All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Romania a hotbed of credit growth
Eastern Europe’s emerging consumer economies are prime targets for credit card growth, both for domestic and foreign issuers, and Romania is no exception (see CI 397). Following Romanias accession to the European Union in January 2007, its economy has expanded at a steady rate.
Staying inControl of corporate spending
MasterCard’s new inControl platform allows corporate programme managers to set spending parameters for greater management and flexibility. Truong Mellor investigates the various benefits that the application offers, as well as the potential for the consumer market.
Region round-up
China UnionPay plans to launch the prepaid China Travel Card… Koreas Hana Bank is considering selling off its credit card unit… The Central Bank of Kuwait has announced new regulations for consumer loans.
Visa Europe votes for independent European status pre-SEPA
At an extraordinary general meeting, Visa Europes European member banks overwhelmingly voted in favour of changes to its articles of association that would enable the company to become fully autonomous of the new publicly listed Visa Inc, the details of which were first outlined in October 2006 (see CI 369)
BNP Paribas: the canny co-branders
French banks have been forced to reposition their cards businesses to combat the new threat that retailers pose in the consumer lending market. But BNP Paribas remains unfazed by the competition, according to its CEO of Personal Finance, Thierry Gattegno.
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Canada braced for tougher climate
The strong economic conditions of recent years have led to a robust cards market in Canada. Despite the threat of downturn, the industry continues to innovate through comprehensive loyalty schemes and technological advancements designed to cut fraud.
CartaSi bought, SIA-SSB bids in
Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI) has bought CartaSi, Italys largest card issuing and acquiring business, for between 300 million and 400 million ($385 million and $514 million), according to sources close to the deal. ICBPI, the central body for Italys substantial banche popolari building society network, will merge the new business with its Key Client subsidiary, set up to incorporate the BankAmericard corporate cards business it acquired from Deutsche Bank in 2007. Intesa Sanpaolo, which had a 42 percent stake in CartaSi, and UniCredit, which had 9 percent of the business, are the main shareholders offloading their holdings
Beyond cardholder satisfaction
Understanding consumer behaviour is key to unlocking the financial benefits of loyalty, according to a recent study from MasterCard Advisors In this article, Greg Howes, global solutions leader, and Philip Lawrence, global solutions leader for MasterCard Advisors Payment Services, outline the prime factors. Maximising relationships and revenues with existing cardholders is critical to card issuers profitability
Region Round-up
The usage of debit cards is increasing in Malaysia… Emirates Airlines and Citibank have launched a co-branded platinum credit card in Australia… Indian credit card issuer SBI Card says its card issuance has come down to nearly a third… The government of British Columbia (BC) has announced new gift card rules… Indonesias Bank Mandiri and GE Finance Indonesia have formed a partnership…
US market shifts from credit to debit
Faced with stagnant credit card growth, US issuers aim to boost plastics share of consumer spending, improve credit card lending quality and expand into debit and prepaid in order to generate new profits