The Australian credit card market is highly competitive and conducive to new methods of increasing market share. Industry experts suggest that co-branding will be the next strategy employed by leading issuers to maintain their grasp on the market. After consultation with industry contacts, this brief analyses successful examples in Australia and the world.

• This brief analyses the burgeoning growth of credit cards in Australia and provides Datamonitor's forecasts for balances outstanding.
• This brief analyses the potential profitability of co-branded cards with reference to quantitative information from both the UK and the US.
• Successful co-branded cards from Asia, UK and the US are analysed to prompt ideas suitable for the Australian market.
• The brief discusses the success of co-branded cards in Australia. The brief then makes several suggestions for co-branding opportunities.

Industry contacts suggested that low rate cards would their primary focus for the next twelve months, while their next strategy would be co-branding.

The primary strength that the issuer can offer is its expertise in credit card management. The economies of scale achieved from the combination of strengths should lead to incremental revenue and stronger customer relationships for both the issuer and the partner.

• Access to Datamonitor's suggestions for co-branded cards in Australia and potentially lucrative industries
• Determine strategic potential for setting up and/or expanding your co-branded cards portfolio
• Acquire concrete data and insight on the advantages of co-branded cards for yourself and your partner