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.
