JCB expands in Asia-Pacific

Japanese payment card consortium JCB and its international subsidiary JCB International (JCBI) have launched a new JCB co-branded credit card in China.The Minsheng Lady Flower Aupres card has been launched in conjunction with China Minsheng Banking Corp, JCBs sixth Chinese issuing partner, and Shiseido Liyuan Cosmetics, a major cosmetics company in China.The card is aimed at women consumers in China, following JCBs established strategy of launching cards aimed at distinct consumer segments. The card comes in both standard and gold formats and currency can be denominated in both US dollars and Chinese yuan. The card also incorporates the Aupres loyalty programme, offering double points when purchasing Aupres products and other cosmetics-related rewards.The launch of the card is the latest milestone in JCBs expansion in China, where its brand acceptance network stretches to 70,000 merchants and JCB acquiring alliances with ten partner banks. In 2005 JCB began granting issuing licenses, starting with Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai, China Everbright Bank, China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. More than one million residents of China carry a JCB brand card.

By Verdict Staff

Japanese payment card consortium JCB and its international subsidiary JCB International (JCBI) have launched a new JCB co-branded credit card in China.

The ‘Minsheng Lady Flower – Aupres’ card has been launched in conjunction with China Minsheng Banking Corp, JCB’s sixth Chinese issuing partner, and Shiseido Liyuan Cosmetics, a major cosmetics company in China.

The card is aimed at women consumers in China, following JCB’s established strategy of launching cards aimed at distinct consumer segments. The card comes in both standard and gold formats and currency can be denominated in both US dollars and Chinese yuan. The card also incorporates the Aupres loyalty programme, offering double points when purchasing Aupres products and other cosmetics-related rewards.

The launch of the card is the latest milestone in JCB’s expansion in China, where its brand acceptance network stretches to 70,000 merchants and JCB acquiring alliances with ten partner banks. In 2005 JCB began granting issuing licenses, starting with Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai, China Everbright Bank, China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. More than one million residents of China carry a JCB brand card.

Separately, JCB has also signed licencing deals with Thai issuers Kasikornbank and Krungthai Card (KTC). Kasikornbank will acquire JCB card transactions at Thai merchants and will also manage cash advances relating to JCB cards in Thailand.

Kasikornbank also plans to acquire JCB e-commerce transactions. From July 2008, Kasikornbank intends to acquire JCB card transactions at the point of sale, aiming to persuade nearly 16,000 merchants to accept JCB cards until 2010.

The contract also entails that KTC will issue JCB credit cards in Thailand. The co-branded Kakkoii cards target cardholders who are interested in Japanese products and who visit Japan often. During the first year, KTC plans to issue 100,000 Kakkoii cards. Kasikornbank is JCB’s fifth partner in Thailand. Worldwide, there are over 58 million JCB cards in issuance in 19 countries.