’s value as follows e.g.
Factor 1: Convenience of use in Greece =

Table III. Mean Scores and Relative Importance of the 15 Attributes Important in Cards Selection
Mean Relative
score importance

Factor 1: Convenience of use in Greece

a1: Large acceptance in Greece 4.37 0.0820
a2: Non restricted 3.70 0.0694
a3: Instalment facility 3.98 0.0747
a4: Acceptance anywhere 3.92 0.0735
a5: Repayment in drachma 3.96 0.0743
Factor 2: Indication of prestige variable
b1: Acceptance in modern establishments 2.51 0.0471
b2: Acceptance in better class establishments 3.21 0.0602
b3: Status symbol 2.39 0.0448
Factor 3: Sense of security variables
c1: Protection when the card is lost/stolen 4.23 0.0794
c2: Provision of insurance when travelling 3.68 0.0568
c3: Worldwide travel services available 3.07 0.0690
Factor 4: Economy variables
d1: No deposit for carhire 3.17 0.0587
d2: Commissions free travellers’ cheques 3.13 0.0595
d3: No joining or annual fee 3.69 0.0692
Factor5: Shopping abroad variables
e1: Large acceptance abroad 4.29 0.0805
Total 1.00
 CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDS SELECTION CRITERIA IN GREECE 41

Table IV. Factors Influencing Cards Selection in Greece: Attribute Loadings and Factors Relative Importance (percentage)
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5
Attributes that are
important for selecting Convenience Sense of
a card. of use in Indication security Shopping
Greece prestige (safety) Economy abroad

Large acceptance in Greece 0.64607

No attached spending limit 0.64961
Instalment facility 0.73560
Acceptance without reluctance 0.66357
Payment in drachma 0.69448
Acceptance in modern establishments 0.89604
Acceptance in better class establishments 0.72236
Status symbol 0.73914
Protection when the card is lost or stolen 0.75865
Provision of insurance when travelling 0.74804
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World-wide travel services available 0.58605

Deposit free car hire 0.69183
Commission free travellers’ cheques 0.84585
No joining or annual fee 0.58243
Large acceptance abroad 0.87940

Eigenvalue 3.95481 2.11269 1.53664 1.29674 1.17591

Percentage of variance 26.4 14.1 10.2 8.6 7.8
Cumulative percentage of variance 26.4 40.4 50.7 59.3 67.2
Factor relative importance (%) 37 15 21 19 8

5 (3) Economy (19 per cent).

∑a
i =1
=
∑ ai + bi + ci + di + ei
0.0820 + 0.0694 + 0.0747 + 0.0735 + 0.0743 + 0.3739
where ai, bi, ci, di, ei represent mean scores of attributes
that are important when card holders select a card and
the results: 0.0820 + 0.0694+ … etc, represent the relative
importance of each of the five attributes that have a
particularly high loading on the factor (see Table III).
The findings above suggest that 37 per cent of the total
importance attached in selecting a card could be related
to this particular factor. In a similar way, the relative
importance of all the remaining factors was calculated
(see Table IV).
Study Findings
The factor analysis suggested that there are five main
factors that determine card selection criteria in Greece.
The five factors taken together account for over 67 per
cent of the variance in the data. The factors were labelled
as follows:
(1) Convenience of use in Greece (37 per cent of
importance).
(2) Sense of security (21 per cent).
(4) Indication of prestige (15 per cent).
(5) Shopping abroad (8 per cent).
Factor 1: Convenience of Use in Greece
Convenience is a topic of great importance in the financial
services sector. Organizations offer similar products, so
they are trying to be easily accessed by their customers in
an effort to gain a competitive edge. Banks, for example,
compete by establishing as many branches as possible.
Many studies have been undertaken in order to evaluate
banks’ selection criteria. Convenience in the sense of
location and hours of operation was found to be an
important factor for choosing a bank (Kaynak, 1986).
Laroche et al. (1986) found location convenience as one of
the most important attributes in banks’ selection process.
The association between banks and credit cards in terms
of convenience lies in the fact that distribution channels
for bank cards may be more effective because of the large
number of branches. Visa, which is issued by a large
number of banks in Greece, can be seen and accessed by
many more potential customers than, say, American
Express or Diners. This factor accounts for 37 per cent
importance in card choice/selection in Greece.
Slocum and Mathews (1969; 1970) differentiated card
users in two types; convenience users and instalment
 42 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING 12,2
users. In this study, factor 1 provides a similar finding in
a sense that it contains all the attributes that satisfy both
these typologies of users. Instalment payment with the
possibility of extended credit satisfies instalment users’
needs. Furthermore, unlimited spending limit, acceptance
by a large number of establishments and repayment of
bills in drachmas, appeal to both instalment and
convenience seekers.
Since Greek cardholders use their cards mainly to buy
clothing and special items such as jewellery and furs, this
needs is satisfied as indicated by the high attributes
loadings on this factor.
Factor 2: Indication of Prestige
Factor 2 (15 per cent importance) represents the symbolic
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aspects of credit card usage. It was interpreted as
“Indication of prestige” and has high loading on attri-
butes: acceptance of the card by modern establishments,
acceptance of the card in better class establishments and
status symbol.
The card’s image is extremely important for some
cardholders, therefore many banks make significant
efforts to improve and differentiate their images. Each
bank strives to possess its own distinctive image and this
affects the cards’ image as well. The Commercial Bank of
Greece, for example, seems to be a large, well established
bank, but the state ownership of the bank creates a sense
of bureaucracy in its services. On the other hand, the
Credit Bank, which is mostly privately owned, seems to
be a modern, aggressively expanding bank. It was the
first bank that used ATMs extensively. As each of these
banks issue Visa cards, clearly Visa’s image is affected by
the different issuer banks’ distinctive images, creating
difficulties to the image building strategy for Visa
International.
Factor 3: Sense of Security in Greece and Abroad
Factor 3 was found to have 21 per cent importance and
was interpreted as “sense of security in Greece and
abroad”. It was determined by three variables, protection
when the card is lost or stolen, provision of insurance
while travelling and worldwide travel services available.
Diners and American Express, the leaders on travel
services, stress in their communication messages that
their travel offices are there “to help whatever happens”.
Visa (issued by Citibank) offers a service called Visa
Assistance/Emergency Medical Assistance which is
available in Greece and abroad.
Credit and charge cards have two dimensions of security.
The first is associated with the operational aspects of
credit card usage. Consumers want to be secure against
credit card fraud and also are concerned about the
accuracy of bills and balances. The other aspect is
associated with consumers’ attitudes towards credit and
charge cards, in the sense that it offers safeguards in
emergency situations. These two aspects of concern have
also been identified in the Chebat et al. study(1986) on
attitudes towards usage of credit cards by English and
French Canadians who were concerned about the
accuracy of their bills, believing that a card should be
particularly useful in emergency situations.
Factor 4: Economy
Factor 4 was third in terms of importance (19 per cent)
and was determined by three attributes: commission free
car hire, commission free travellers’ cheques and no
joining or annual fee. All the cards mentioned in this
study require an annual fee, or sometimes a joining fee is
required (depending on the card). Diners and American
Express are considered the most expensive, although the
differences are not large – averaging between 4.000 and
5.000 drachmas per year. Examination of cards’
promotional leaflets and press advertisements indicates
that the joining or annual fee is tactically not mentioned,
yet promotions such as “commission free travellers’
cheques” and “deposit free car hire” to cardholders are
widely emphasized. This is being done in order to
counter-balance the perception that the card is (more)
expensive as a result of joining or annual fee introduction.
Certain cards, such as American Express, are clearly
operating a premium price (or price/quality relationship)
strategy.
Factor 5: Shopping Abroad
Factor 5 represents the convenience of cards’ usage
abroad. It was interpreted as “shopping abroad” and it
was loaded heavily only by one variable: “large
acceptance abroad”. This variable ranked second in terms
of importance which gives an additional weight to this
factor, although overall – as a factor – it has only 8 per
cent of the total importance in card selection in Greece.
The imposition of exchange controls poses a barrier to
Greek consumers when they are spending abroad. Cards
allow Greek consumers to spend foreign currency and
this option is stressed as one of the advantages one gains
when owning a card. As mentioned, the international
usage of cards is one of the more heavily advertised
services, especially for shopping.
The study also suggests some other findings, from the
qualitative information collected during the interviews.
This information pertains mainly to the four main
international cards: Diners, Amex, Visa and Mastercard.
Diners’ strategy in Greece is to advertise promotional
offers in co-operation with prestigious merchants that
allow cardholders to buy special items and repay the
outstanding balance in four or five interest free
instalments. This, in combination with the “unlimited
 CREDIT AND CHARGE CARDS SELECTION CRITERIA IN GREECE
spending” facility, creates a positive image for this card in
Greece. Diners’ image concerning security is also higher
than that of the other cards. Greek cardholders assign
much importance to the security aspects of card usage.
Their belief that Diners perform better than average may
be an explanation for the disproportionately high success
of Diners in Greece in comparison with its more limited
popularity in Europe.
Amex’s strategy in Greece is to emphasize the symbolic
aspects of credit card usage. American Express has a
higher level of prestige, followed by Diners. This is
because both these cards try to position themselves as
Travel and Entertainment cards and the conditions for
their acquisition are more restrictive than with other
cards.
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Visa is perceived to be the most useful card to own. This
card is issued by many different financial organizations.
Each one of these advertises the card brand name,
connecting it with the organization’s name. This results in
a huge cumulative amount of advertisements about Visa’s
branch name which constantly imposes positive
messages about this card to potential users. In this way,
Visa’s brand name gains some advantage compared to its
competitors, but its image of not belonging to a
specific/unique issuer is somewhat diluted.
Mastercard seems to have the poorest image of all the
cards. Its performance is lower in all the identified
factors, apart from the economy factor where it seems to
perform marginally better than the industry. It is difficult
to explain why Mastercard’s performance is so low since
it provides competently the essential services that
cardholders consider important. A possible explanation
is that its association with the National Bank of Greece
affects consumers’ perceptions, since this bank (although
the largest in terms of number of branches), has, in
general, an “old fashioned” image. Mastercard is accepted
essentially in all places that accept Ethnokarta, the local
card that is issued by the National Bank of Greece. This
may have a dual effect on cardholders’, beliefs: on one
hand, a positive effect that the card is accepted in many
establishments in Greece; on the other hand, a negative
conditioning association may occur in consumers’
perceptions by relating Mastercard with Ethnokarta. It is
interesting to note that in some advertisements, the three
cards offered by the National Bank of Greece, Mastercard,
Eurocard and Ethnokarta, are all presented together.
Therefore marketing management of Mastercard should
perhaps consider a different promotional and advertising
strategy, separating Mastercard and Ethnokarta.
Conclusions
This study focuses on Greek cardholders’ selection
criteria of credit and charge cards. Through factor
43
analysis, the five main factors that are of particular
importance when selecting a card were identified and
quantified in terms of importance and their attribute
loadings. The first and most important factor (37 per
cent) is the offering of convenience to cardholders. This
convenience is associated with extended credit facilities,
immediate acceptance of the cards by business outlets
and acceptance by a large number of different types of
establishments. Because of the great importance of this
factor, advertising and promotion should emphasize this
particular aspect of card ownership more.
The second factor (21 per cent importance) was the one
associated with the security aspects of credit card usage.
Credit card fraud protection plans, with liability limits for
the cardholders and provision of insurance by credit card
companies, are services that improve the overall image of
of the card. It is interesting to see how highly important
the security aspects are perceived to be. Increased
assurance to cardholders on the security aspects will
probably enhance card usage.
Cardholders are also concerned with the economy aspects
of credit card usage (factor importance 19 per cent).
Therefore a joining or annual fee might influence their
final decision. Since the attribute of a joining or annual
fee correlates with attributes such as commission free
travellers’ cheques and deposit free car hire, card
companies can stress these services in order to
counterbalance the perception that their product is
“expensive”.
Credit card usage is also perceived as assigning status to
the users. This is the most common message in card
advertisements in Greece. However, the prestige factor
was found to account for only 15 per cent of the total
factor value (importance). Finally, it was found that
acceptance of the card abroad is an attribute that is
associated positively with card selection. This factor
accounted for 8 per cent of the total value.
To conclude, this study suggests which are the most
important factors and attributes that affect card selection
in Greece. As indicated, convenience of use in Greece and
security account together for about 58 per cent of total
importance. Economy, or savings, is also important (19
per cent). Prestige is less important than previously
thought. This study also indicates the relative importance
of single attributes/variables in card selection. Large
acceptance in Greece and large acceptance abroad are
particularly important.
The findings of this study suggest that Greek cardholders
are practical, as far as card selection is concerned.
Therefore, card issuers should use some of this study
results in designing their marketing strategies. The
allocation of marketing resources, via marketing mix,
should take account of the relative importance of the
 44 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING 12,2
individual attributes as indicated by this study findings.
Obviously, the sample of cardholders investigated
represents the “average” Greek cardholder. Further
segmentation and separate studies, using various socio-
economic criteria, for example: age, sex, income,
profession, frequency of travel, frequency of shopping,
etc, might result in different sets of factors that will reflect
different patterns of card selection in Greece by these
different market segments.
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45
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