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Visa International and SK Corporation Form Alliance to Offer Rewards Program in Korea
Yonhap News, Maeil Business Newspaper, Korea Economic Daily, Seoul Daily News, Asia Economy, Financial News, Prime Business Journal, Money Today, eToday, News Pim, Electronic Times, Digital Daily, Sports Today, Wow TV (Korea) - Visa International has formed an alliance with SK Corporation to launch a Visa Rewards Program based on SK Corporation’s OK Cashbag platform. OK Cashbag is Korea’s first and largest customer loyalty program with 29 million subscribers to the online/offline and mobile shopping service. The agreement will allow 46 million Visa cardholders in Korea to receive OK Cashbag rewards without having to subscribe separately to the service. Rupert Keeley, president and chief executive officer of Visa International Asia Pacific and Kim Myoung Gon, executive vice president of SK Corporation, executed the five-year agreement in Singapore on 11 April.
Phelps Visits Shanghai to Promote the 2007 Special Olympics
Youth Daily, Jiefang Daily, Shanghai Daily, Qq.com, Sina.com, Sohu.com (China) – In an interview organized by official Games’ sponsor, Visa International, American swimming champion Michael Phelps expressed his confidence that he would pass all drug tests and is ready to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Indian Corporation Bank Issues First Credit Card
Card Line Asia-Pacific (US) - India-based Corporation Bank last week began issuing its first credit card, a Visa-branded card. Cardholders must have annual incomes of no less than US$1,400; those with incomes of $3,500 can qualify for the gold card. More than 40 million Visa-branded payment cards have been issued in India, said Santanu Mukherjee, Visa's country manager for South Asia.
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ATMC Gets EMV Certification
Thisdayonline.com (Nigeria) - ATMC has become Nigeria's first independent operator to implement the secured chip-based e-payment platform, having completed its EMV certification interface. ATMC will soon commence acceptance of Visa cards on any of its QuickCash ATMs with the Visa acceptance sign. Visa Nigeria country director Stephen Hobbs said this initiative represents a major milestone in the establishment of a secure electronic card payment infrastructure in Nigeria. "With this initiative, Nigerians and international travelers can benefit from safe and convenient access to cash as and when they need it."
Czech Companies Like to Pay Non-Cash
Boerse-express.com (Germany) - Visa Europe listed nearly 87,000 corporate card customers in the Czech Republic in 2006 and provided cards to 3,000 companies. "Companies use payment cards because of its benefits. Employees do not need to get cash before business trips and [they] get a better overview of their financial situation," said Jana Lvová, Visa Europe.
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ICICI Bank to Add Signature Mark
Economic Times Online (India) - In a bid to woo the creme-de-la-creme of the country, ICICI Bank plans to launch the Signature brand from the Visa stable. Speaking to the Economic Times, ICICI Bank card product group head Sachin Khandelwal said, "We are working out the mechanics of the product and we hope to roll out the program in a couple of weeks." ICICI is the top issuer of cards in the country, with close to one third of the credit card market. India has a total of about 21 million credit cards.
Mandiri’s Bad Loans Fall in First Quarter
The Jakarta Post (Indonesia) - PT Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest financial services company, said its net bad loan ratio improved to 4.7 percent. This will help the company meet the central bank’s requirements for bank acquisitions. The bank’s net non-performing loan ratio, which excludes the value of collateral pledged against credit, was 5.9 percent at the end of last year. The bank's shares rose to a three-month high.
Shanghai Bank Plans US$3.4 Billion Stake Sale
International Herald Tribune (Hong Kong) - Bank of Communications expects to raise as much as US$3.4 billion selling shares in Shanghai, testing a rally that has made the nation's banks the most expensive among Asia's emerging markets. The lender joins China Citic Bank in taking advantage of soaring stock prices to sell shares.
China Citic Narrows Share Sales Price Range
International Herald Tribune (Hong Kong), Business Times (Singapore) - China Citic Bank has narrowed the price range for its Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO that could raise as much as US$5.4 billion, the world's second largest stock sale this year, an email statement sent to investors showed. Mainland Chinese banks and insurers have sold $61.1 billion shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai to support expansion since June 2005 when Bank of Communications became the first mainland bank to go public in Hong Kong.
HSBC in China
Financial Times (Hong Kong) - Do foreign banks have any control over their destiny in China? Certainly those with small stakes in the "big four" state-owned banks never expected much, being happy just to have a seat at the table. But HSBC's lauded strategy of owning 19.9 percent of the smaller Bank of Communications was meant to have given it a chance of eventually sitting in, or at least near, the high chair. Indeed, as part of the purchase agreement in 2004, HSBC is allowed to increase its stake in BoCom to 40 percent if China ever raises its foreign investment limits.
HSBC Branch Tells Poorer Clients to go Elsewhere
Business Times (Singapore) - Britain's largest bank is closing the doors of one of its branches, but only to poorer customers. The HSBC in the well-heeled area of Canford Cliffs will only offer cashier services to richer clients from 11 June. Anyone else will have to make do with cash machines. To be eligible for face-to-face banking services at the branch, customers will have to fall into its "premier" category which means they will have to have savings of at least£50,000 or £200,000 mortgage plus a salary of £75,000-plus.
HSBC India to Set Up 30 More Branches
CardLine Asia Pacific (US) - HSBC India plans to set up 30 more branch offices across India. The bank has 47 branches in the country. HSBC is awaiting the Reserve Bank of India's approval before opening the new branches. The bank also is planning to offer more small loans, known as microfinance, to strengthen its position in smaller cities and rural areas where it doesn't have much of a presence. About two million customers hold credit cards issued by HSBC India, which has a presence in 26 cities in the country.
Bank of Queensland Outsources Credit Card Business
CardLine Asia Pacific (US) - The Bank of Queensland is outsourcing its credit card business, worth about US$220 million, with Citibank. According to reports, Bank of Queensland intends to use the outsourcing agreement to expand card offerings to customers through new Bank of Queensland-branded cards and products and better processing. Australian consumers held about 41 million payment cards in Australia in 2006, including 17 million credit cards and 24 million debit cards.
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Spending with Cards and Cash Receipts Records KRW 259 Trillion in 2006
Yonhap News (Korea) - Data released by the Finance and Economy Committee reported that spending with credit, debit and check cards and cash receipts totaled KRW 259 trillion in 2006. This represents 57 percent of total consumer expenditure. Total credit card spending amounted to KRW 214 trillion while total debit and check card spending amounted to KRW 13 trillion. Cash receipts totaled KRW 30 trillion.
Postal Privatization Leads to Variable Annuity Service from Next Spring; JCB and Others to Offer Propietary Cards
Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan) - The postal group formed as a result of the privatization of Japan Post will enter the individual annuity business. A component of the privatization plan is for proprietary credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and JCB) to be issued in collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Card and JCB. Yucho Bank, one of Japan Post's four units, will launch the card and assign the processing operations to Sumitomo Mitsui Card and JCB.
DiGi, Citigroup to Offer Remittance on Mobile Phones
The Sun, New Straits Times, theedgedaily.com, Bernama.com, The Star (Malaysia) - DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has teamed up with Citigroup Global Transaction Services to be the first mobile service provider in Malaysia offering remittance services via mobile phones. The service would initially allow remittance to selected Southeast Asian countries and would later be extended to other Asian countries. According to data from Citigroup, as of December 2006, the total migrant remittance in Malaysia is over RM5 billion annually.
A Defeat for America's Bid to Shut down Betting Websites
Economist.com (Asia) - On 30 March, Antigua and Barbuda won a second round at the World Trade Organization in its struggle to get the US to open up its market to foreign firms offering online gambling. The WTO ruling came at an awkward time for the US, which is vigorously clamping down on internet gambling. The US argues that online gambling puts "public morality" at greater risk than allowing people to take a punt at the track or casino.
MasterCard Canada Returns as Sponsor of the Canadian Open
mikeweir.com (Canada) - MasterCard Canada and the Royal Canadian Golf Association are pleased to announce a new one-year agreement in which MasterCard Canada will continue as a Gold Sponsor of the Canadian Open. The agreement further builds on the relationship between MasterCard Canada and the Golf Association, which has successfully evolved since MasterCard first sponsored the event in 2003.
Wanted: A Guardian of the World's Financial System
Financial Times (Hong Kong) - It is time for a fundamental discussion about updating the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement, which set up the International Monetary Fund. It is no longer appropriate that the IMF should be mainly concerned with overseeing economic policy in individual countries, rather than acting as guardian of the global financial system. This is a hangover from the post-war years when the two roles were in effect synonymous.
Flow of Money into China Shows Unexplained Surge
Wall Street Journal Asia (Hong Kong), Business Times (Singapore) - China reported a massive increase in its already-huge pile of foreign currency in the first three months of this year, a gain that includes as much as US$73.3 billion in unexplained new funds that has confounded experts on the Chinese financial system. The Chinese central bank, which already controls more financial assets than any other single institution in the world, said yesterday that its foreign exchange reserves rose $135.7 billion in the first quarter, more than half the increase for all of last year. That raised the total to a staggering $1.2 trillion at the end of March.
Octopus Helps Police Solve Cases
Ta Kung Pao, Apple Daily, Hong Kong Daily News, Hong Kong Economic Times (Hong Kong) - Massive records stored on the CPU of the smartcard operator Octopus have played an important role in police investigations in several criminal cases. This included the investigation into the deaths of constables Tsui Po-ko and Leung Shing-yan and a high-profile investigation to a related bank robbery.
Charged with Having 37 Fake Cards
The Star, Kosmo, Harian Metro, Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Malay Mail (Malaysia) - A shoe dealer and his wife have been accused of having 37 forged credit cards with the intention of using them on 6 April. Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Fuad Osman told the court to take note that the shoe dealer, Leong Chee Hong had a case pending at a Malacca Sessions Court for possession of 10 fake credit cards.
Australia's Banking Fees among the Highest
CardLine Asia Pacific (US) - Australian consumers pay US$123 to $140 more each year in banking fees than consumers from the United Kingdom or Canada, according to a report from JPMorgan and Fujitsu Consulting. According to Euromonitor, consumers held about 41 million payment cards in Australia in 2006, including 17 million credit cards.
Australian Travelers Cautioned about Credit Cards
CardLine Asia Pacific (US) - Australian media are telling travelers to remember the costs of using credit cards overseas. While withdrawing money or making purchases overseas, customers face an average of US$25 in fees for each $825 spent or withdrawn. Meanwhile, the Australian Consumers' Association suggests travelers should use prepaid travel money cards such as Visa Travel Money or MasterCard Traveler's Cash.
Wise Up to Cost of Cards: Plastic Charges Are on the Up
The Express (UK) - The Office of Fair Trading put a £12 cap on credit card penalty fees a year ago but credit card providers have recovered the £300 million of lost profits with a host of new fees and increased charges. A report by price-comparison service uSwitch.com says cardholders have experienced constant changes to their terms and conditions as providers attempt to boost their profit margins. Nick White of uSwitch says, "Some of the changes that have been introduced may have gone unnoticed due to their complexity, with credit card providers delving deep into small print in the terms and conditions, which many consumers do not understand."
Roaming Discount for China UnionPay Cardholders
The Korea Herald (US) - Credit cardholders of China UnionPay will be able to get discounts when renting roaming phones in Korea, as the nation's top mobile carrier SK Telecom formed a strategic alliance with BC Card that is allied with CUP. Under the alliance, CUP cardholders visiting Korea will get a 50 percent discount both on the depository fee of KRW 600,000 and on the daily rent fee of KRW 3,000. So far users have had to pay these fees in cash. Free call coupons will also be offered.
MasterCard Launches New Experiential Programs for Premium Cardholders
PR Newswire (US) - MasterCard has announced MasterCard Unique Experiences, a new program designed to offer a unique set of benefits to its US World MasterCard and World Elite MasterCard cardholders. "MasterCard has deep insight into the mindset of today's affluent segment, and is leveraging that insight to deliver cardholder benefits that will be embraced by the marketplace," said Jeff Portelli, group executive, Global Consumer Credit Products, MasterCard Worldwide.
Company Cards Are Profitable
Olomoucky denik (Czech Republic) - According to MasterCard research, nearly one third of companies have a company card. "Cardholders can use travel services via non-stop assistance centres. Sixty-one percent of companies use cards for withdrawing cash from cash dispensers. Forty percent use the cards at business trips," said Jan Carny, MasterCard Europe Head for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
Prepaid Card Targets Jet Setters
CardLine (US) - Charter plane service provider JetOne has announced that it is partnering with American Express to offer its clients the prepaid AccessOne card. Two percent of the card's value is donated to the Corporate Angel Network, a charity that arranges free air transportation for cancer patients traveling to treatment using the empty seats on corporate jets.
ATM Direct Aims at More Merchants
Digital Transactions (US) - A processor that allows consumers to pay online with their PIN debit cards signed its second merchant this week and expects 18 more by the end of the year, including two more this quarter. "I feel good about the conversations we’re having now with top online merchants,” says Robert Ziegler, general manager at ATM Direct. "We’re right on track."
Verifying Identities through Biometrics Poised to Expand
Wall Street Journal (US) - Businesses and government agencies in the US are beginning to use fingerprints as a safe and simple security tool. On the commercial side, personal computers and cell phones have been the early adopters. About 10 percent of new laptops sold in the US come equipped with tiny, inexpensive fingerprint censors, eliminating the need for people to remember passwords. As the public gets comfortable with security procedures, other uses for fingerprints, such as on cell phones, are on the way. A majority of Americans say they are comfortable with the use of biometric identification. In a survey published in February, Unisys found that 63 percent of those polled were worried about identity fraud and 69 percent said they would prefer that banks, credit card companies, health-care providers, and government organizations adopt biometrics over smart-card readers, security tokens or passwords.
Identity Fraud Soars By 70 Percent
Metro (UK) - The number of people hit by identity fraud has soared by almost 70 percent in a year. Methods of stealing personal information such as bank details and PIN numbers are becoming far more sophisticated, experts say, and the problem is costing the economy £1.7 billion a year. There has also been an increase in the number of criminal gangs running identity theft operations, warns financial services group Experian. But 'present address fraud,' involving interception of mail, accounted for 45 percent of all cases reported in the last six months of 2006, Experian says. 'Phishing' attacks, where criminals send fake e-mails to elicit financial details from recipients, are also rising.
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US Will Push China to Ease Limits on Flights
Wall Street Journal Asia (Hong Kong) - US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said she wants China to agree in principle to further open its skies to international flights by American airlines, as Washington tries to speed the liberalization of a potentially huge aviation market. Despite a 2004 agreement between Washington and Beijing to gradually increase air connections, the number of daily passenger flights by carriers from the US to mainland China is still just 10. By contrast, there are more than 120 flights a day by US airlines to Britain.
China, India to Drive Asia Growth: IMF
Business Times (Singapore) - Emerging Asian economies, driven mainly by China and India, will expand at a brisk but slightly lower pace during this year as US influence declines, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The region will see 8.4 percent growth, down marginally on last year's 8.9 percent, because a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the US is set to have only a muted effect, the IMF said in its latest global report.
World Trade Grows Eight Percent but WTO Warns Over Market Jitters
Financial Times (Hong Kong) - The volume of world goods trade expanded by a brisk eight percent last year, the second highest rate since 2000, according to preliminary figures from the World Trade Organization. WTO economists said world trade growth was likely to see a modest slowdown to six percent in 2007 in line with decelerating global economic activity, but this would still be around the average for the past decade. But they warned that jittery financial markets, the international property bubble and large current account imbalances posed big downside risks for projections of growth and trade.
Tarnished Crusade: How Wolfowitz Fell Foul of His Own High Standards
Financial Times (Hong Kong) - As finance and development ministers from around the global gather in Washington for the twice-yearly meeting of the World Bank's top governing body this weekend, all the talk is about an issue that has little to do with the formal agenda of honoring aid promises and agreeing an action plan for Africa. Instead, ministers and their officials are talking about the latest controversy to engulf Paul Wolfowitz, the former US deputy defence secretary turned World Bank president.
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