Special effort for our member merchant
Akbank continued to implement its activities concerning member merchants successfully and maintained its position at the market at the end of 2007 with 229.609 businesses and nearly 255,000 POS terminals. In 2007, Akbank's acquiring volume increased by 19% compared to the previous year, reaching an 15,2% market share and consolidating its position further in the marketplace.
Significant gains were achieved in foreign credit card turnover and foreign exchange inflow through special efforts undertaken in tourist resort areas to increase tourist input. Akbank reached a market share of 14.8% in the acquisition of foreign credit cards.
Akbank reaped benefits from its CRM projects in 2004. Raportal, an information portal, was put in place aiming to respond to customer requirements and increase service quality in connection with member merchant activities. Through an extensive implementation in the first half of 2005, member merchants will be able to follow customer spending habits and shape more reliable strategies based on this data. Raportal will also provide solutions to numerous operational difficulties encountered by member merchants in their cash flow planning and accounting.
Axess, introduced by Akbank in the credit card payment systems market in 2001, consolidated its market position through its ever-widening member merchant network and consumer-oriented promotional campaigns. Axess cardholders are provided with installment payment schemes and rewards in their transactions with member merchants in more than 156,371 outlets. Through campaigns in 2007, a real increase of 27% was achieved in Axess turnover by Axess member merchants, the volume of installment transactions reaching an 16,4% market share in December 2007. Within the framework of agreements concluded with market leader companies, the market presence of Axess was strengthened, consolidating its position among other leading credit cards.
