Agricultural Credit Card Innovation: The Case of Financiera Trisan
By Mark D. Wenner, Rodolfo Quiros (12/00, MIC-107, En) See also Microenterprise
Credit cards are ubiquitous in industrialized countries and becoming more commonly used by the urban middle and upper classes of devel-oping countries. In the rural areas of developing countries, however, they are less common due to the greater seasonality in income flows and the higher rates of poverty. Financiera Trisan, a finance company in Costa Rica, has introduced a rural credit card, targeting agricultural input suppliers and farmers. The promise of this product is that it can dramatically reduce transaction costs for clients and merchants ac-cepting the card. This paper analyzes the experience of Financiera Trisan in developing and expanding its credit card program. The principal findings are that the credit card is a viable and profitable product; that a culture of innovation is critical in the company to sustain and refine the product; and that infrastructural and legal obsta-cles present in the country require creative solutions. This paper is relevant to the Unit?s mandate to identify and dissemi-nate information on best practices and innovations in the delivery of financial services to small and microenterpreneurs. Innovations that reduce transaction costs promise to expand and deepen financial markets.
Last updated: 05/08/07
