VietinBank to Start JCB Issuing in Vietnam

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), one of the largest state-owned commercial banks in Vietnam and JCB International (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, the only global payment brand based in Japan today announced the launch of the first JCB branded card in Vietnam, the VietinBank-JCB Cremium card.

Through the 23 years business, VietinBank has made substantial strides over the course in recent years in establishing a firm position as the leading bank and financial group in Vietnam, operating over 150 branches and 1,500 ATMs. VietinBank has issued 7 million E-Partner domestic debit card (VietinBank’s own brand), around 200,000 Cremium International Credit Card. The VietinBank acceptance network is the first or second quantity in the market with around 15,000 merchants in Vietnam.

JCB and JCBI entered into the Vietnam market to expand JCB card acceptance in 1991 and have been increasing convenience for over 69 million JCB card members largely based in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, and other Asian countries who travel to Vietnam. Currently JCB has alliances with 9 partner banks and financial institutions in Vietnam for merchant acquiring.

The new branded cards will be accepted at over 34,000 JCB merchants in Vietnam, as well as the worldwide acceptance of 18 million merchants globally through JCB’s merchant network located in 190 countries and territories. VietinBank-JCB Cremium card members are entitled to enjoy services provided by both VietinBank and JCB such as a loyalty program with high exchangeable value, access to JCB Plaza customer service centers at 60 popular destinations around the world, and frequent promotions at VietinBank merchants. JCBI and VietinBank will start an additional promotion with a wide variety of benefits for issuing cards and their usage at selected merchants within this year.

The VietinBank-JCB Cremium card will be issued with 2 grades: the Standard card (with a credit limit of 50 million dong) and the Gold card (with a credit limit from 50 to 300 million dong), targeting a wide range of customers in Vietnam including Vietnamese traveling to Japan and Japanese living in Vietnam.

With this significant achievement, VietinBank expects to increase customer satisfaction with JCB card services, and also to make it more convenient for individuals and corporations coming to Vietnam to travel or seek investment opportunity, contributing to the development of Vietnamese tourism and foreign investment in the era of regional and global economic integration. An alliance with JCB in international credit card issuing and acquiring business help affirm the position of VietinBank as one of the leading commercial banks in card business in Vietnam. JCB will take advantage of this valuable new alliance to develop and provide high-quality services meeting the diverse needs and lifestyles of Vietnam’s customers

About Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) is one of the leading commercial banks in Vietnam with diverse personal and corporate financial services. VietinBank is also the pioneer in the field of retail banking, particularly in card business. We are proud to be the leader in providing Visa/MasterCard credit card, E-Partner domestic debit card as well as domestic and international acquiring service. The clear and convincing evidence proved the VietinBank card service quality are all the awards: “Bank with the best retail service in Vietnam in 2007″, “Capital Gold Star Award for E-Partner Card service in Vietnam in 2008″, “Bank with the best card product in Vietnam in 2010″ and most recently award is “Top 100 Viet Nam brands 2011 for E-Partner Domestic Debit Card and Cremium International Credit Card”. Besides, VietinBank has the largest network card acceptance with over 15,000 merchants accepting the card nationwide. VietinBank is also the first bank in providing service, integrated solutions with providers to offer customers convenience services such as: the hospital bills payment through kiosk banking and unstop-moving toll payment.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding overseas in 1981. Its acceptance network includes over 18 million merchants and over a million cash advance locations in 190 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 15 countries and territories, with more than 69.3 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with more than 350 leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. “-Source: StoxPlus.com”

Tags: JCB International, Vietinbank, Vietnam economic growth, Vietnam economic news, Vietnam economy, Vietnam economy 2011