Payment Card Competitor Tracker: April 2008

The Payment Card Competitor Tracker provides expert analysis and opinion on the strategic moves of leading competitors in the payment cards market. Produced on a monthly basis, the Tracker is a global product and covers 64 players, including American Express, Barclaycard, Capital One, Citigroup, Discover, GE Money, First Data, HSBC, JCB, MasterCard, Standard Chartered and Visa.

Report Highlights

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Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Methodology 1
Table of Contents 2
Introduction 3
The Payment Card Competitor Tracker provides both one month and 12 month views of developments 3
Each month, Datamonitor tracks the most relevant announcements from 64 competitors 3
Datamonitor's Cards and Payments Team provides analysis of the key developments at both the one month and 12 month level 4
A fully searchable database of developments from January 2007 onwards is also delivered with the report 4
Key Trends and Developments in April 5
Discover's acquisition of Diners Club International is the biggest story of the month 5
Discover's acquisition of Diners Club International offers an international dimension to its network 5
Citigroup's difficulties have seen it linked with several asset sales that will impact on its cards business 6
April also saw several players launch products into the commercial card space 6
April saw a lot of competitor activity, dominated by developments in product and services 7
There were 55 competitor developments in April, the highest volume so far in 2008 7
Unlike March, product and service developments account for the bulk of competitor activity 8
Geographic split 8
While issuers dominated the tracker, schemes and processors were far more active than in past months 10
In terms of product development, commercial and premium offerings accounted for the bulk of activity 11
The high number of premium and commercial offerings shows a shift in focus away from the mass market 12
M&A and organic growth announcements featured strongly in April 13
A strong focus of M&A continues to be investment in high growth sectors and markets 14
HSBC in particular has been active in penetrating high growth markets 14
First Data's investment in InComm highlights its commitment to growing scale in prepaid 14
Product, Services and Innovation 15
American Express 15
US: American Express and Delta Airlines launch new premium credit cards 15
US: American Express launches Members Know, a new online travel community 15
Bank of America 16
US: Bank of America patents technology for corporate cards 16
US: Bank of America introduces school supply purchasing product 16
Bank of Montreal 16
Canada: Bank of Montreal relaunches Air Miles reward card 16
Citigroup 17
Poland: Citi Handlowy launches prepaid card for micro and small companies 17
US: Citibank and Obopay to pilot mobile person-to-person payment service 17
DnB NOR 17
Norway: DnB NOR to remove charges for card loyalty programs 17
First Data 17
US: First Data Introduces FD50 POS terminal 17
GE Money 17
Indonesia: GE Money launch GE Money Shopping Card 17
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 18
China: ICBC introduces co-branded card with China Netcom 18
ICICI Bank 18
India: ICICI Bank launches American Express credit cards 18
India: ICICI Bank introduces the Global Indian Account 18
India: ICICI Bank launches online commercial procurement facility 19
JCB 19
Taiwan: JCB announce launch of contactless payment program in Taiwan 19
MasterCard 19
US: MasterCard introduces new debit processing platform 19
US: MasterCard announces new travel platform on Priceless.com 19
Maybank 20
Malaysia: Maybank launches online payment facility for pizza delivery 20
RBS 20
UK: RBS to offer MasterCard virtual card system to corporate clients 20
US Bancorp 20
US: US Bancorp introduces reward card with Anheuser-Busch 20
US: US Bancorp selected to provide purchasing cards to US Air Force 21
Visa 21
US: Visa launches new fraud products 21
Other 21
Japan: Shinsei Bank ATMs to accept Visa and MasterCard branded products issued outside Japan 21
Malaysia: RHB Bank launches MasterCard platinum business card 21
US: FIS launches electronic billing facility for direct billers 21
M&A, Partnerships and Organic Growth 23
ABN Amro 23
Netherlands: ABN Amro to sell parts of Business Unit Netherlands to Fortis 23
Atos-Origin 23
Germany: Atos-Origin to process Hamburger Sparkasse's new co-brand card program 23
Canada: BMO ePurchasing Solutions expands reach in British Columbia 23
Global: BMO Harris partners with banks in Italy and India 24
China UnionPay 24
Singapore: China UnionPay and Singapore's United Overseas Bank in card acceptance agreement 24
DnB NOR 24
Norway: DnB NOR partners with Telenor to establish wireless payment company 24
Discover 24
US: Discover Financial Services to acquire Diners Club International network 24
US: Discover debit card issuance grows through multiple new agreements 25
HSBC 25
Korea: HSBC extends timetable for Korea acquisition 25
First Data 25
US: First Data to acquire InComm 25
Royal Bank of Canada 25
Canada: RBC announces changes to banking business 25
US: RBC Centura Bank changes its name to RBC Bank 26
TSYS 26
US: TSYS partners with ControlScan 26
US: TSYS Acquiring Solutions signs agreement with Royal Group Services 26
US: TSYS signs long-term processing agreement with Target 26
US Bancorp 27
US: NOVA Information Systems becomes Elavon 27
WestPac 27
Australia: Westpac and Virgin Money agree on credit card deal 27
Other 27
Norway: BBS to acquire Netaxept 27
Brazil: Fidelity to process transactions for Banco Real 27
Canada: Moneris to acquire Keycorp subsidiary in Canada 27
Japan: Credit Saison takes on Lawson's stake in card business 27
Russia: Sberbank to offer credit cards in Russia 28
South America: Aconite to establish EMV and prepaid card services in South America 28
Appendix 29
Methodology 29
Further reading 29
Ask the analyst 29
Datamonitor consulting 29
Disclaimer 29
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Table 1: The 64 companies and subsidiaries covered by Datamonitor's Payment Card Competitor Tracker 3
Figure 1: April saw a total of 55 competitor developments among Datamonitor's list of tracked companies, significantly ahead of the average over the previous 12 months, 2008 7
Figure 2: Product and service developments accounted for the bulk of competitor activity in April 8
Figure 3: The majority of the competitor developments in April were in North America and Asia-Pacific 9
Figure 4: While issuers dominated developments in April, schemes and processors were far more active than in past months 10
Figure 5: Commercial, premium, and co-brand products accounted for a large portion of the competitor developments in April 12
Figure 6: Partnership announcements and M&A announcements were both important features of competitive activity in the industry in April 13
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