E-commerce company opening LV-area call center

Phil Levine

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:57 a.m.

Henderson officially becomes home to one of the nation's leading e-commerce players with next week's opening of Providian Financial Corp.'s first Nevada operations center.

The San Francisco-based financial services company -- whose primary focus has been in providing credit cards and other loan products -- will use its new 62,000-square-foot building as a customer service center supporting both credit cards and its e-commerce division.

Once fully operational, the center will employ 600 customer service representatives and an additional 100 people in management; the Henderson operation will be responsible for answering incoming queries from Providian customers nationwide.

It's been just over a year since Providian launched its e-commerce business, and in that time the company has generated more than 220,000 online credit card accounts and $750 million in Internet retail deposits.

"We provide customers a range of services and products through our online marketplace GetSmart.com," said Providian Senior Vice President Kevin Cox. "Last May, we also launched aria.com, a website featuring our branded Aria Visa credit card.

"The real attraction of that site is that it can provide customers almost instant (credit card) approval."

Providing credit cards to customers who might otherwise not receive approval continues to be a key element to the company's growth.

"Whereas other banks might say no, we are willing to look at some customers who don't have perfect credit history and start them out with a $500 balance, or something along those lines," said Providian Vice President Alan Elias.

He said the company is currently adding about 20,000 customers a day, with no signs of a slowdown in sight.

For the fourth quarter of 1999, the company reported net income of $159 million, or $1.10 a share, up 68 percent from $95 million or 66 cents a share a year earlier.

Providian's new Henderson customer service center is one of 11 similar sites throughout the West and Southwestern states.

"For us, there were many attractive features to the Henderson location," said Cox. "The physical location, at the intersection of Green Valley Parkway and I-215, was very attractive. And the shell building itself was perfectly-suited for us, as it provides us an opportunity to grow in the future."

Cox declined to reveal construction costs for the building.

As with so many other Las Vegas-area employers, Providian is working hard to fill the personnel requirements of its new center.

"We're certainly still looking for good quality people, and will offer competitive wages and benefits commensurate with experience," said Cox. He declined to outline starting salaries, but said they would be "highly competitive."

The world of e-commerce was rocked recently by a series of successful hacking incidents against several major Internet companies.

Elias points out that Providian views the security issue as a serious one, and says the company takes great pains to ensure online commerce is as secure as possible.

"We use the most highly advanced technology available to secure our site, and offer customers a 100 percent guarantee that they won't be responsible for any charges made on stolen cards," he said.

Despite a plethora of credit card companies and offers -- "this is the most competitive point in our industry's history," Cox said -- company officials expect to continue to grow their franchise at a brisk pace.

"We're looking at expanding into more international markets, particularly the U.K.," said Cox. "We are also convinced that by expanding our online business, we will see our revenue continue to grow."

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