Global affinity finance club winter 2013

AFFINITY INSURANCE
BANCASSURANCE
AFFINITY BANKING
Global Affinity
Finance Club
Finaccord’s newsletter about affinity financial services worldwide
Welcome back to your Club!
The first three months of 2013 added up to another busy period for
affinity and corporate partnerships around the world, with a variety
of fresh and often innovative initiatives in evidence at both the na-
tional and international levels.
In line with the reorganisation of its troubled banking sector, Spain’s
bancassurance market continues to evolve with AEGON and Aviva
respectively discontinuing joint ventures with Unnim and Bankia
albeit with both groups remaining committed to Spanish bancassur-
ance through other partnerships. Meanwhile, already a leader in ban-
cassurance in south-east Asia, Prudential has extended its footprint
by entering into a new distribution relationship with ACLEDA Bank
in Cambodia.
Two important new joint ventures to comment upon in the automo-
tive finance sector are those of Santander and JAC in China (for an
independent company that intends to provide finance across all
automotive brands, not just those of JAC itself), and of UniCredit
and Renault Nissan in Russia (which will focus on providing finance
for the Dacia, Infiniti, Nissan and Renault brands).
Finally, the fast-moving world of mobile payments has seen its cus-
tomary slew of initiatives including multi-country deals involving
MasterCard and Visa with Vimpelcom and Samsung, respectively.
With best regards,
Alan Leach
Director
aleach@finaccord.com
For our published reports,
news and more please visit
www.finaccord.com
2013WINTER

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Affinity Insurance News 4
ASSISTANCE 4
Allianz Global Assistance inks pan-
European deals with Aston Martin and
Mazda 4
Britannia Rescue wins deal for packaged
road assistance cover 4
Allianz Global Assistance ties with Met-
Life Amplico for medical assistance
services 4
Europ Assistance to provide tele-
medicine after-care for NUEZ custom-
ers 4
HomeServe secures water service line
protection deal on Long Island 4
Maltese trade union members gain ac-
cess to home assistance services 4
HEALTH INSURANCE 5
Bupa International and Jubilee join
forces to provide international health
insurance 5
DAK-Gesundheit and HanseMerkur
extend partnership through to 2017 5
RAC extends motor insurance partner-
ship with Junction for five more years 5
Aviva joins Tesco Bank's personal mo-
tor insurance panel 5
Zurich secures affinity deal with dis-
tributor focused on public sector work-
ers 5
Aon and Liberty Seguros renew affinity
program with Spanish motor cycling
federation 6
NICHE INSURANCE 6
ERV works for missed event insurance
with Deutsche Entrittskarten 6
PRODUCT INSURANCE / WAR-
RANTIES 6
MAPFRE Warranty ties with Japanese
insurer for extended warranty products
6
AmTrust Financial Services acquires
automotive warranty and insurance spe-
cialist 6
Domestic & General announces new
pan-European contract with Whirlpool
6
Brightstar collaborates with Trikomsel
for Indonesian joint venture 7
TRAVEL INSURANCE 7
Allianz Global Assistance extends part-
nership with Air France for three more
years 7
APRIL International Voyage concludes
travel insurance distribution deal with
Air Austral 7
HanseMerkur wins L'TUR travel insur-
ance mandate 7
GENERAL 7
AXA collaborates for non-standard
personal lines with UK-based MGA... 7
... and with Spanish distributor specialis-
ing in funeral and complementary health
cover 7
—————————————
Bancassurance News 8
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE 8
Allianz secures business insurance part-
nership with Barclays 8
CREDITOR INSURANCE 8
Credit Life International reveals ambi-
tions to broaden European footprint 8
LIFE INSURANCE 8
Aviva divests stake in Malaysian bancas-
surance joint venture... 8
... and reaches settlement with Bankia
over Spanish bancassurance joint ven-
ture 8
Dai-ichi Life pulls plug on joint venture
with China Huadian Corporation 9
Prudential enters into life insurance
partnership with Cambodian bank 9
Old Mutual takes majority stake in Nige-
rian bancassurance unit 9
NICHE INSURANCE 9
Crédit Agricole begins marketing en-
hanced legal protection cover 9
GENERAL 9
HSBC signs long-term European deals
with both AIG and Allianz 9
AEGON terminates Unnim joint ven-
ture but reaffirms long-term commit-
ment to Spain 10
Legal & General wins new distribution
deal with UK building society 10
—————————————
Table of contents

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Affinity Banking News 10
AFFINITY BANK ACCOUNTS 10
BBVA Compass introduces NBA-
branded online accounts 10
AFFINITY CARDS 10
Local banks roll out affinity MasterCard
prepaid cards in Zimbabwe... 10
... and in Kenya 11
JCB and PVBCC launch combined
identification and prepaid card in the
Philippines 11
Sberbank and Visa help to launch
Olympics-themed affinity debit cards in
Russia 11
AFFINITY MORTGAGES 11
BAWAG P.S.K. and Bausparkasse
Wüstenrot continue long-standing co-
operation 11
AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE 11
Santander unveils automotive finance
joint venture in China 11
Renault Nissan group and UniCredit
create Russian joint venture 11
BUSINESS BANKING 12
Italian banking groups conclude affinity
deals with trade associations 12
CO-BRANDED CARDS 12
Virgin Money buys its own co-branded
credit card portfolio from MBNA 12
Aetna agrees to work with MasterCard
as its preferred brand for payment card
services 12
IHG selects MasterCard as exclusive
card marquee for co-branded cards in
the US 13
Chase to acquire all pre-existing Air-
Tran cardholders 13
Western Union and Advent Financial
co-operate for 'Get It' prepaid card 13
HDFC Bank launches co-branded
credit card in association with Indian
media group 13
INTER-BANK DISTRIBUTION 13
Barclaycard to begin issuing American
Express cards in the UK 13
UnionPay expands co-operation with
banks and China National Travel Ser-
vices 14
INTERNATIONAL / DOMESTIC
REMITTANCES 14
Western Union co-operates with three
major retailing brands and a Canadian
bank 14
ICICI Bank and Tata Teleservices
launch remittance 14
MOBILE PAYMENTS 15
MasterCard introduces NFC payment
services to Brazil with local partners 15
MasterCard works with Equity Bank
and Ezetap for MPOS technology in
Kenya 15
MasterCard enters into international
strategic partnership with Vimpelcom...
15
... and links with Orange for mobile
payment services in Spain 16
Samsung and Visa enter into global
alliance for mobile payments 16
Customers in India and Rwanda benefit
from Visa's new global mobile money
platform 16
Monitise sets up new initiatives in the
mobile payments market 17
Telefónica and Vodafone form partner-
ships with Wirecard for German mobile
payment services 17
ICICI Bank and Aircel launch ‘Mobile
Money’ service in India 17
Visa facilitates migration to contactless
and mobile payments of German retail-
ing group 18
RETAILER CARDS 18
Citi Retail Services acquires Best Buy
retailer card business from Capital One
18
GE Capital Retail Finance secures new
retailer card contracts 18
TD Bank announces purchase of
HSBC's Canadian private label card
business 18
GENERAL 19
American Express loyalty division con-
cludes agreement with First Bankcard
19
Bankia enters into affinity banking
agreements with professional associa-
tions 19

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Affinity Insurance News
ASSISTANCE
Allianz Global Assistance
inks pan-European deals with
Aston Martin and Mazda
Allianz Global Assistance has
entered into a deal with Aston
Martin to provide roadside as-
sistance services to the automo-
tive brand’s drivers both in the
UK and across 19 other Euro-
pean countries. The deal will
apply to both new and used
cars. The assistance firm has
also strengthened its relation-
ship with Mazda, with which it
has collaborated for many years
on products such as extended
warranty programs and technical
hotlines, by securing a new
agreement to provide three
years of European road assis-
tance to all purchasers of new
Mazda cars.
Britannia Rescue wins deal
for packaged road assistance
cover
Britannia Rescue, part of LV=,
has been appointed by the Na-
tionwide, the UK's largest build-
ing society, to provide break-
down cover to customers of its
newly-launched, fee-paying cur-
rent account 'FlexPlus'. Under
the terms of this agreement, a
comprehensive road rescue pol-
icy will be provided to all cus-
tomers with this account for any
car that they use when driving in
the UK and Europe. Britannia
Rescue’s appointment extends
LV=’s existing partnership with
Nationwide as sole provider of
its motor and landlord insurance
products.
Allianz Global Assistance ties
with MetLife Amplico for
medical assistance services
In Poland, MetLife Amplico has
disclosed that it has created a
link with Allianz Global Assis-
tance for the provision of free
medical assistance services to its
customers. Specifically, selected
customers will be able to make
use of these services with a
value of up to PLN 1,000 per
event in the case of accident,
illness or even the death of a
close family member.
Europ Assistance to provide
tele-medicine after-care for
NUEZ customers
In Spain, Europ Assistance has
secured its first tele-medicine
distribution deal in the form of
a contract with NUEZ, a non-
life insurance company which
operates solely via online. Under
the terms of this agreement, Eu-
rop Assistance will provide cov-
erage to the 20,000 motor, mo-
tor cycle and household policy-
holders of NUEZ. The cover-
age, which only takes effect sub-
sequent to a period of hospitali-
sation, consists of a daily medi-
cal check-up (for up to one
month) using a suite of devices
supplied by Europ Assistance,
namely a blood pressure meter,
a pulse oximeter and a set of
scales.
HomeServe secures water
service line protection deal on
Long Island
In the US, HomeServe has
signed a distribution agreement
with the Bethpage Water Dis-
trict, which provides water to
more than 8,000 customers on
Long Island by operating eight
wells at five pumping sites in the
area. Under this deal, Bethpage
customers will be offered the
option of taking out Home-
Serve's water service line protec-
tion plan, which gives policy-
holders access to a 24-hour hot-
line and a range of accredited
contractors in their local area. In
the US and Canada, HomeServe
currently protects around 1 mil-
lion households against water,
drainage and electrical problems,
plus other types of home emer-
gency.
Maltese trade union members
gain access to home assis-
tance services
Malta-based Middlesea Assist, a
subsidiary of MAPFRE Asisten-
cia, has announced that via the
Laferla Insurance Agency, it has
been appointed to provide
home assistance services to the
26,000 members of the Union
Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM),
one of Malta's largest trade un-
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ions. Specifically, members of
the UHM gain access to home
emergency cover for problems
related to the electricity and wa-
ter supply, as well as glazing and
locksmith services.
—————————–———
HEALTH INSURANCE
Bupa International and Jubi-
lee join forces to provide in-
ternational health insurance
International healthcare com-
pany Bupa International has an-
nounced a new partnership with
Jubilee Insurance, one of the
largest insurance groups in East
Africa (and not to be confused
with the similarly-named insurer
based in the UK). This partner-
ship will see Jubilee Insurance
providing Bupa’s international
health insurance products to its
customers in Kenya, including
the recently-launched 'Vital Af-
rica' product, an ‘emergency
only’ plan which ensures that
customers can get emergency
medical treatment anywhere in
Africa.
DAK-Gesundheit and Hanse-
Merkur extend partnership
through to 2017
In Germany, DAK-Gesundheit,
a public health insurance pro-
vider, and HanseMerkur, a pri-
vate sector insurer, have an-
nounced the extension of a dis-
tribution agreement for the pro-
vision of supplementary private
health insurance products until
the end of 2017. DAK-
Gesundheit has been offering its
1.5 million members Hanse-
Merkur's supplementary health
insurance products since 2004;
these include, among others,
funeral expenses insurance, hos-
pital cash plans and travel health
insurance.
—————————–———
MOTOR INSURANCE
RAC extends motor insur-
ance partnership with Junc-
tion for five more years
In the UK, Junction, an insur-
ance affinity specialist belonging
to BGL Group, has announced
a new five-year agreement with
RAC to continue managing mo-
tor insurance for new and exist-
ing customers. Since the part-
nership began in 2008, Junction
has worked with RAC to design
and develop all of the brand's
private motor insurance prod-
ucts, as well as to manage all
customer interactions, resulting
in significant customer growth.
The next phase of the partner-
ship will see Junction and RAC
using the existing platform to
maximise insurer relationships,
as well as launching new tech-
nology-focused initiatives in a
bid to grow customer numbers
even further. RAC's desire to
reward customer loyalty will be
a key area of development. To-
gether, Junction and RAC will
look at new ways to tap into and
utilise customer and other data
to drive more competitive rates
for customers.
Aviva joins Tesco Bank's per-
sonal motor insurance panel
In the UK, Aviva has agreed a
three-year deal with Tesco Bank,
the financial services arm of the
eponymous supermarket chain,
to provide private motor insur-
ance to its customers. The deal
will see Aviva join a small panel
of existing insurers to offer mo-
tor insurance through Tesco
Bank, which currently provides
car insurance to over 1 million
customers.
Zurich secures affinity deal
with distributor focused on
public sector workers
Again in the UK, Zurich has
won a contract with the Civil
Service Insurance Society (CSIS)
to be the sole underwriter for its
personal lines motor insurance
product. It started underwriting
new business at the beginning of
March 2013 and has been ac-
cepting renewals from the start
of April. Founded in 1890, CSIS
is a not-for-profit organisation
providing personal lines insur-
ance products to around 30,000
serving and former public sector
employees and their partners in
the UK. As well as motor insur-
ance, it also provides household,
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travel, pet, caravan and boat in-
surance. All profits made by
CSIS are donated to selected
charities with links to the public
sector.
Aon and Liberty Seguros re-
new affinity program with
Spanish motor cycling federa-
tion
In Spain, Aon and Liberty Segu-
ros have renewed an affinity
program with the Real Fed-
eración Motociclista Española
which was first established in
2009. This covers motor cycle
trials organised by the federation
both in Spain and other coun-
tries and also the liability of rid-
ers participating in them. In ad-
dition, the two companies also
maintain an agreement for a
similar program with the Real
Federación Española de Auto-
movilismo, which has been in
place for 26 years.
—————————–———
NICHE INSURANCE
ERV works for missed event
insurance with Deutsche En-
trittskarten
In Germany, ERV has extended
for a further two years its part-
nership for missed event insur-
ance with online ticket vendor
Deutsche Eintrittskarten. Cus-
tomers buying event tickets
through the distributor are able
to acquire insurance which re-
funds the ticket cost if they are
unable to attend the event in
certain circumstances such as
pregnancy, serious injury or
work-related relocation.
—————————–———
PRODUCT INSURANCE /
WARRANTIES
MAPFRE Warranty ties with
Japanese insurer for extended
warranty products
In Japan, MAPFRE Warranty
has finalised an agreement with
Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, a
subsidiary of the international
MS&AD insurance group, for
the development of extended
warranty products in the auto-
motive sector. The Japanese in-
surer brings long-established
knowledge of the local market
to the deal, plus a distribution
network embracing around
49,000 agents, 500 proprietary
offices and 230 service centres,
while MAPFRE Warranty
brings its expertise in extended
warranty products, in particular.
AmTrust Financial Services
acquires automotive warranty
and insurance specialist
AmTrust Financial Services has
announced that its IGI Group
wholly-owned subsidiary has
completed the acquisition of Car
Care Plan from Ally Insurance
for a consideration of approxi-
mately USD 70 million. Car
Care Plan provides insurance
and administrative services to
major automotive manufactur-
ers for extended warranties,
GAP insurance, wholesale floor
plan insurance and other auto-
motive-related warranty and in-
surance products. Headquar-
tered in the UK, Car Care Plan
also has operations in Brazil and
China, plus certain countries in
Europe and North America.
During the next financial year,
Car Care Plan is projected to
generate revenues in excess of
USD 140 million including fee
income of more than USD 30
million, and pre-tax profits of
over USD 14 million.
Domestic & General an-
nounces new pan-European
contract with Whirlpool
Domestic & General has re-
vealed that it will expand its pro-
vision of warranty and product
protection services with con-
sumer goods manufacturer
Whirlpool to multiple European
countries. Domestic & General
has provided warranty coverage
for Whirlpool goods in the UK
and Ireland for over ten years,
and will begin covering the
manufacturer's appliances in
Austria, Belgium, France, Ger-
many, the Netherlands and Po-
land. The agreement will cover
the Bauknecht brand as well as
Whirlpool itself.
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Brightstar collaborates with
Trikomsel for Indonesian
joint venture
Indonesian mobile retailer and
distributor Trikomsel and mo-
bile services specialist Brightstar
have announced the formation
of a new joint venture to be
known as Brightstar Trikomsel.
It is intended that this company
will offer value-added services in
the mobile sector, with an em-
phasis on supply chain services
for mobile operators, retailers
and manufacturers.
—————————–———
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Allianz Global Assistance ex-
tends partnership with Air
France for three more years
As an extension to an agreement
that originally dates back to
2006, Air France and Allianz
Global Assistance have renewed
their travel insurance partner-
ship for a further three years.
This deal in fact relates to two
separate travel insurance
schemes: the first offers a choice
of travel policies (cancellation
only, medical only, or compre-
hensive) to customers flying
from 20 countries; the second
relates to the travel insurance
offered to the 21 million mem-
bers of the airline's loyalty pro-
gram, Flying Blue. Similarly, Al-
lianz Global Assistance has been
co-operating with Iberia for a
number of years, although it has
recently been announced that
travel policies will henceforth be
made available to customers
travelling from the UK as well
as other points of departure.
APRIL International Voyage
concludes travel insurance
distribution deal with Air
Austral
APRIL International Voyage
has formed its first partnership
for online travel insurance distri-
bution with an airline by signing
an agreement with Air Austral, a
French aviation company serv-
ing destinations in the Indian
Ocean. APRIL International
Voyage reports that it already
achieves 71% of its sales online,
including sales via the websites
of both travel trade partners and
its own site, and 13% of these
sales use its latest online market-
ing system which it refers to as
its 'web service'.
HanseMerkur wins L'TUR
travel insurance mandate
Travel agency L'TUR and Han-
seMerkur have entered into a
three-year partnership whereby
L'TUR will offer travel insur-
ance products underwritten by
HanseMerkur through both its
online travel portal and its 165
branches throughout Germany,
plus four other European coun-
tries: Austria, France, Poland
and Switzerland.
GENERAL
AXA collaborates for non-
standard personal lines with
UK-based MGA...
In the UK, the commercial lines
and personal intermediary arm
of AXA has entered into an ex-
clusive five-year capacity deal
worth GBP 150 million with
Prestige Underwriting Services,
a managing general agent
(MGA). The tie will see AXA
provide Prestige with capacity to
underwrite non-standard house-
hold and motor products and
provides a further way for AXA
to meet its stated aim of ex-
panding activity in the UK per-
sonal lines market. The deal
builds on AXA's existing part-
nership with Prestige, which
provides a range of non-
standard household and motor
products sold through more
than 500 brokers.
... and with Spanish distribu-
tor specialising in funeral and
complementary health cover
AXA has also created an inno-
vative new distribution partner-
ship in Spain with Paraíso Uni-
versal, a company based in
Malaga that specialises in funeral
and complementary health
(assistance, sickness and acci-
dent) insurance. The arrange-
ment means that Paraíso Uni-
versal can now broaden its
product offer to household
cover and eventually to other
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relatively simple insurance prod-
ucts including commercial lines,
hunting liability, long-term care,
low-cost health, motor, and risk
and savings-related life.
—————————–———
Bancassurance News
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE
Allianz secures business in-
surance partnership with Bar-
clays
In the UK, Allianz and Barclays
have launched a partnership to
provide commercial insurance
packages for the bank's small
and medium-sized business cus-
tomers. Under the new arrange-
ment, Allianz Commercial will
underwrite tailored packages
with available cover options
ranging from standardised small
business insurance policies to
specialist areas, such as engi-
neering, goods-in-transit and
marine. Allianz will also provide
a branded sales, service and
claims capability for all new
business operated from new
premises in Lancaster. The com-
pany expects to recruit as many
as 80 employees as part of this
dedicated operation during
2013.
—————————–———
CREDITOR INSURANCE
Credit Life International re-
veals ambitions to broaden
European footprint
Creditor insurance specialist,
Credit Life International, which
is co-owned by RheinLand Ver-
sicherungsgruppe and Talanx,
has disclosed a pan-European
expansion plan, guaranteeing
market coverage in all major
countries in the near future.
—————————–———
LIFE INSURANCE
Aviva divests stake in Malay-
sian bancassurance joint ven-
ture...
Aviva has announced the sale of
its 49% interest in CIMB Aviva
Assurance and CIMB Aviva Ta-
kaful Berhad (collectively
known as CIMB-Aviva) to Sun
Life Assurance Company of
Canada, a subsidiary of Sun Life
Financial, for a consideration of
GBP 152 million payable in
cash. CIMB-Aviva is a joint ven-
ture between Aviva and CIG
Berhad, which is ultimately
owned by CIMB, one of Malay-
sia’s leading financial groups and
parent of CIMB Bank, one of
the same country's largest banks.
According to Aviva, the transac-
tion represents further progress
in narrowing the group's focus
to businesses and markets where
it enjoys positions of leadership
and is able to generate attractive
returns with a high probability
of success.
Moreover, in a related transac-
tion, CIMB has agreed to sell
the majority of its interest in
CIMB-Aviva to Khazanah Na-
sional, the government of Ma-
laysia’s strategic investment
fund. CIMB will become a mi-
nority shareholder although will
continue its distribution rela-
tionship with the company.
... and reaches settlement
with Bankia over Spanish
bancassurance joint venture
In another development in in-
ternational bancassurance in-
volving Aviva, the insurance
group has disclosed that it has
reached a settlement with
Bankia by means of which
Aviva will transfer its entire
holding in Spanish joint venture
Aseval to Bankia for EUR 608
million, which will be held in
escrow. The transfer of shares
in Aseval to Bankia is subject to
customary regulatory approvals
and release of the cash proceeds
to Aviva is expected no later
than the end of April 2013. As a
result of the settlement, Aviva
and Bankia have applied to the
arbitration court in Spain to ter-
minate the legal proceedings
between the parties and to issue
an award which reflects the set-
tlement agreed.
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Aviva’s other operations in
Spain are unaffected by the set-
tlement. Aviva will continue to
serve over 1.2 million customers
in the country through bancas-
surance partnerships with BMN,
Caja España Duero, NCG
Banco and Unicaja, as well as
through agency distribution
units Aviva Vida y Pensiones
and Pelayo Vida. Aviva Spain
generated sales of GBP 1.93
billion and an IFRS life operat-
ing profit of GBP 216 million in
2011, of which Aseval contrib-
uted sales of GBP 393 million
and an IFRS life operating profit
of GBP 88 million.
Dai-ichi Life pulls plug on
joint venture with China
Huadian Corporation
Dai-ichi Life has announced
that it has mutually agreed with
China Huadian Corporation to
discontinue plans for their joint
venture life insurance company
in China. Since the signing of
the initial joint venture basic
agreement, Dai-ichi Life and
China Huadian Corporation
have been working together to
form a joint life insurance busi-
ness in China. However, it be-
came clear that there were dif-
ferences in the two partners’
views with regards to strategy,
including the business plan for
the new company, hence final
agreement was not reached.
Prudential enters into life in-
surance partnership with
Cambodian bank
In Cambodia, Prudential has
launched a life insurance busi-
ness through a wholly-owned
subsidiary, Prudential Cambo-
dia. As a part of its market entry
strategy, Prudential Cambodia
and ACLEDA Bank, the largest
retail and commercial bank in
Cambodia, have announced the
establishment of a long-term
distribution partnership, the first
of its kind in the country. Spe-
cifically, ACLEDA Bank will
promote Prudential’s products
via its network of 238 branches
nationwide. Moreover, Pruden-
tial’s own sales staff will be lo-
cated within the bank's branches
to provide appropriate advice to
customers about life insurance.
Old Mutual takes majority
stake in Nigerian bancassur-
ance unit
In Nigeria, Old Mutual has
completed the acquisition of a
majority stake in Oceanic Life,
the life assurance arm of the
former Oceanic Bank, subse-
quently acquired by Ecobank.
The acquisition has been made
to expand Old Mutual's offering
to the Nigerian market where it
considers that there are good
prospects for further develop-
ment
—————————–———
NICHE INSURANCE
Crédit Agricole begins mar-
keting enhanced legal protec-
tion cover
In France, a non-life insurance
arm of the Crédit Agricole
group, Pacifica, has begun to sell
legal protection cover through
both LCL, a retail banking
brand belonging to the group,
and through the Crédit Agricole
network itself. This policy has
been enhanced in accordance
with the recommendations of
the FFSA, the association of
French insurance companies.
Specifically, it now covers two
new areas: litigation related to
disability (guardianship and trus-
teeship); and disputes arising
under laws related to parentage
(such as adoption and paternity).
Moreover, two existing areas of
coverage have been expanded,
for disputes relating to inheri-
tance and disputes about prop-
erty taxes.
—————————–———
GENERAL
HSBC signs long-term Euro-
pean deals with both AIG and
Allianz
As part of its on-going strategy
to withdraw from insurance un-
derwriting activities, HSBC has
entered into a ten-year bancas-
surance agreement with AIG,
through which HSBC group
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companies will distribute AIG's
non-life insurance products to
customers in France, Turkey
and other European countries as
may be agreed in the future. The
arrangements for the distribu-
tion of products in France and
Turkey will be on an exclusive
basis.
Equally, various HSBC group
companies will also enter into
ten-year bancassurance deals
with Allianz for the distribution
of life insurance products in
Turkey and certain other Euro-
pean markets as may be agreed.
Under both of these bancassur-
ance agreements, which are ex-
pected to be finalised in the first
half on 2013, AIG and Allianz
subsidiaries will pay commis-
sions on product sales and make
other payments to HSBC group
companies in line with the reve-
nues generated.
AEGON terminates Unnim
joint venture but reaffirms
long-term commitment to
Spain
In Spain, AEGON has reached
an agreement to exit its life,
health and pensions joint ven-
ture with Unnim, a banking net-
work owned by BBVA, by sell-
ing its 50% stake in the com-
pany for a total consideration of
EUR 353 million. In essence,
this divestment by AEGON is a
consequence of the consolida-
tion underway within the Span-
ish banking sector. However,
AEGON has stated that it
maintains a long-term commit-
ment to Spain as evidenced by
its joint venture with Santander
to distribute life and general in-
surance products through its
network of 4,600 bank
branches. Indeed, this long-term
alliance, announced in Decem-
ber 2012, provides access to a
potential client base of 12 mil-
lion individuals across the coun-
try.
Legal & General wins new
distribution deal with UK
building society
In the UK, Legal & General has
announced a new joint distribu-
tion agreement with the Hanley
Economic (a building society)
for the provision of protection-
related life and general insurance
products. Specifically, the Han-
ley Economic will sell the in-
surer's products in these two
categories throughout its branch
network on a directly authorised
basis.
—————————–———
Affinity Banking News
AFFINITY BANK AC-
COUNTS
BBVA Compass introduces
NBA-branded online ac-
counts
In the US, BBVA Compass has
introduced bank accounts co-
branded in partnership with the
National Basketball League. The
new products, which carry the
NBA Banking brand, include
online-only checking and sav-
ings accounts that are integrated
with smartphone applications.
The new products represent an
extension of the ongoing spon-
sorship of the NBA by BBVA
Compass.
—————————–———
AFFINITY CARDS
Local banks roll out affinity
MasterCard prepaid cards in
Zimbabwe...
In Zimbabwe, FBC Bank has
launched an affinity MasterCard
prepaid card aimed at members
of the Zimbabwean Association
of Chartered Certified Account-
ants (ACCA). ACCA members
do not require a bank account
to apply for the prepaid card,
and are able to pay tuition and
exam fees, monitor their bal-
ances, track spending and
download statements via the
FBC Bank online portal. Addi-
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tionally, members will be able to
use their cards at any of the 33
million merchants worldwide
that accept MasterCard and at
1.3 million MasterCard-branded
ATMs located around the
world.
... and in Kenya
In Kenya, Chase Bank and the
University Students Community
Organisation (UNISCOO) have
unveiled a new MasterCard pre-
paid card available to the mem-
bers of the latter body. Among
the broader aims of the product
are to extend financial inclusion
to a higher proportion of the
key market for consumers aged
from 15 to 29 in a country in
which around one third of
adults are excluded from the
banking system. Topping up the
card can be carried out at any
branch of Chase Bank as well as
through either Airtel Money or
M-Pesa at no additional cost.
The card also acts as an ID card
for all UNISCOO members and
provides access to discounts at a
range of merchants, endowing it
with extra advantages relative to
other products in the market.
JCB and PVBCC launch com-
bined identification and pre-
paid card in the Philippines
In the Philippines, PVB Card
Corporation (PVBCC) and JCB
International have launched a
new prepaid card which simulta-
neously functions as an ID card
for residents of the city of Ba-
coor. With the aim of issuing
around 500,000 cards, the
PVBCC-JCB SBR Card is de-
signed specifically for the resi-
dents, employees, officials and
senior citizens of Bacoor.
Sberbank and Visa help to
launch Olympics-themed af-
finity debit cards in Russia
In Russia, the country's Olympic
Committee is working with
Sberbank and Visa to launch a
new range of 'Classic Olympic
Team' affinity debit cards. These
cards, which can only be linked
to accounts denominated in lo-
cal currency and that are valid
for three years, are being distrib-
uted by Sberbank to its custom-
ers. Cardholders will have free
access to mobile and online
banking and will also be en-
rolled in the bank's 'Thank You'
loyalty program. 50% of the ser-
vice fee for the first year is being
donated to the Olympic Com-
mittee.
—————————–———
AFFINITY MORTGAGES
BAWAG P.S.K. and Bauspar-
kasse Wüstenrot continue
long-standing co-operation
In Austria, BAWAG P.S.K. and
building society Bausparkasse
Wüstenrot have stated that they
will continue their current part-
nership until 2017. As such,
BAWAG P.S.K. will carry on
promoting Bausparkasse
Wüstenrot's mortgage contracts
to its 1.4 million clients. Indeed,
these two companies have
worked together in this way for
the last 40 years.
—————————–———
AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE
Santander unveils automotive
finance joint venture in China
In China, Santander and Anhui
Jianghuai Automobile (JAC)
have launched Fortune Auto
Finance, a joint venture, owned
in equal proportions by the two
firms, that intends to act as an
independent provider in the
country's automotive finance
sector. The initiative aims to
combine Santander's extensive
international experience in auto-
motive finance with JAC's local
knowledge of the automotive
sector as evidenced by its sale of
around 448,000 new cars
through a network of over 1,000
dealers in 2012. Moreover, it
sees ample scope for growth in
a market in which around 19
million new cars were sold dur-
ing the same year.
Renault Nissan group and
UniCredit create Russian
joint venture
In Russia, the Renault Nissan
group and UniCredit have
signed an agreement to establish
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a dedicated automotive finance
company offering financial ser-
vices to both the customers of
Renault and Nissan, plus Infin-
iti, and their dealers. The Ren-
ault Nissan group will own 60%
of the joint venture's equity with
UniCredit holding the remaining
40%. The partners anticipate
that the joint venture will be
operational by the end of 2013
and ready to take advantage of
opportunities in a market in
which around 2.9 million new
vehicles were sold in 2012 and
in which the Renault Nissan
group held a market share of
around 12%. These two part-
ners have already co-operated in
the same context since 2007 in
Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Hungary and Slovakia.
—————————–———
BUSINESS BANKING
Italian banking groups con-
clude affinity deals with trade
associations
Three of Italy's largest banking
groups have entered into affinity
deals for business banking ser-
vices with major trade associa-
tions and related bodies.
Specifically, Intesa SanPaolo has
reached an agreement with Con-
findustria to support the inter-
national development of Italian
SMEs with a fund worth EUR
10 billion of which EUR 200
million is available for start-up
projects. Indeed, Intesa San-
Paolo and Confindustria have
been co-operating since 2009.
Meanwhile, Veneto Banca has
signed a series of agreements
with trade associations including
the Agenzia Veneta per i Paga-
menti in Agricoltura (AVEPA),
Confindustria Udine, Confin-
dustria Vicenza, Finest, the So-
cietà Italiana per le Imprese
all'Estero (SIMEST), Treviso
Glocal and Unindustria Treviso,
also with the aim of supporting
the international expansion
plans of SMEs in the Veneto
region.
BNL, the main banking arm in
Italy of BNP Paribas, has also
signed several comparable
agreements including those with
Confesercenti, Confidi Regione
Campania, Confindustria Trento
and the Consorzio Nazionale di
Sostegno e Sviluppo delle Ga-
ranzie (Cosvig). In the first and
last cases combined, the funds
being made available amount to
EUR 1 billion.
—————————–———
CO-BRANDED CARDS
Virgin Money buys its own co
-branded credit card portfolio
from MBNA
In the UK, Virgin Money has
announced that it will launch its
own credit card business follow-
ing an agreement to buy GBP 1
billion of assets from the Virgin
Money credit card portfolio of
MBNA, a subsidiary of Bank of
America. Virgin Money began
its credit card partnership with
MBNA in 2002 but has decided
to launch its own credit cards
since its acquisition of Northern
Rock has turned it into a fully-
fledged bank. The acquired
credit card book will be trans-
ferred fully to Virgin Money’s
own operations in early 2014.
Until then, existing customers
will continue to be serviced by
MBNA, along with any new
customers who choose a Virgin
credit card. Virgin Money’s
credit card operation will be
based in Gosforth, near New-
castle-upon-Tyne, and is ex-
pected to create at least 150 new
jobs.
Aetna agrees to work with
MasterCard as its preferred
brand for payment card ser-
vices
In the US, Aetna and Master-
Card have disclosed that
MasterCard has become the pre-
ferred payment brand for
Aetna’s card services. The agree-
ment applies to Aetna’s Health
Care Flexible Spending Ac-
counts (FSAs), Health Savings
Accounts (HSAs), Health Reim-
bursement Arrangements
(HRAs) and prepaid stored
value cards for dental, vision
and disability payment services,
such as the Aetna ValuePass SM
Card. The latter is the first pre-
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paid card that helps consumers
to pay for dental care when they
need it and with no insurance
plan or membership fees re-
quired. Aetna acquired benefits
administrator PayFlex Systems
USA in 2011 and is now lever-
aging the pre-existing relation-
ship between MasterCard and
PayFlex to offer healthcare cus-
tomers access to secure card
services.
IHG selects MasterCard as
exclusive card marquee for co
-branded cards in the US
In the US, MasterCard has un-
veiled a new multi-year agree-
m e n t w i t h I H G
(InterContinental Hotels
Group) whereby MasterCard
becomes the exclusive card mar-
que used for IHG’s hotel loyalty
rewards co-branded credit card
portfolio. The deal also includes
a range of marketing, loyalty and
innovation initiatives and
strengthens the relationship be-
tween the two organisations
which also includes the Priority
Club World MasterCard co-
branded card program in Can-
ada. IHG claims that its Priority
Club Rewards scheme is the
global hotel industry’s largest
and fastest-growing guest loyalty
program.
Chase to acquire all pre-
existing AirTran cardholders
Further to the launch in the US
of the new AirTran A+ Rewards
credit card program by Chase
Card Services (which also man-
ages the equivalent program for
AirTran's parent company,
Southwest Airlines), it has been
announced that all regular Air-
Tran cardholders – whose cards
and accounts have hitherto been
issued and managed by Barclays
– will be transitioned to the new
AirTran A+ program. From the
end of April 2013, all of these
accounts will be owned and op-
erated by Chase, and new credit
cards will be issued to all cus-
tomers. This is viewed as the
next stage in the process
through which two distinct air-
lines with two separate card is-
suers are becoming one airline
operating a consolidated loyalty
card program.
Western Union and Advent
Financial co-operate for 'Get
It' prepaid card
In the US, Western Union has
teamed up with Advent Finan-
cial to offer customers faster
access to their state and federal
income tax refunds through the
use of prepaid cards. Individuals
filing their federal and state tax
returns at offices using Advent
Financial can elect to receive
their refunds on the 'Get It' pre-
paid card, a reloadable prepaid
card developed jointly by Ad-
vent Financial and Western Un-
ion.
HDFC Bank launches co-
branded credit card in asso-
ciation with Indian media
group
In India, Times Internet, the
digital arm of The Times of In-
dia Group has partnered with
HDFC Bank, India’s second
largest private sector bank, to
launch Times Card, an exclu-
sive, co-branded MasterCard
credit card that provides cus-
tomers with a range of discounts
and deals on dining, movies and
shopping. The credit card has
been designed specifically to
cater to the lifestyle and enter-
tainment needs of young profes-
sionals aged between 24 and 38.
The Times Card will be
launched in eight Indian cities
and will be available in platinum
and titanium versions.
—————————–———
INTER-BANK DISTRIBU-
TION
Barclaycard to begin issuing
American Express cards in
the UK
American Express and Barclay-
card have announced that they
have agreed to expand the scope
of their current global relation-
ships with Barclaycard becom-
ing a card-issuing partner of
American Express in the UK.
This builds upon their existing
relationships and will enable
Barclaycard to issue cards ac-
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cepted on the American Express
global network in the UK for
the first time. Barclaycard and
American Express already have
a number of business relation-
ships around the world, includ-
ing in the US for card issuing,
and the UK for acceptance of
payments. The new UK card-
issuing agreement will increase
the choice available to Barclay-
card customers and will lead to a
wider range of products being
offered to UK consumers. Bar-
claycard and American Express
will commence product devel-
opment during 2013, with prod-
uct details being announced at a
later point.
UnionPay expands co-
operation with banks and
China National Travel Ser-
vices
Chinese payment card brand
UnionPay has entered into a
range of new agreements with
partners including ANZ, Citi-
bank, China National Travel
Services (CNTS), Kasikorn
Bank, Korea Exchange Bank
(KEB) and Krung Thai Bank.
ANZ, Kasikorn and KEB have
all agreed to begin accepting
UnionPay cards for online pay-
ments. Additionally, ANZ, Citi-
bank and Krung Thai have an-
nounced plans to issue Union-
Pay cards, with ANZ and Krung
Thai introducing UnionPay
debit cards, and Citibank and
UnionPay offering a new busi-
ness card, developed jointly.
Meanwhile, the agreement with
tourism group CNTS will see
UnionPay acceptance increase in
all areas of travel and tourism
throughout China, and will also
involve other cross-promotional
activity between the two compa-
nies.
—————————–———
INTERNATIONAL / DO-
MESTIC REMITTANCES
Western Union co-operates
with three major retailing
brands and a Canadian bank
Western Union has released de-
tails of several new arrange-
ments for the provision of inter-
national remittance services
through major retailing brands.
Specifically, Western Union
global money transfer and bill
payment services are being
made available at 330 Walmart
locations in Canada, as well as at
120 Carrefour outlets in Argen-
tina. In addition, Safeway super-
markets in both Canada and the
US will continue to offer West-
ern Union transfer capabilities at
over 1,600 locations, as the par-
ties have extended their agree-
ment for a further five years,
while adding money orders and
bill payment to the services on
offer.
Western Union has also dis-
closed that customers of BMO
Bank of Montreal will have ac-
cess to its network to send inter-
national payments from their
laptop or desktop computers via
a platform designed by elec-
tronic payment services group
Acxsys.
Finally, in Austria, Western Un-
ion is making international re-
mittance services available in
selected branches of Erste Bank
und Sparkasse. Moreover, in
future, Western Union transfers
will be available not only at
branches, but also via online
banking and other self-service
facilities. The partnership is be-
ginning as a pilot project at
seven branches of Erste Bank
und Sparkasse but by the end of
2013 is expected to take effect
across the majority of the bank's
outlets.
ICICI Bank and Tata Tele-
services launch remittance
In India, ICICI Bank and MMP
Mobi Wallet Payment Systems, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata
Teleservices and one of the
country's leading mobile net-
work operators, have launched a
jointly-developed money trans-
fer service. With the introduc-
tion of this service, customers
can organise remittances in
MMP retail stores. Funds will
then be transferred to the bank
account of the payee using the
available electronic fund transfer
mechanisms. The money trans-
fer service is being launched in
Delhi and Mumbai to begin
with and will then be rolled out
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across other parts of the coun-
try.
—————————–———
MOBILE PAYMENTS
MasterCard introduces NFC
payment services to Brazil
with local partners
MasterCard has announced the
launch of NFC payment ser-
vices in Brazil, using its 'Mobile
PayPass' technology. The pro-
ject, launched in partnership
with Gemalto, Itaú, Redecard
and TIM, is intended to provide
consumers with greater conven-
ience and speed when shopping,
through a more secure, intelli-
gent and simple payment op-
tion. In particular, using 'Mobile
PayPass', a consumer can simply
tap a PayPass-enabled smart
phone onto the merchant’s
NFC-enabled point-of-sale ter-
minal from Redecard, and the
payment is made instantane-
ously. Purchases are charged to
a virtual account stored in the
account holder’s smartphone
and billed via the account
holder’s statement issued by
Itaú, in a manner very similar to
the way in which traditional pay-
ment card transactions are billed
already. The solution is thought
to be ideal for environments
where speed is essential, such as
drugstores, fast food restau-
rants, fuel outlets, movie thea-
tres, public transportation and
vending machines, among oth-
ers.
MasterCard works with Eq-
uity Bank and Ezetap for
MPOS technology in Kenya
In Kenya, MasterCard has an-
nounced that it is working with
Equity Bank and Ezetap, a com-
pany whose products are used
already in India, for the intro-
duction of mobile point-of-sale
(MPOS) technology which is
designed to help merchants and
other businesses to boost sales
through enhanced acceptance.
In particular, the technology will
allow Kenyan retailers who pre-
viously operated on a cash-only-
basis, to use mobile phones as
point-of-sale terminals and to
accept electronic payments. An
initial pilot project will be tar-
geted at selected retail outlets
and this will give Equity Bank
the necessary data to implement
a more in-depth countrywide
roll-out at a later point in time.
Ezetap's MPOS solution in-
cludes three components: a mo-
bile phone, the MPOS card
reader payment application and
the Ezetap MPOS card reader
that plugs into the mobile hand-
set. The card reader allows the
retailer to swipe debit, credit or
prepaid cards, and the payment
solution is considered inexpen-
sive to deploy, offering the
safety and convenience of cash-
less transactions.
Separately, MasterCard and Eq-
uity Bank have also finalised an
agreement to issue around 5
million debit and prepaid cards
during 2013 and the first half of
2014. As a result of the partner-
ship, MasterCard debit and pre-
paid cards with chip-enabled
technology will be issued first
into the Kenyan market and
then extended into Rwanda,
South Sudan, Tanzania and
Uganda, signalling the largest
roll-out of EMV payment cards
in sub-Saharan Africa to date.
MasterCard enters into inter-
national strategic partnership
with Vimpelcom...
MasterCard and VimpelCom
have announced a strategic part-
nership combining the card
brand's mobile payments tech-
nology and solutions with the
telecoms group's globally-
integrated services. It is in-
tended that the partnership will
provide payment solutions to a
new generation of individuals,
both banked and under-served,
among VimpelCom’s 212 mil-
lion customers in 18 countries.
A prepaid program in Italy for
Wind Italy’s customers will be
the first program to launch in
2013. Thereafter, the two part-
ners hope that further country
and market deployments will
leverage their full range of capa-
bilities.
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... and links with Orange for
mobile payment services in
Spain
In Spain, MasterCard and Or-
ange have announced the sign-
ing of a strategic agreement to
enhance and accelerate the de-
livery of innovative mobile pay-
ment services. The main goal of
this agreement is to develop,
deliver and deploy the latest in
mobile payments technologies,
ensuring that Orange private
and business customers in Spain
benefit from advanced payment
solutions.
Samsung and Visa enter into
global alliance for mobile
payments
Samsung and Visa have an-
nounced a global alliance that
combines the latter's expertise in
payments with the former's
strength in mobile device tech-
nology. The two partners be-
lieve that this alliance has the
potential to significantly acceler-
ate the availability of mobile
payments globally. Specifically,
financial institutions that are
planning to launch mobile pay-
ment programs will be able to
use Visa's mobile provisioning
service to securely download
payment account information to
NFC-enabled Samsung devices.
In addition, Samsung has agreed
to load the Visa payWave applet
onto its mobile devices featuring
NFC technology. Visa payWave
is Visa’s mobile payment applet
that enables consumers to make
'wave-and-pay' contactless pay-
ments using mobile devices.
Separately, Visa has launched its
Ready Partner Program which is
designed to accelerate the intro-
duction of innovative payment
solutions globally and to further
drive the global migration from
cash to electronic payments. In
particular, this program aims to
pave the way for mobile device
manufacturers, mobile network
operators, technology partners
and others to navigate more eas-
ily the complexities of the pay-
ments eco-system and to gain
access to Visa' intellectual prop-
erty, licenses and best practices.
For financial institutions and
merchants, the program will
make it simpler for them to
adopt new payment methods
that are approved by Visa and
that can help them to drive busi-
ness growth by expanding the
use and acceptance of electronic
payments globally.
Customers in India and
Rwanda benefit from Visa's
new global mobile money
platform
Visa has announced the launch
of a new 'plug-and-play' mobile
money platform designed to
make it easier and more cost-
efficient for financial institutions
and mobile operators to offer
mobile financial services to con-
sumers. The new platform,
which is being hosted in data
centres managed by Visa, is built
on mobile money technology
developed by Fundamo and ac-
quired by Visa in 2011, which
has been successfully deployed
in more than 30 countries.
Visa claims that the global plat-
form is the world's first bank-
grade managed service for mo-
bile money meaning that it en-
ables it to host and fully manage
all aspects of a mobile money
program on behalf of the pro-
vider, from user interface design
to consumer enrolment, transac-
tion processing, authorisation,
clearing and settlement. The
new service can enable domestic
-only or globally interoperable
mobile money services.
Unbanked consumers in India
and Rwanda are the first to
benefit from the service. Aircel
mobile subscribers in India and
customers of Bank of Kigali and
Urwego Opportunity Bank in
Rwanda now have access to a
financial account that is linked
to their mobile phone number.
For transactions at agent loca-
tions, paying bills, sending
money to relatives, topping up
air time and buying train tickets,
customers of these institutions
can now take advantage of bank
-grade financial services and
Visa-quality payments.
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Monitise sets up new initia-
tives in the mobile payments
market
Mobile payments company
Monitise has announced a series
of new partnerships with banks,
payment networks and mobile
phone manufacturers, including
BlackBerry, BMO Bank, CGI,
PermataBank and Visa Europe.
With regards to the latter initia-
tive, Monitise and Visa Europe
have unveiled a three-year agree-
ment for the development and
deployment of mobile money
payment and commerce solu-
tions. The agreement covers li-
cence rights to all aspects of
Monitise’s mobile technology
and incorporates minimum
revenues to Monitise of EUR 45
million over the first three years;
Visa Europe owns 7.5% of the
equity of Monitise.
Elsewhere, Monitise has teamed
up with Indonesian bank Per-
mataBank and mobile manufac-
turer BlackBerry to launch a
new mobile wallet, BBM Money.
Using the new service, custom-
ers are able to make instant pay-
ments to other BlackBerry
smartphone users as well as
making airtime purchases and
transferring funds to bank ac-
counts. BBM money was devel-
oped by PT AGIT Monitise In-
donesia, a joint venture between
Monitise Asia Pacific and Astra
Graphia Information Technol-
ogy.
In addition, Monitise and busi-
ness process firm CGI have dis-
closed an undertaking to de-
velop the mobile payment and
banking services of Monitise,
specifically as they relate to
European retail banks. Finally,
Monitise has also announced the
renewal and extension of its mo-
bile money partnership with
BMO Bank of Montreal.
Telefónica and Vodafone
form partnerships with Wire-
card for German mobile pay-
ment services
In Germany, mobile telecoms
groups Telefónica and Voda-
fone have both formed agree-
ments with e-commerce tech-
nology specialist Wirecard for
the provision of mobile pay-
ment services. Wirecard will be
responsible for the management
of mobile payment services for
Vodafone in Germany as well as
for issuing virtual and physical
co-branded Visa cards for the
mobile group. The products are
expected to be launched later in
2013. Additionally, Telefónica
has begun offering NFC-based
contactless payments through
mobile handsets in Germany,
also managed by Wirecard.
ICICI Bank and Aircel
launch ‘Mobile Money’ ser-
vice in India
In India, ICICI Bank, the coun-
try's largest private sector bank,
and Aircel, a leading mobile op-
erator, have announced the
launch of a mobile banking ser-
vice known as 'Mobile Money'.
Designed especially for the un-
banked population, this will en-
able customers to transfer
money in a safe, secure and in-
stantaneous manner through
their mobile phones. For a ma-
jority of the unbanked popula-
tion in India it is difficult to
transfer money due to the lack
of branches or ATMs close to
them. However, the new service
aims to advance financial inclu-
sion by offering a range of fi-
nancial services such as deposits
and cash withdrawals, money
transfer to third parties, self-
reload of prepaid mobile credit,
and the ability to make utility bill
payments.
Boku and U.S. Cellular an-
nounce mobile payments
partnership
In the US, Boku has disclosed
that it has become a partner of
U.S. Cellular, providing mobile
payments services which allow
customers of the mobile opera-
tor to add purchases directly to
their mobile bills. The service is
available to customers of U.S.
Cellular across 26 states.
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Visa facilitates migration to
contactless and mobile pay-
ments of German retailing
group
Douglas Group, a retailing or-
ganisation in Germany with in-
terests across a range of catego-
ries including books, confec-
tionary, fashion, health and
beauty, and jewellery, has an-
nounced that it has begun ac-
cepting contactless and mobile
payments across all of its stores.
After a pilot in December 2012,
the changeover of terminals be-
gan in 2013 and was completed
by the end of first quarter. This
means that customers are now
able to pay more rapidly using
Visa cards and smartphones
across all of its stores. More-
over, for amounts up to EUR
25, no PIN or signature is re-
quired.
—————————–———
RETAILER CARDS
Citi Retail Services acquires
Best Buy retailer card busi-
ness from Capital One
In the US, Citigroup has an-
nounced that its Citi Retail Ser-
vices unit will enter into a strate-
gic agreement with Best Buy to
issue and manage co-branded
cards in the US. In addition, Citi
has also reached an agreement
with Capital One to acquire card
-related lending balances of ap-
proximately USD 7 billion at-
tributable to Best Buy's private
label and co-branded card pro-
grams. Both deals are antici-
pated to close in the third quar-
ter of 2013.
Citi Retail Services provides
consumer and commercial credit
card products, services and retail
solutions to both national and
regional retailers across North
America. The business services
nearly 90 million accounts for a
number of brands, including
ExxonMobil, Macy's, Sears,
Shell and The Home Depot.
Meanwhile, Best Buy is a leader
in consumer electronics and Citi
Retail Services regards it as an-
other important retail sector
partner to add to its portfolio.
GE Capital Retail Finance
secures new retailer card con-
tracts
Also in the US, GE Capital Re-
tail Finance has concluded a trio
of agreements in the retailer
card sector. These include: a
relationship with American Sig-
nature, a home furnishings re-
tailer with 126 locations across
the country trading either as
American Signature Furniture or
Value City Furniture); a link
with the Thomas Kinkade Com-
pany, a firm promoting works
by the artist of the same name
through more than 350 galleries
and approved dealers; and the
renewal of a contract with
jcpenney, first signed in 1999,
which benefits consumers shop-
ping at over 1,100 stores across
the US and Puerto Rico, as well
as through the retail brand's
website.
Separately, GE Capital Retail
Finance has released research
that underscores the potential
benefits of private label and co-
branded credit cards to retail
chains. According to the re-
search, customers that use re-
tailer cards make more frequent
store visits, increasing from 1.4
per month to 1.7 per month.
They also make purchases with
a typical value of between 40%
and 80% higher than customers
paying via other methods and
are 72% more likely to make
repeat purchases over time.
Moreover, further benefits to
retailers are that they make a
saving of between 2% and 4%
on interchange fees and capture
better information about their
customers.
TD Bank announces pur-
chase of HSBC's Canadian
private label card business
In Canada, HSBC has agreed to
sell its consumer private label
credit card portfolio to TD
Bank Group in a deal worth ap-
proximately CAD 495 million.
This constitutes part of HSBC's
ongoing global strategy to divest
itself of various ancillary busi-
nesses (mainly in the form of
insurance subsidiaries and credit
card portfolios) in order to fo-
cus on what it considers to be
Affinity Banking

19
www.finaccord.com
its core retail and commercial
banking activities. The sale is
expected to be completed in the
third quarter of 2013. TD is the
sixth-largest bank in North
America by number of
branches, and serves approxi-
mately 22 million customers.
—————————–———
GENERAL
American Express loyalty di-
vision concludes agreement
with First Bankcard
LoyaltyEdge, a division
launched in 2010 that forms
part of the enterprise growth
group within American Express,
has announced that it has joined
forces with First Bankcard, a
division of First National Bank
of Omaha, to manage First
Bankcard’s rewards programs
and to provide enhanced op-
tions to the bank's rewards cus-
tomers. Through this agree-
ment, First Bankcard has imple-
mented an improved user inter-
face for its rewards websites,
and will receive enhanced pro-
gram management capabilities.
The new rewards features are
now available to First Bankcard
customers participating in the
Maximum Rewards, Rewards
Advantage and First AirMiles
programs, among others.
Bankia enters into affinity
banking agreements with
professional associations
In Spain, Bankia has announced
the creation of affinity banking
agreements with four regional
professional associations,
namely the Colegio de
Abogados de Alicante, the Cole-
gio de Farmacéuticos de Sego-
via, the Colegio de Ingenieros
Superiores Industriales de la
Comunidad Valenciana and the
Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros
Técnicos Industriales de Ali-
cante. Under the agreements,
the organisations' members will
be entitled to special offers asso-
ciated with Bankia's products
and services, including reduced
fees on credit cards and current
accounts, discounted mortgage
rates, preferential deposit rates,
and special investment and pen-
sion plans.
—————————–———
Affinity Banking

20
www.finaccord.com
ACLEDA Bank, 9
Acxsys, 14
Advent Financial, 13
AEGON, 10
Aetna, 12, 13
Agenzia Veneta per i Pagamenti in Agricoltura, 12
AIG, 9, 10
Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, 6
Air Austral, 7
Air France, 7
Aircel, 16, 17
Airtel Money, 11
AirTran, 13
Allianz, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10
Allianz Global Assistance, 4, 7
Ally Insurance, 6
American Express, 13, 14, 19
American Signature Furniture, 18
AmTrust Financial Services, 6
Anhui Jianghuai Automobile, 11
ANZ, 14
Aon, 6
APRIL International Voyage, 7
Aseval, 8, 9
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 10
Aston Martin, 4
Astra Graphia Information Technology, 17
Aviva, 5, 8, 9
Aviva Vida y Pensiones, 9
AXA, 7
Bank of America, 12
Bank of Kigali, 16
Bankia, 8, 19
Barclaycard, 13, 14
Barclays, 8, 13
Bausparkasse Wüstenrot, 11
BAWAG P.S.K., 11
BBVA, 10
BBVA Compass, 10
Best Buy, 18
Bethpage Water District, 4
BGL Group, 5
BlackBerry, 17
BMN, 9
BMO Bank of Montreal, 14, 17
BNL, 12
BNP Paribas, 12
Boku, 17
Brightstar, 7
Britannia Rescue, 4
Bupa International, 5
Caja España Duero, 9
Capital One, 18
Carrefour, 14
CGI, 17
Chase, 11, 13
Chase Bank, 11
China National Travel Services, 14
CIMB Aviva Assurance, 8
CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad, 8
CIMB Bank, 8
CIMB-Aviva, 8
Citibank, 14
Citigroup, 18
Civil Service Insurance Society, 5
Colegio de Abogados de Alicante, 19
Colegio de Farmacéuticos de Segovia, 19
Colegio de Ingenieros Superiores Industriales de la
Comunidad Valenciana, 19
Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Técnicos Industriales
de Alicante, 19
Confesercenti, 12
Confidi Regione Campania, 12
Confindustria, 12
Confindustria Vicenza, 12
Consorzio Nazionale di Sostegno e Sviluppo delle
Garanzie, 12
Crédit Agricole, 9
Credit Life International, 8
Dai-ichi Life, 9
DAK-Gesundheit, 5
Deutsche Eintrittskarten, 6
Domestic & General, 6
Douglas Group, 18
Ecobank, 9
Equity Bank, 15
Erste Bank und Sparkasse, 14
ERV, 6
Europ Assistance, 4
ExxonMobil, 18
Ezetap, 15
FBC Bank, 10
Finest, 12
First Bankcard, 19
Fundamo, 16
GE Capital Retail Finance, 18
Gemalto, 15
Hanley Economic, 10
HanseMerkur, 5, 7
HDFC Bank, 13
HomeServe, 4
HSBC, 9, 10, 18
Huadian Corporation, 9
ICICI Bank, 14, 17
IGI Group, 6
IHG, 13
Intesa SanPaolo, 12
Itaú, 15
JCB, 11
Jubilee Insurance, 5
Junction, 5
Kasikorn Bank, 14
Khazanah Nasional, 8
Korea Exchange Bank, 14
Krung Thai Bank, 14
Legal & General, 10
Liberty Seguros, 6
LoyaltyEdge, 19
L'TUR, 7
LV=, 4
Macy's, 18
MAPFRE Asistencia, 4
MAPFRE Warranty, 6
MasterCard, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
Mazda, 4
MBNA, 12
MetLife Amplico, 4
MGA, 7
Middlesea Assist, 4
Monitise, 17
M-Pesa, 11
MS&AD, 6
National Basketball League, 10
Nationwide, 4
NCG Banco, 9
Northern Rock, 12
NUEZ, 4
Old Mutual, 9
Orange, 16
Pacifica, 9
Paraíso Universal, 7
PayFlex Systems 13
Pelayo Vida, 9
PermataBank, 17
Prudential, 9
PVB Card Corporation, 11
RAC, 5
Real Federación Española de Automovilismo, 6
Real Federación Motociclista Española, 6
Redecard, 15
Renault Nissan, 11, 12
RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, 8
Russian Olympic Committee, 11
Safeway, 14
Samsung, 16
Santander, 10, 11
Sberbank, 11
Sears, 18
Shell, 18
Società Italiana per le Imprese all'Estero, 12
Sun Life Assurance Company, 8
Sun Life Financial, 8
Talanx, 8
Tata Teleservices, 14
TD Bank, 18
Telefónica, 17
Tesco Bank, 5
The Home Depot, 18
Thomas Kinkade Company, 18
TIM, 15
Times Internet, 13
Treviso Glocal, 12
Trikomsel, 7
U.S. Cellular, 17
Unicaja, 9
UniCredit, 11, 12
Unindustria Treviso, 12
Union Haddiema Maghqudin, 4
UnionPay, 14
University Students Community Organisation, 11
Unnim, 10
Urwego Opportunity Bank, 16
Value City Furniture, 18
Veneto Banca, 12
Vimpelcom, 15
Virgin Money, 12
Visa, 11, 16, 17, 18
Vodafone, 17
Walmart, 14
Western Union, 13, 14
Whirlpool, 6
Wind Italy, 15
Wirecard, 17
Zurich, 5
Organisations in this issue

21
www.finaccord.com
About GAFC
The Global Affinity Finance Club is
Finaccord’s quarterly newsletter about
affinity financial services worldwide.
Through this, Finaccord publishes top
line information about key strategic
developments in affinity and partner-
ship marketing of financial services
around the world, segmented between
affinity insurance news, bancassurance
news and affinity banking news.
This service differs from that provided
by other research companies because
its focus is genuinely global, often
translating news that only appears in
languages other than English. In addi-
tion, it concentrates exclusively on
affinity and partnership marketing
strategy.
Affinity and partnership marketing
strategy is an important component of
general distribution strategy for a ma-
jority of large banks and insurance
companies serving consumers and
small businesses as successful partner-
ships potentially allow them to access
groups of customers that they cannot
always reach by themselves.
If you would like to join Finaccord’s
Global Affinity Finance Club, contact
us by telephone or send us an email to
info@finaccord.com. Thereafter, each
quarter, we will send you a link to the
page of our website with fresh news
and future editions of this document.
About Finaccord
Finaccord is a leading market research,
publishing and consulting company
specializing in financial services. We
provide our clients with insight with a
particular focus on marketing and
distribution strategies, including affin-
ity and partnership marketing.
Our areas of expertise include: affinity
and partnership marketing; automotive
financial services; bancassurance; com-
mercial non-life insurance brokers;
consumer intelligence; creditor insur-
ance; distribution channels; extended
warranties; insurance and assistance
linked to payment cards and bank
accounts; mobile gadget and telephone
insurance; retailer financial services;
small business financial services; and
travel insurance and assistance.
Our international network of consult-
ants is able to deliver information
quickly and accurately across a range
of countries worldwide, basing re-
search projects on robust data and
knowledge rather than supposition
and theory.
© Finaccord Ltd., 2013
Registered in London No. 4542931
The Office Farringdon
24 Greville Street
London,
EC1N 8SS
Phone: +44 20 3178 2556
Fax: +44 20 7198 7902
Email: info@finaccord.com
www.finaccord.com
Does your organisation have
news about its affinity or part-
nership marketing relationships
that we missed in this newslet-
ter? To produce it, we system-
atically research close to 300
major financial services institu-
tions from around the world
each quarter. However, if you
would also like us to include
your company in this research,
please send an e-mail to analy-
sis@finaccord.com and we will
ensure that it is tracked in fu-
ture quarters.
To access the archive of news
from the Global Affinity Fi-
nance Club please visit
www.finaccord.com/afi
Finaccord’s latest published reports include:
 Affinity and Partnership Marketing in UK Commercial Non-Life Insurance GBP 1,495
 Aggregation Metrics: Consumer Approaches to Online Insurance Comparison Sites in Europe GBP 2,995
 Bancassurance in India: Life, Non-Life and Creditor Insurance GBP 995
 Bancassurance in Thailand: Life, Non-Life and Creditor Insurance GBP 995
 Bancassurance in Vietnam: Life, Non-Life and Creditor Insurance GBP 995
 Card Protection Metrics: Consumer Approaches to Card Protection Insurance in Europe GBP 2,495
 Creditor Insurance in Latin America GBP 1,795
 Life Bancassurance in Latin America: Protection-Related Life Insurance GBP 1,795
 Trade Credit Insurance in Europe GBP 2,995
 Travel Insurance and Assistance in the Middle East GBP 1,795

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