William Keliehor

Clearly some signs of strain can be expected in any concern expanding at this sort of exponential rate, although Mr. Keliehor says this rocketing growth is typical for major card issuers in the region. It remains a major management challenge.

'We just have to get back to the basics and put the client first,' he says. 'It is not just a matter of rewarding customers with air miles or gifts, it has to be a question of superior customer service.'

So passionate about customer service is Mr. Keliehor that once a week he picks up the few really awkward cases of customer service and gets on the telephone himself.

'I actually enjoy receiving feedback directly from our clients and getting the real pulse of our business by this direct approach. Part of the problem is that we rely on third parties that sometimes let us down, like the courier or postal services.

'But we have been getting creative with technology and offering email statements, for example, so that customers do not get their bills late. We also have our CitiAlert system that will send you an SMS or email to alert you that payment is needed before the due date. We know you want to know before and not afterwards!'

Mr. Keliehor admits that he is fortunate that Citibank clients tend to be 'bullish on the local economy and view the Citibank product as a lifestyle choice' rather than 'short term and sending money back home', so customer loyalty tends to be strong and he has a greater response to new initiatives. But he would like to see the number of clients taking email statements rise from 15 to 25 per cent.

Citibank is well known for its tie-up with Emirates for a series of credit cards that give Skywards Miles as a reward for card usage. But Mr. Keliehor says he wants also to, 'give something back as instant gratification to clients who do not want to wait for the delayed gratification of air miles.

'It is all about displacing cash. So we offer CitiDollars to spend in Carrefour on groceries or to buy a pizza. Similarly we are working with the Salik road toll and Dubai Metro on possible chip-based killer applications with payment direct from the card.

'We already have a great record at creating payment facilities for utilities and saving people the hassle they used to have to go through to pay these bills. It is a question of being relevant to people's daily lives, transparent and levering technology.'

Meantime, Mr. Keliehor's department is studying mobile banking, realizing just how popular SMS, Blackberries and handheld PDA devices have become in the region with the younger customer. 'The main issue is security, but then we have already tackled Internet shopping with our free e-cards for credit card holders.'