Global Affinity Finance Club Autumn 2013

AFFINITY INSURANCE

BANCASSURANCE

AUTUMN

2013

Global Affinity

AFFINITY BANKING

Finance Club

Finaccord’s newsletter about affinity financial services worldwide

Welcome back to your Club!
2014 begins with the global economy in seemingly better shape than
at any time since the boom years of the mid-2000s, albeit some
European economies remain troubled. Moreover, as reflected in this
latest edition of the Global Affinity Finance Club, the opportunities for
financial services companies to create strategic partnerships are becoming ever more international in nature.
Notable initiatives tracked in the final quarter of 2013 included two
in Vietnamese bancassurance (BNP Paribas Cardif with Saigon Bank
and MetLife with BIDV), one in Chinese automotive finance (BNP
Paribas Personal Finance with Geely), one in Spanish consumer finance (Santander with El Corte Inglés) and one in UK retail banking
(Barclays with Asda).
In addition, a number of relationships have been created or expanded with the aim of developing new business across multiple
countries. Such deals include those of Affinion with Transamerica
Life, Allianz Global Assistance with Ten Lifestyle management, Allianz with Ford, American Express with Equity Bank, AXA with
Daimler, and MasterCard with NTT DOCOMO.
Thus, whether these deals are directly or indirectly relevant to your
own particular sphere of interest, there is plenty here to stimulate
more general strategic thinking about how different payment, banking, insurance and assistance products can be brought to market.
With best regards,
Alan Leach
Director
aleach@finaccord.com

For our published reports,
news and more please visit
www.finaccord.com

Global Affinity Finance Club
Table of contents
Affinity Insurance News
ASSISTANCE 4
Allianz Global Assistance unveils partnership with Ten Lifestyle Management 4
Allianz and Ford form technical partnership on a pan-European basis 4
Europ Assistance launches mobile road
assistance app for AssurOne Group customers 4
HomeServe to offer warranty plans in
conjunction with Charleston Water System
4
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE 4
AXA secures relationship with Spanish
association helping young entrepreneurs 4
Liberty Seguros secures golf-related commercial affinity deal in Spain 5
CREDITOR INSURANCE 5
Nationale Suisse develops mortgage and
rent insurance for customers of
homegate.ch 5
HEALTH INSURANCE 5
DKV and Zurich extend their distribution
agreement for health insurance up to end
2018 5
LIFE INSURANCE 6
Affinion selects Transamerica Life as primary insurance partner in Latin America 6

Liberty Seguros starts co-operating for
motorcycle cover with Argentine consumer finance firms 6

GENERAL 9

NICHE INSURANCE 6

The Hartford secures three-year extension
of AARP motor and household insurance
program 9

DAS renews legal protection partnership
with Towergate Insurance 6

Swedish insurer prolongs agreement with
affinity insurance intermediary 9

PRODUCT INSURANCE / WARRANTIES 6

Bancassurance News 9

Japanese telecoms group acquires majority
stake in Brightstar 6
The Warranty Group extends established
business relationship with NEW in the
US... 7
... and agrees new partnership with Peruvian consumer electronics chain 7
CarGarantie strengthens extended warranty links with three automotive brands
in Central Europe... 7
... plus Harley-Davidson in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia 7
Europ Assistance partners for used car
warranties with Opel in Portugal 8

LIFE INSURANCE 9
MetLife enters into bancassurance joint
venture with Vietnamese bank 9
BNP Paribas Cardif joint venture in Vietnam wins new bancassurance relationship
10
JC Flowers takes control of Italian bancassurance company 10
BNP Paribas Cardif extends partnership
with Hachijuni Bank to cancer insurance
in Japan... 10
... while Manulife ties with Nikko Securities for unit-linked annuity insurance in
the same country 11

Solid Försäkringar links with Swedish
jewellery chain 8

PKO Bank Polski acquires Nordea's Polish operations including a captive life insurer 11

TRAVEL INSURANCE 8

MOTOR INSURANCE 11

Mondial Assistance renews 20 year-old
travel insurance deal with Thomas Cook...
8

Bank of Ireland bolsters motor insurance
proposition in partnership with RSA 11

MOTOR INSURANCE 6

...and forges a new partnership with
Groupe Pierre & Vacances – Center Parcs
8

Daimler reveals success of manufacturerbranded motor insurance underwritten by
AXA 6

HanseMerkur enters into travel insurance
partnership with German cruise specialist
8

AEGON-CNOOC initiates online distribution with Chinese shopping mall 6

GENERAL 11

CIBC upgrades travel insurance associated
with Aventura loyalty program 8

www.finaccord.com

Achmea extends bancassurance relationship with Rabobank to Australia 11
Moderna Försäkringar establishes new
non-life bancassurance deal with Danske
Bank 12

2

Affinity Banking News 12
AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE 12

BNL provides finance to organisation
working on behalf of Italian pharmacies
14

Bradesco and Claro target unbanked
consumers in Brazil with mobile wallet
16

Geely Automobile and BNP Paribas
Personal Finance collaborate in Chinese
automotive finance 12

Bradesco ties with Brazilian trade association representing franchise-based
businesses 14

TD Bank and PC Financial partner to
create Canada's first open mobile wallet
17

GM buys back former captive business
from Ally Financial in Brazil... 12

INTERNATIONAL
REMITTANCES 14

PAYMENT CARD
AND ISSUANCE 17

...while Ally Financial extends US operations by working with BraunAbility 12

Western Union renews money transfer
contract with La Banque Postale 14

Capital One wins consumer finance
mandate with power sports product
manufacturer 12

MoneyGram gains international remittance mandate with Denizbank 14

BANK-TO-BANK
12

PARTNERSHIPS

Scotiabank and Bank of Beijing collaborate to make China-to-Canada migration
easier 12

/

DOMESTIC

MOBILE / ONLINE PAYMENTS 15
MasterCard and NTT DOCOMO combine brands for mobile credit payment
system 15

CO-BRANDED CARDS 13

CommBank rolls out mobile payments
solution with MasterCard and Samsung
15

Western Union distributes prepaid card
in Italy through 15,000 lottery operator
outlets 13

NBE, EBC, Fawry and MasterCard link
for new mobile payment solution in
Egypt 15

Wirecard Card Solutions links with
cadooz for co-branded prepaid cards 13

Orange Cash launched by Orange with
Visa Europe and Wirecard Card Solutions 15

Capital One refreshes co-branded and
loyalty propositions with GM 13
CONSUMER FINANCE 13
Santander acquires equity stake in Iberian
retail group's financial services unit 13
CaixaBank ties with Telefónica for Spanish consumer finance joint venture 14
Bank of Nanjing and BNP Paribas Personal Finance tighten consumer credit
relationship 14
Fiditalia creates partnership with provider of 'green' energy solutions 14
COMMERCIAL BANKING 14

Boku unveils new partnerships with
Deezer and PaymentPin 15
CaixaBank launches new mobile payment program with Visa and trio of telecoms groups 16
Monitise takes full ownership of AsiaPacific joint venture and announces
other agreements 16
Wells Fargo joins Isis mobile payment
network 16
Vodafone works with Intesa Sanpaolo
and Setefi for contactless POS solutions
in Italy 16

www.finaccord.com

ACCEPTANCE

American Express links with Equity
Bank for card issuance in trio of African
countries... 17
... and with U.S. Bank in the US market
17
UnionPay reveals raft of agreements for
card issuance and acceptance in multiple
countries 17
JCB enters into card-issuing deals in Italy
and Vietnam 18
RETAILER BANKING 18
Barclays ties with Asda to trial in-store
branches 18
RETAILER CARDS 18
Nakumatt Holdings introduces prepaid
MasterCard product in conjunction with
two banks 18
Citi Retail Services extends consumer
finance relationship with both RadioShack... 18
... and Staples 19
GE Capital Retail Bank creates privatelabel credit card for mattress retailer... 19
... and extends relationship in the same
field with JCPenney 19
Wirecard Bank to manage new gift card
scheme for Lidl in Germany 19

3

Affinity Insurance
ASSISTANCE

that the exact nature of the partnership will evolve over time in
response to customers’ needs.

Allianz Global Assistance unveils partnership with Ten Lifestyle Management

Europ Assistance launches mobile road assistance app for AssurOne Group customers

With a focus on the Asia-Pacific
region, Allianz Global Assistance
(AGA) and Ten Group, a specialist
provider of concierge services,
have announced the signing of a
new partnership which aims to create a premium global assistance and
lifestyle concierge service. This deal
aims to strengthen AGA’s competitive position and to create an
additional channel that will help it
to win distribution mandates with
financial institutions in the AsiaPacific market. Furthermore, both
companies hope to gain from increased cross-selling opportunities
to both existing and new clients.

In France, Europ Assistance has
launched a mobile assistance app
for AssurOne and Netvox customers, both of which are part of AssurOne Group, a broker specialising
in the distribution and management
of online insurance solutions. The
app is available for free from both
Google Play and the iTunes App
Store, and it makes it possible for
users to request assistance and to
be put in direct contact with an
operator so as to rapidly trigger
roadside assistance at their precise
location, thanks to GPS, telematics
and other mobile technology. The
new app also has a number of
other features, including a schedule
for staying up-to-date on vehicle
servicing, the emergency numbers
for over 180 countries, basic firstaid methods and places of interest
in the vicinity of the vehicle (plus
their websites, phone numbers,
opening times, photos and user
reviews).

Affinity Insurance News

Allianz and Ford form technical
partnership on a pan-European
basis
Allianz and Ford have struck up a
new partnership in what is referred
to by the two companies as
'integrated mobility' which aims at
enhancing the mobility and safety
of Ford car buyers. The agreement
includes the involvement of engineers from both Ford and the Allianz Zentrum für Technik (AZT)
in areas such as driving assistance
systems and electro-mobility. The
partners have stated that they intend to improve both the safety of
Ford passenger cars as well to optimise insurance solutions for customers. They also expect that the
relationship will create added value
for Ford dealers across Europe and

HomeServe to offer warranty
plans in conjunction with
Charleston Water System
In the US, home emergency assistance provider HomeServe has
signed a distribution partnership
with Charleston Water System
(CWS), under which optional warranty plans for homeowners’ exterior water and sewerage pipes will
be offered to the latter firm's customers, thereby offering them pro-

www.finaccord.com

tection against water and sewer line
blocks, breaks and leaks. CWS is a
public water and sewerage utility
that provides clean water services
to more than 110,000 homes and
businesses, and waste water services to more than 50,000 homes
and businesses. HomeServe, which
serves around 1.4 million homeowners in North America alone,
already has approximately 1,000
personal customers in the Charleston area, although this new partnership is likely to significantly increase that number in the coming
years.
—————————————-COMMERCIAL INSURANCE
AXA secures relationship with
Spanish association helping
young entrepreneurs
In Spain, AXA and the Confederación Española de Asociaciones
de Jóvenes (CEAJE), a confederation of associations helping young
entrepreneurs, have entered into an
agreement to collaborate for an
initial period of one year. The deal
entails a number of actions including the launch of 'Start up' as a new
insurance product aimed at start-up
businesses in technology-related
areas and other innovative sectors.
This covers risks relevant to these
companies such as liability for data
protection and virus attacks, plus
professional indemnity. CEAJE
represents more than 21,000 enterprises run by entrepreneurs aged
under 40 and is itself composed of
both provincial associations and
regional federations.

4

Affinity Insurance
Liberty Seguros secures golfrelated commercial affinity deal
in Spain
Also in Spain, Liberty Seguros has
begun co-operating with the Asociación de Directores y Gerentes
de Clubes y Campos de Golf
(AEGG), a trade association for
golf course managers, for the provision of insurance policies designed for this customer group and
made available on advantageous
terms. In addition, the insurer will
also act as co-sponsor of the annual golf championship organised
by the AEGG.
—————————————-CREDITOR INSURANCE
Nationale Suisse develops mortgage and rent insurance for customers of homegate.ch

Nationale Suisse and homegate.ch,
Switzerland’s largest online real
estate agent, have reached an agreement for the distribution of mortgage and rent insurance to the customers of homegate.ch. The insurance is aimed at tenants and mortgage borrowers who undergo a
period of unemployment or work
incapacity and are unable to pay
their rent or continue their mortgage payments. The mortgages offered by homegate.ch are currently
provided by Zürcher Kantonalbank.
Under the terms of the insurance
policy, Nationale Suisse will start
making payments after a waiting
period of 90 days and will also pay
out a fixed sum in the case of the
death of the policyholder. Nationale Suisse stated that while Swiss
employees are normally paid between 70% and 80% of their previous income in the case of work

www.finaccord.com

incapacity or unemployment
through statutory funds, many may
struggle to maintain their lifestyle
as housing costs typically constitute
a third of regular income.
—————————————-HEALTH INSURANCE
DKV and Zurich extend their
distribution agreement for
health insurance up to end 2018
In Germany, DKV (the specialist
health insurance subsidiary of
ERGO) and Zurich have agreed to
extend their distribution agreement. Under the terms of the deal,
Zurich will continue to distribute
DKV’s health insurance products
up to the end of December 2018
both through its own agents as well
as through its Bonnfinanz subsidiary. The two companies have been

5

Affinity Insurance
collaborating in this product area
since 2004.
—————————————-LIFE INSURANCE
Affinion selects Transamerica
Life as primary insurance partner in Latin America
In Latin America, Affinion has
announced that that its insurance
division, Affinion Benefits Group,
has entered into a long-term agreement with Transamerica Life, a
subsidiary of AEGON group,
thereby making this underwriter a
significant new carrier for Affinion's insurance services in the region.
—————————————-MOTOR INSURANCE
Daimler reveals success of
manufacturer-branded motor
insurance underwritten by AXA
Automotive group Daimler has
reported that sales of branded motor insurance underwritten by AXA
rose by 78% during 2012 in its retail business. As a result, an existing
four-year strategic co-operation
agreement has been extended. This
has manifested itself through the
partnership between the two companies in France, while in Malaysia
and Turkey AXA has also won the
mandate to underwrite insurance
sold by Daimler to buyers of its
cars, which include Mercedes-Benz.
In addition, Daimler and AXA
work together in the field of com-

mercial insurance such as cover for
manufacturing plants and vehicles
in transit, and in pensions and insurance for the Daimler workforce.
The financial services arm of
Daimler has a number of strategic
partners in the field of insurance
and also reports having secured a
record number of new policies in
the first half of 2013 with over
600,000 automotive-related insurance contracts sold worldwide.

According to Liberty Seguros, the
Argentine market for motorcycles
is growing rapidly with one registered for every ten inhabitants and
in the months following the launch
of its 'Motocover' policy in March
2013, it acquired around 22,000
new policyholders.

AEGON-CNOOC initiates
online distribution with Chinese
shopping mall

DAS renews legal protection
partnership with Towergate Insurance

In China, AEGON-CNOOC, a
joint venture between the Netherlands-based AEGON group and
CNOOC (a Chinese oil company),
has set up a partnership with
Tmall.com, one of the largest
online malls in the country, to promote motor insurance products.
The policies will be sold online and
will allow customers to choose a
variety of different types of cover.

In the UK, legal expenses insurer
DAS has extended its longstanding relationship with Towergate Insurance in the form of a
new five-year deal. This new contract relates to the legal expenses
insurance and emergency assistance
business placed by the group –
whose brands include the Towergate Underwriting, Towergate
Broking, CCV and Broker Network divisions – whilst also creating an opportunity for DAS to expand into other areas in the future
if appropriate.

Liberty Seguros starts cooperating for motorcycle cover
with Argentine consumer finance firms
In Argentina, Liberty Seguros has
begun working with two consumer
finance companies - Efectivo Sí
and Tarjeta Shopping - in order to
offer customers buying motorcycles on credit a year's worth of motorcycle insurance in the form of
its 'Motocover' policy. Distributed
via dedicated stands situated at the
premises of dealers, the policy can
be acquired by owners of all types
of motorcycle and incorporates
both liability cover and insurance
in the event of theft or write-off.

www.finaccord.com

—————————————-NICHE INSURANCE

—————————————-PRODUCT INSURANCE
WARRANTIES

/

Japanese telecoms group acquires majority stake in Brightstar
At a cost of USD 1.26 billion, Japanese telecoms and internet firm
SoftBank has acquired a 57% stake
in Brightstar, a mobile services and
hardware distributor that is also
active in mobile gadget and phone
6

Affinity Insurance
insurance through its eSecuritel
subsidiary. As part of the transaction, the so-called Buying & Innovation Group, a joint venture between SoftBank, its subsidiary
Sprint and Brightstar, will formally
become a division of the latter.
Additionally, Brightstar will become the exclusive provider of
handsets, accessories and other
services to certain SoftBank telecoms affiliates. By the close of
2018, SoftBank’s ownership is expected to accrete to 70%.
The Warranty Group extends
established business relationship with NEW in the US...
In the US, The Warranty Group
has announced the renewal of its
contract with NEW, an Asurion
company, by means of which it
provides contractual liability insurance coverage, underwriting and
actuarial support for several NEW
protection plan programs, using its
wholly-owned insurance subsidiary
Virginia Surety Company. This
latest contract renewal extends a
business partnership that has been
in place for more than 20 years.
NEW partners with major retail
brands to provide their customers
with protection plans and device
support for consumer goods including electronic appliances, office
products and exercise equipment.

... and agrees new partnership
with Peruvian consumer electronics chain
Meanwhile, in Peru, The Warranty
Group and Tiendas Efe, a leading
retailer of consumer electrical
products, have signed an agreement for the underwriting and administration of the retailer's device
replacement program. Tiendas Efe
is a part of Grupo Efe, a holding
company comprising Tiendas Efe,
Financiera Efectiva, Motocorp and
Total Artefactos (La Curacao) with
more than 180 stores across the
country. Through this new deal,
The Warranty Group will provide
underwriting and administration
services for the replacement of
selected electronic goods including
tablets, games consoles, printers
and mobile phones.
CarGarantie strengthens extended warranty links with three
automotive brands in Central
Europe...
International automotive warranty
specialist CarGarantie has signed
three new agreements with automotive manufacturer brands in
Central Europe. In Austria, CarGarantie has been the official warranty partner of the Suzuki brand
since 2005, offering extended warranties on new cars. This has now
been extended to the new SX4 SCross model, for which an ex-

www.finaccord.com

tended warranty is included with
the purchase of a new vehicle, valid
for 24 months or 150,000 kilometres from first registration. This
carries on from the three-year factory warranty and is included automatically at no extra cost to the car
buyer.
Meanwhile, in Hungary, Isuzu and
CarGarantie have signed a framework agreement in the new vehicle
segment. This includes an extended
warranty for the Isuzu D-Max
model valid for two years after the
end of the manufacturer's factory
warranty. This new extended warranty can be bought for either 12
months / 120,000 kilometres or for
24 months / 150,000 kilometres.
Finally, in Slovenia, Mercedes-Benz
and CarGarantie have signed a
framework agreement for new car
extended warranties, adding to existing partnerships between the two
firms in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Switzerland.
The extended warranty comes into
force after the expiration of the
factory warranty provided by the
importer; it applies to all MercedesBenz brand passenger cars and can
be bought for either 12 or 24
months.

7

Affinity Insurance
... plus Harley-Davidson in
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
Turning to motorcycles, CarGarantie has increased the number of
countries covered by an agreement
with Harley-Davidson for extended
warranties by adding Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to its existing
deals in Austria, Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and
Switzerland. This new agreement is
for new and used Harley-Davidson
and Buell motorcycles, providing
warranties for up to 36 months
with new motorcycles and 12 or 24
months for used ones.
Europ Assistance partners for
used car warranties with Opel in
Portugal
Also in the field of extended warranties in the automotive sector,
Europ Assistance has established a
distribution partnership with Opel
in Portugal that aims at providing
extended warranties for the manufacturer brand's approved used car
program. The program is designed
for used and nearly-new cars that
have an original manufacturer’s
warranty and that are no older than
seven years, or those with no more
that 150,000 kilometres of mileage,
and the new warranties can last
between three months and two
years.
Solid Försäkringar links with
Swedish jewellery chain
In Sweden, Solid Försäkringar has
announced a partnership with
Adorn, a leading jewellery chain in
the country with around 70 stores.

The underwriter will provide a
range of insurance solutions related
to the purchase of rings, necklaces,
bracelets and watches with regards
to risks that are not covered under
standard product warranties
—————————————-TRAVEL INSURANCE
Mondial Assistance renews 20
year-old travel insurance deal
with Thomas Cook...
In France, tour operator Thomas
Cook has reaffirmed its longstanding relationship with Mondial
Assistance (now rebranded as Allianz Global Assistance in several
markets) for the provision of travel
insurance. Under this arrangement,
Thomas Cook's clients are able to
easily obtain a range of travel policies (including trip cancellation,
winter sports and comprehensive
cover) either via travel agents or
online, and they can then manage
their policies and any claims via a
mobile app (although this is only
available for iPhone users at the
time of publication). At the European level, more than 22 million
customers travel with Thomas
Cook every year, and the group is
one of the largest foreign and domestic holiday travel suppliers to
the French market, where its products are available through more
than 600 travel agencies across the
country.
...and forges a new partnership
with Groupe Pierre & Vacances
– Center Parcs
Mondial Assistance has also been

www.finaccord.com

named as the travel insurance partner for Groupe Pierre & Vacances
– Center Parcs, which operates a
wide range of self-catering complexes, holiday villages and family
resorts across Europe, with a
strong emphasis on activity holidays designed for families. The
group was founded in 1967 and
welcomes around 7.5 million clients to more than 50,000 apartments and houses across Europe
each year, through brands such as
Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Center
Parcs, Aparthotels Adagio and
Sunparks. The travel insurance offering will be tailored towards
cover for families, and can be
adapted to take account of the particular activities being undertaken
during the stay, such as winter
sports.
HanseMerkur enters into travel
insurance partnership with German cruise specialist
In Germany, HanseMerkur has
announced a new long-term agreement with nicko tours, a leading
travel operator, to distribute its
travel health and travel inconvenience insurance. nicko tours specialises in organising cruises for
senior citizens and expected revenues of around EUR 116 million in
2013.
CIBC upgrades travel insurance
associated with Aventura loyalty
program
Canadian bank CIBC has announced a series of enhancements
to its Aventura loyalty program,
making it easier for cardholders to
earn points and turn them into
flights, and providing trip cancella-

8

Bancassurance
tion cover to sit alongside the program's existing trip interruption
and travel medical insurance benefits, all of which are underwritten
by RSA. The new scheme will allow consumers to redeem their
Aventura points for flights with
any airline, to access every seat on
the plane, and also to pay for flight
taxes and fees with their points.
The program also features a special
bonus of up to 30,000 points for
new members, and short-haul
flights will be available for as little
as 10,000 points.

GENERAL

ment with AARP (standing originally for the American Association
of Retired Persons) to offer household and motor insurance products
to the organisation's members.
With the three-year extension, The
Hartford's relationship with AARP
now runs through to the end of
2022. This marks the fourth extension since the program's inception
in 1984. Marketed as The AARP
Automobile and Homeowners Insurance Program, The Hartford
offers household and motor cover
to AARP members, as well as other
personal insurance products such
as personal umbrella insurance, and
coverage for motor homes and offroad recreational vehicles.

The Hartford secures three-year
extension of AARP motor and
household insurance program

Swedish insurer prolongs agreement with affinity insurance intermediary

In the US, The Hartford has announced an extension of its agree-

In Sweden, Moderna Försäkringar,
a subsidiary of Tryg, has extended
its partnership with Akademiker-

—————————————--

www.finaccord.com

försäkring, an affinity insurance
intermediary owned by
Akademikertjänst, a member services company that is itself owned
by six trade unions for university
graduates, including those serving
engineers and pharmacists. In fact,
this relationship has been in place
since 2003 and the latest extension
means that it will last at least until
2016.
—————————————--

Bancassurance News
LIFE INSURANCE
MetLife enters into bancassurance joint venture with Vietnamese bank
In Vietnam, MetLife has entered
into an agreement with Bank for
Investment and Development of
Vietnam (BIDV) to establish a new

9

Bancassurance
life insurance joint venture that will
become operational in 2014. This
initiative follows the Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) that was
previously signed by the parties in
July 2013 and is intended to deliver
on a key component of MetLife’s
strategy: expanding its presence in
emerging markets. At the same
time, the joint venture also assists
with BIDV’s further participation
in the life insurance market. MetLife will own a 60% stake in the
company with BIDV and BIC
holding the remaining 40% between them. With an initial focus
on life and health insurance products, an exclusive bancassurance
distribution agreement has also
been put in place between the new
joint venture company and BIDV,
which has over 600 outlets in Vietnam.

BNP Paribas Cardif joint venture in Vietnam wins new bancassurance relationship
Also in Vietnam, Vietcombank
Cardif Life Insurance, a joint venture of BNP Paribas Cardif and
Vietcombank, has signed a bancassurance partnership agreement with
Saigon Commercial Bank for the
distribution of savings and protection insurance products through
the bank's network of more than
230 branches. The first product
will be a deposit protection policy
to insure the bank's clients against
death and disability. Saigon Commercial Bank ranks among the top
five joint-stock commercial banks
in Vietnam.

ment to sell its entire 39% stake in
Eurovita Assicurazioni to JC Flowers, a private equity firm, for a consideration of EUR 33 million. JC
Flowers will also acquire the residual 61% share of this company
from Banco Popolare, the other co
-owner. Eurovita is a life insurer
which distributes guaranteed savings products through a network of
local and regional Italian banks,
contributing GBP 6 million to
Aviva’s profit after minorities in
the first half of 2013. According to
Aviva, the sale represents further
progress in its strategy to focus its
Italian business on more profitable,
capital-efficient products.

JC Flowers takes control of Italian bancassurance company

BNP Paribas Cardif extends
partnership with Hachijuni
Bank to cancer insurance in Japan...

In Italy, Aviva has disclosed that it
has reached a conditional agree-

In Japan, BNP Paribas Cardif has
extended its distribution partner-

www.finaccord.com

10

Bancassurance
ship with Hachijuni Bank, a local
bank in the Nagano Prefecture. As
a result, the bank will distribute the
underwriter’s cancer insurance
product and it will also be possible
for mortgage customers to take out
cover for this risk.
... while Manulife ties with
Nikko Securities for unit-linked
annuity insurance in the same
country
Also in Japan, Manulife has announced that it will commence
sales nationwide of a new unitlinked annuity insurance product
known as 'ManuDream' through
Nikko Securities. In advance of the
commencement of sales, Nikko
Securities will launch a campaign to
introduce and explain the product’s
features to customers.
PKO Bank Polski acquires Nordea's Polish operations including a captive life insurer
In Poland, in order to meet its financial targets and in line with its
strategy to concentrate on its core
markets, Nordea has decided to
divest its local banking, finance and

life insurance operations, namely
Nordea Bank Polska, Nordea Finance Polska and Nordea Polska
Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen na Zycie, to PKO Bank Polski for EUR
694 million. It is expected that
PKO Bank Polski will use its newly
-acquired life insurance company as
the basis for a new bancassurance
strategy that includes an increased
use of captive underwriters.
—————————————-MOTOR INSURANCE
Bank of Ireland bolsters motor
insurance proposition in partnership with RSA
In Ireland, the insurance broking
arm of Bank of Ireland has
launched two new motor insurance
products, known as 'Popular' and
'Prestige', which offer a discount of
20% for existing customers and a
further 5% for clients who also
have household cover through the
bank. The new motor insurance
policies are being underwritten by
RSA and include monthly payment
plans with no fees or charges,
breakdown assistance in Ireland,

www.finaccord.com

third party and unlimited audio
cover plus cover within EU countries for up to 45 days. Moreover,
the higher value 'Prestige' product
incorporates no claims discount
protection, windscreen cover, new
car replacement, personal belongings cover, replacement locks, car
hire and personal protection for
death and injury.
—————————————-GENERAL
Achmea extends bancassurance
relationship with Rabobank to
Australia
Netherlands-based insurance company Achmea has extended its bancassurance partnership with Rabobank to a new overseas territory.
Specifically, Achmea has acquired a
licence from the relevant regulatory
authorities to sell insurance in Australia under the Achmea Australia
brand name. Its Australian branch
will focus on offering insurance for
the agricultural sector to be sold
predominantly to the clients of
Rabobank in Australia.

11

Affinity Banking
Moderna Försäkringar establishes new non-life bancassurance deal with Danske Bank
In Sweden, Moderna Försäkringar
has entered into a strategic partnership with Danske Bank for the sale
of non-life insurance products. The
agreement will be launched as of
spring 2014 and is scheduled to last
for at least three years. In addition
to Moderna’s core non-life insurance products, Danske Bank’s customers will also have the opportunity to take out cover for classic
cars, motorcycles and boats
through the underwriter's subsidiary brands Atlantica and Bilsport &
MC.
—————————————--

Affinity Banking News
AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE
Geely Automobile and BNP
Paribas Personal Finance collaborate in Chinese automotive
finance
In China, Geely Automobile and
BNP Paribas Personal Finance
have entered into an agreement to
establish a jointly-owned company
for automotive finance. The registered capital of the company will
be RMB 900 million (about EUR
108 million) of which RMB 720
million (EUR 86.4 million) will be
provided by Geely Automobile in
return for an 80% stake in the
company. BNP Paribas Personal
Finance will provide RMB 180 million (EUR 21.6 million) for the
remaining stake. This agreement is
subject to approval by the relevant
authorities. The company will pro-

vide financial products and services
in China including wholesale finance for car dealers for the purchase of vehicles and operating
facilities as well as retail finance for
end-customers.
GM buys back former captive
business from Ally Financial in
Brazil...
With the purchase of Ally Financial's Brazilian operations for approximately USD 611 million,
automotive group GM continues
to buy back some of the automotive finance operations that it was
forced to sell as a part of its restructuring in 2008. The sale of
Ally's international operations is
now around 90% complete, with
approximately USD 8.3 billion having been raised from the process so
far, leaving Ally focused on the US
market.
...while Ally Financial extends
US operations by working with
BraunAbility
Meanwhile, in the US, Ally Financial has become a finance provider
for BraunAbility, a leading manufacturer of wheelchair accessible
vehicles and wheelchair lifts worldwide. This enables it to receive finance applications from BraunAbility’s 200 distributors across
the US.
Capital One wins consumer finance mandate with power
sports product manufacturer
In the US, Capital One has signed a
three-year agreement with Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP)
for the provision of consumer fi-

www.finaccord.com

nance plans to BRP's customers.
BRP manufactures and distributes
various types of power sports
product, including Ski Doo and
Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Can-Am all-terrain vehicles, side-by-side vehicles and Spyder roadsters. The new deal relates
to the provision of revolving finance contracts on such products
when sold through BRP dealers
across the US, and the financing
can also be used to pay for both
accessories and vehicle servicing.
—————————————-BANK-TO-BANK PARTNERSHIPS
Scotiabank and Bank of Beijing
collaborate to make China-toCanada migration easier
Scotiabank has reached an agreement with the Bank of Beijing to
help Chinese immigrants, students
and foreign workers moving to
Canada to begin their financial services transition before leaving
China. Known as the Scotiabank
StartRight program, this initiative
means that individuals in these
categories are able to open a bank
account and apply for a credit card
with Scotiabank through approximately 20 participating Bank of
Beijing branches in China. Once in
Canada, customers can then visit
their local Scotiabank branch to
activate their account, receive their
credit card and take advantage of
additional benefits included in the
StartRight program. Note that Scotiabank already has similar arrangements with Bank of Xi'an and
China Everbright Bank, meaning
that this program is already avail-

12

Affinity Banking
able at more than 200 bank
branches in 44 cities across China.
—————————————-CO-BRANDED CARDS
Western Union distributes prepaid card in Italy through 15,000
lottery operator outlets
In Italy, Western Union has joined
forces with MasterCard and Lottomatica, a gaming company and
lottery operator, to launch the My
WU reloadable prepaid card. Lottomatica is the first company in
Europe to join the Global Share
platform which enables Western
Union to introduce new storedvalue solutions in markets around
the world by joining forces with
local companies.
The My WU prepaid card is designed to serve the more than 4
million registered migrant workers
in Italy who need convenient access to financial services and is
available at around 15,000 Lottomatica locations throughout the
country and online via Western
Union's own website. Customers
can also reload their prepaid cards
at more than 22,000 locations and
over 10,000 ATMs across Italy.
In effect, the card means that customers in Italy who do not have
bank accounts can send money
transfers, receive direct deposits
from their employers and make
retail purchases in both shops and
online outlets that accept MasterCard as well as withdraw money
from ATMs across the country.
Furthermore, cardholders are also
able to fund Western Union money

transfer transactions using their
cards at Lottomatica locations
where the service is available while
also benefiting Western Union’s
own consumer loyalty program.
Wirecard Card Solutions links
with cadooz for co-branded prepaid cards
Wirecard Card Solutions and
cadooz, a supplier of vouchers,
rewards and incentives which is
owned by Euronet Worldwide,
have issued two prepaid cards (the
cadoozCard and cadoozCard plus),
both operating on Maestro's network. The cards are designed and
marketed as a form of employee
reward or benefit, and differ in the
range of retailers at which they may
be redeemed; the cadooz Card may
be used at selected retailers while
the cadoozCard plus may be used
at any merchant accepting Maestro
cards. Moreover, participating
companies have the option to cobrand either version. The issuance
of both cards has started in Germany and the program will be expanded swiftly to additional European countries.
Capital One refreshes cobranded and loyalty propositions with GM
In the US, in partnership with
MasterCard, Capital One and General Motors (GM) have announced
a multi-year extension to their existing co-branded credit card program, plus the launch of a new
automotive rewards product linked
to the GM Card. This new proposition offers consumers 5% of earnings on their first USD 5,000 worth
of net card purchases each year,

www.finaccord.com

plus 2% on all other purchases.
The card carries no annual fee and
features no limits on the rewards
that consumers can accumulate and
redeem towards the purchase or
leasing of a new Buick, Cadillac,
Chevrolet or GMC vehicle. Furthermore, rewards do not expire
over time. Since its launch in 1992,
earnings from GM Card loyalty
schemes have been redeemed towards the purchase of almost 7
million new GM cars, trucks, SUVs
and crossovers. The new proposition will also give holders access to
a number of World Elite MasterCard benefits, including trip cancellation cover.
—————————————-CONSUMER FINANCE
Santander acquires equity stake
in Iberian retail group's financial services unit
In the Iberian peninsula, Santander
and department store chain El
Corte Inglés have reached an agreement whereby the banking group's
consumer finance company will
acquire a 51% equity stake in the
retailer's formerly captive finance
arm, Financiera El Corte Inglés,
subject to approval from the relevant regulatory authorities in Portugal and Spain. Through a due
diligence exercise carried out on
the basis of the financial statements
of Financiera El Corte Inglés as at
the end of July 2013, the company
was accorded an enterprise value of
EUR 415 million. By means of the
transaction, Santander strengthens
its position in the European market
for point-of-sale finance.

13

Affinity Banking
CaixaBank ties with Telefónica
for Spanish consumer finance
joint venture

Fiditalia creates partnership
with provider of 'green' energy
solutions

Also in Spain, Telefónica Consumer Finance has been unveiled
as a joint venture between Telefónica and CaixaBank. This represents an extension of an agreement
first made in 2012 between the two
companies, under which CaixaBank, via its FinConsum subsidiary, allowed Movistar customers to
pay for mobile devices in instalments over 24 months. The financing process is set to be especially
streamlined for CaixaBank's 13.8
million customers in Spain, who
will only need to provide their payment card to secure financing.
Telefónica Consumer Finance is
expected to be fully operational by
the first quarter of 2014.

In Italy, Fiditalia (a consumer finance company belonging to Société Générale) has tied with Joannes for the provision of finance
related to the acquisition of the
latter company's 'green' energy solutions which include heating systems and solar panels. Customers
investing in these solutions are currently able to benefit from tax
breaks.

Bank of Nanjing and BNP
Paribas Personal Finance
tighten consumer credit relationship

In Italy, BNL and Farmafidi, a notfor-profit organisation that specialises in arranging finance on behalf
of pharmacies, have established an
agreement by means of which the
former, which is owned by BNP
Paribas, will provide the latter with
a fund of EUR 8 million. This will
be used to support the activity of
around 16,000 pharmacies that belong to Farmafidi.

In China, BNP Paribas Personal
Finance has strengthened its relationship with Bank of Nanjing
through a co-operation agreement
focused on consumer credit. The
two partners have been working
together since October 2005, and
in June 2010 they created a consumer finance and credit card centre (known as the CFCCC) within
the bank. Development of this centre is overseen by a regional division of BNP Paribas Personal Finance which brings together its
international consumer credit expertise and its alliances in China,
Morocco, Poland, Serbia, Tunisia,
Turkey and Ukraine.

—————————————-COMMERCIAL BANKING
BNL provides finance to organisation working on behalf of Italian pharmacies

Bradesco ties with Brazilian
trade association representing
franchise-based businesses
In Brazil, banking group Bradesco
has committed a fund worth
around USD 300 million to the
Associação Brasileira de Franchising (ABF), a trade association representing franchise-based businesses. In addition to the provision
of micro-credits from this fund,

www.finaccord.com

Bradesco is also providing other
financial products including overdrafts to cover seasonal payment
flows and the governmentsponsored BNDES credit card
which incorporates finance for up
to 48 months.
—————————————-INTERNATIONAL / DOMESTIC REMITTANCES
Western Union renews money
transfer contract with La Banque Postale
In France, payments specialist
Western Union has renewed its
long-term partnership with La Banque Postale, the banking subsidiary
of La Poste group, the main operator of postal services in the country. Through this contract renewal,
Western Union will continue to
provide money transfer and remittance services through the
branches of La Banque Postale
throughout France, an arrangement
that has been in place since 1996.
MoneyGram gains international
remittance mandate with Denizbank
In a comparable deal in Turkey,
Denizbank (a subsidiary of Sberbank) has entered into a relationship with MoneyGram for the provision of money transfer services.
Specifically, the bank will offer
MoneyGram's services in this field.
—————————————--

14

Affinity Banking
MOBILE / ONLINE PAYMENTS
MasterCard and NTT
DOCOMO combine brands for
mobile credit payment system
MasterCard and telecoms group
NTT DOCOMO have announced
a deal to launch payment services
carrying the former company's PayPass brand and the latter's iD logo
via DOCOMO's mobile credit payment system. This initiative opens
up some 1.2 million MasterCard
PayPass acceptance locations in
over 50 countries to iD users from
the start of February 2014. Specifically, the services will be available
to DOCOMO subscribers using
smartphones equipped with a contactless chip for mobile phones
with wallet functions (so-called
Osaifu-Keitai) via NFC technology.
Existing iD users will be able to
simply tap their smartphone over a
reader device to make payments at
MasterCard PayPass affiliate merchants outside Japan using either
local currency or yen, eliminating
the need to carry cash in an unfamiliar local currency.
CommBank rolls out mobile
payments solution with MasterCard and Samsung
In Australia, CommBank has
joined forces with MasterCard and
Samsung Electronics to offer customers PayPass payment capabilities via NFC-enabled Samsung
Galaxy S4 devices. According to
the bank, this offering has been
made possible by a convergence of
hardware, software and mobile
banking technologies which leverages MasterCard's PayPass technol-

ogy and Samsung’s global NFC
payment infrastructure which processes transactions using the
CommBank app on Samsung
GALAXY S4 smartphones sold in
Australia. The outcome is that
CommBank customers with a Samsung GALAXY S4 smartphone are
able to make secure 'Tap & Pay'
contactless payments at more than
220,000 PayPass contactless terminals across Australia and 1.6 million merchant locations worldwide.
NBE, EBC, Fawry and MasterCard link for new mobile payment solution in Egypt
In Egypt, in the same of the introduction of the National Bank of
Egypt (NBE), the Egyptian Banks
Company (EBC) and telecoms
group Fawry have announced the
launch in partnership with MasterCard of 'Phone Cash' as a new mobile payment solution. This product
is available to both banked and
unbanked customers across Egypt
who are able to use the service to
send money, pay phone bills, load
credit to prepaid phones, make
donations and reserve airline tickets
among the wide range of services
offered by Fawry. It can also be
used to pay for goods and services
at several merchants in Egypt and
enables users to make e-commerce
transactions around the world.
In fact, the 'Phone Cash' service
operates independently from the
network of any specific mobile
company, making NBE the first
bank in Egypt or the wider Middle
East to provide such a facility.
Consumers can download the
'Phone Cash' application on any
mobile handset as an e-wallet that

www.finaccord.com

can be recharged easily with money
from any Fawry outlet. NBE customers can also link their MasterCard cards to this application to
enable money transfers from their
bank accounts to recharge the balance of their e-wallets.
Orange Cash launched by Orange with Visa Europe and
Wirecard Card Solutions
In France, Visa Europe has joined
forces with Orange and Wirecard
Card Solutions to launch Orange
Cash with the objective of accelerating awareness and everyday usage
of mobile contactless payments in
France. The first prepaid product
of its type to be launched in
France, Orange Cash will enable
Orange customers who have an
NFC-enabled smartphone to pay
for goods and services using their
device. This is being facilitated by
the fact that the number of contactless payment terminals in
France increased by 50% in the six
months to September 2013 alone.
Orange customers will be able to
download the Orange Cash application, load funds onto their Orange Cash prepaid account with
their debit, credit or prepaid card,
and start making contactless purchases right away. Orange Cash will
be made available to Orange customers in Strasbourg and Caen in
early 2014, ahead of a nationwide
roll-out in the second quarter of
the year.
Boku unveils new partnerships
with Deezer and PaymentPin
Mobile payments firm Boku has
announced two separate agreements. In Germany, customers of

15

Affinity Banking
streaming music service Deezer will
be able to subscribe to this service
and pay their bills using only their
mobile numbers, with the charges
attached directly to their monthly
mobile bill. Boku has also announced a partnership with PaymentPin, a Montreal-based mcommerce software provider specialising in micro-payments and
mobile payment processing.
CaixaBank launches new mobile
payment program with Visa and
trio of telecoms groups
In Spain, banking group CaixaBank
has announced the launch of a new
mobile payment scheme with partners including Orange, Telefónica
and Vodafone as well as Visa
Europe. The program will allow
customers to store all their cards on
their mobile devices, and use them
to make purchases at retailers and
other merchants fitted with compatible contactless POS terminals
anywhere in the world. The three
mobile networks involved represent 80% of mobile phone consumers in Spain and the deal will
allow customers to link any card
taken out through CaixaBank to
their handset. The program is
thought to be the largest in Europe
involving mobile-based NFC payments.
Monitise takes full ownership of
Asia-Pacific joint venture and
announces other agreements
Mobile payment firm Monitise has
announced an agreement to acquire
full ownership of Monitise Asia
Pacific, its joint venture with Hong
Kong-based investment group First
Eastern. Following the transaction,

Monitise will assume complete control of Monitise Asia Pacific’s 49%
stake in its Indonesian joint venture
with PT Astra Graphia Information
Technology.
Meanwhile, in the US, Monitise and
U.S. Bank have announced an
agreement which will see Monitise
providing support for a new mobile
payment scheme offered by the
bank on behalf of selected merchants which will allow secure purchases and payments to be made
via mobile handsets.
Separately, Monitise has announced
that it has continued to expand its
Monitise Commerce Network,
which offers mobile wallet functionality. New partners in the network include Rewards Now, offering loyalty and rewards programs,
and Acculynk, which facilitates secure mobile transactions. These
partnerships follow other deals
with Blackhawk Network for mobile gift card purchasing, and with e
-commerce provider Venda.
Wells Fargo joins Isis mobile
payment network
In the US, Wells Fargo has announced that it will become an active participant in the Isis mcommerce joint venture created by
AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA
and Verizon Wireless. In the first
phase of the agreement, consumers
with Wells Fargo Visa credit cards
will be able to load these into the
Isis mobile wallet which allows users to make secure payments, to
redeem coupons and to collect and
redeem loyalty benefits through
their mobile handset.

www.finaccord.com

Vodafone works with Intesa
Sanpaolo and Setefi for contactless POS solutions in Italy
In Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo, Setefi (a
company specialising in electronic
payments) and Vodafone have revealed an initiative to boost acceptance of contactless payments. The
POS proposition is composed of a
new generation smartphone or Vodafone tablet plus Setefi's so-called
'Move and Pay' secure payment
solution. Contactless payments are
believed to be growing rapidly in
Italy but penetration of POS terminals that can accept such payments
lies at around 26% of merchants
and is, therefore, well below the
average of about 50% for other
major European countries. However, a new law that comes into
force in January 2014 (known as
'Decreto Sviluppo bis') will provide
a significant boost to the sector as
all companies of a certain size will
be compelled to offer electronic
payment options to their customers.
Bradesco and Claro target unbanked consumers in Brazil
with mobile wallet
In Brazil, MPO (a mobile payment
joint venture of banking group
Bradesco and mobile operator
Claro), has launched My Money
Claro, a pilot mobile payment project that will initially be available in
the cities of Belford Roxo, Sao
Joao de Meriti, and Duque de Caxias, in Rio de Janeiro, as well as in
Goiania. In effect, this is a prepaid
mobile wallet that allows users to
pay bills and make purchases as
well as to make transfers and cash
withdrawals. According to Claro,

16

Affinity Banking
the focus of the product is the approximately 48% of Brazil's population with no bank account.
TD Bank and PC Financial partner to create Canada's first open
mobile wallet
In Canada, President's Choice Financial (which is the financial services division of the Loblaw Companies retail group) and TD Bank
have announced the creation of
Ugo, an open mobile wallet platform that will combine multiple
payment and loyalty programs in
one secure mobile solution. As part
of this collaboration, Loblaw Companies has signed up as the platform's first retail partner and also
brings its own PC Plus loyalty program into the wallet.
Scheduled to become available in
the second quarter of 2014, Ugo
will allow users to replace cards
from their physical wallet with a
simple and secure mobile payment
method that automatically links to
their loyalty programs. Consumers
will be able to both pay and earn
and redeem loyalty points in a single tap using their smartphones,
thereby offering the kind of functionality that could ultimately replace the need to carry a physical
wallet.
Ugo will initially allow customers
to load their TD Visa, PC Financial
MasterCard and PC Plus cards into
the wallet, and PC points can be
redeemed at Loblaw and other related store locations. The plan is
then to add more partners, plus
both debit and gift card capabilities
and loyalty programs in future. The
platform will make use of existing

NFC technology to process payments and will initially be available
for use on Blackberry and Android
NFC-enabled devices.
—————————————-PAYMENT CARD ACCEPTANCE AND ISSUANCE
American Express links with
Equity Bank for card issuance
in trio of African countries...
In three African countries – Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda – Equity
Bank has announced a partnership
agreement with American Express
through which it will act as an exclusive issuer of American Express
card products. These will be
launched during the first half of
2014, firstly in Kenya and subsequently in Tanzania and Uganda,
subject to regulatory approval. Under the terms of the agreement,
Equity Bank will be responsible for
all elements related to issuing the
cards, including designing the
product features, owning the customer relationships and providing
billing and credit management. In
addition, as an American Express
merchant acquirer, Equity Bank
will support the expansion of the
American Express network by developing and maintaining new merchant relationships in the three
countries. The deal constitutes the
first time that American Express
card products are being made available in these territories.
... and with U.S. Bank in the US
market
In the US, American Express has
disclosed that U.S. Bank will start

www.finaccord.com

offering credit cards accepted on
the American Express network in
2014. In fact, the two partners have
already begun working together to
design programs for the bank’s
customers with the first products
likely to become available by autumn 2014. U.S. Bank is a significant card issuer in the US market
with a substantial portfolio of cobranded cards in circulation. In
addition, it also provides whitelabel card issuing services to many
banks and credit unions across the
country through its Elan subsidiary.
UnionPay reveals raft of agreements for card issuance and acceptance in multiple countries
Chinese payments firm UnionPay
has revealed several agreements
covering the issuance and acceptance of its cards in multiple regions worldwide.
First, it has announced the launch
of a dual-currency payment card in
Hong Kong in co-operation with
the local branch of Bank of China
and Canton Fair E-commerce. The
card can optionally settle payment
in RMB or HKD with no currency
conversion charges. Meanwhile, the
Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB)
has announced that UnionPay
cards with chip authentication
(chip and pin) will be accepted at
its POS terminals.
UnionPay has also revealed three
separate announcements for the
promotion of UnionPay payment
card acceptance among tourism
operators. The announcements,
covering Australia, the Seychelles
and the UK, were concluded with
Tourism Western Australia, the

17

Affinity Banking
Seychelles Tourism Board and the
British Tourist Authority, respectively. Moreover, in Italy, UniCredit
has agreed to allow all of its POS
terminals to accept UnionPay
cards.
Finally, in China itself, UnionPay
has launched a new travel card in
conjunction with the China National Tourism Administration,
which will extend benefits to cardholders when visiting selected tourist and retail destinations throughout south-east Asia.
JCB enters into card-issuing
deals in Italy and Vietnam
Japan-based payment firm JCB has
announced agreements for the expansion of card issuance in two
countries. In Vietnam, JCB and
Eximbank are collaborating for a
new JCB-branded payment card to
be issued by the bank. Meanwhile,
in Italy, JCB has announced an
agreement to promote co-branded
cards with Italian debit scheme
Consorzio, which operates both
the Bancomat and PagoBancomat
networks, thereby expanding the
issuance of JCB cards in the country.

bank branches will open from February 2014 offering customers
longer opening hours and more
convenient parking.
The new branches will be available
to all new and existing Barclays
customers and the bank's own staff
will be on hand to support customers during traditional opening
hours. Outside of these hours, the
new branches will host new technology to allow customers to carry
out regular transactions such as
paying in cash and cheques, paying
bills, and withdrawing and transferring money.
The first such branch will be
opened in Asda's Birchwood store
in Cheshire in February 2014; store
trading hours there are from 8.00
to 22.00, six days a week, and from
10.30 to 16.30 on Sundays. A further three branches will open subsequently at Asda stores in Pudsey
in West Yorkshire, North Watford
in Hertfordshire and Broadstairs in
Kent, with the aim of extending the
pilot to eight branches within a few
months.
—————————————--

Nakumatt Cybercash loyalty smart
card and provides a range of benefits and security features. For example, existing smart card customers continue accumulating loyalty
points for all purchases made
across Nakumatt outlets.
Moreover, those with the new card
will also earn loyalty points for purchases made with the card at any of
over 35.9 million acceptance
points, including 2.1 million ATMs,
where MasterCard is accepted
worldwide.
According to Nakumatt, the initiative is part of a wider strategy to
provide convenient retail financial
solutions such as utility bill settlements, insurance products,
cashback, foreign exchange and
money transfer services at Nakumatt tills as customers pay for their
shopping in both regular and 24hour stores. Over 1 million customers already held the pre-existing
loyalty smart card and it is expected
that many more will take out the
new prepaid card.
Citi Retail Services extends consumer finance relationship with
both RadioShack...

RETAILER CARDS
—————————————-RETAILER BANKING
Barclays ties with Asda to trial
in-store branches
In the UK, Barclays has revealed a
trial partnership with supermarket
chain Asda to offer everyday banking services through bank branches
open seven days a week inside selected stores from 2014. Four pilot

Nakumatt Holdings introduces
prepaid MasterCard product in
conjunction with two banks
Nakumatt Holdings, a prominent
retailing group in East Africa with a
total of 40 stores, has unveiled a
new contactless prepaid MasterCard card in partnership with Diamond Trust Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank. This new multicurrency card replaces the previous

www.finaccord.com

Citi Retail Services has announced
a long-term agreement to extend a
consumer credit relationship with
consumer electronics retail specialist RadioShack that has already
been in place for nearly 30 years.
By means of the agreement, Citi
will continue to provide serviceoriented solutions and analytics in
support of RadioShack’s targets for
growth while the retail brand's customers will continue to enjoy comprehensive financing programs.

18

Affinity Banking
tomers will continue to enjoy comprehensive financing programs.
Moreover, RadioShack will relaunch its private label credit card
in the first quarter of 2014 with
new branding. This will be one element of a brand refresh that will
include revised product offerings,
changed store layouts and the
planned opening of over 100 new
stores.

of digital tools including an online
consumer centre and mService, a
mobile servicing platform available
on Android, Blackberry, iOS and
Windows devices.
... and extends relationship in
the same field with JCPenney

Citi Retail Services has also concluded a comparable agreement
with Staples, the leading office
products retailer, having worked
with it already for around 22 years.
Through this deal, Citi Retail Services will continue to provide processing services and customer service support for all three of the
chain's private-label credit card
programs, which meet the separate
needs of both consumers and business customers.

In addition, GE Capital Retail
Bank has revealed the extension of
its private-label and dual card credit
program with nationwide retail
chain JCPenney through to February 2020. First introduced in 1999,
the credit card program is available
for purchases at any of nearly 1,100
JCPenney stores across the US and
Puerto Rico, as well as via the
www.jcpenney.com website. Benefits to cardholders include discounts of up to 20% on their first
day of using the card to make purchases, the opportunity to earn the
retailer's 'rewards certificates' and
the ability to pay on credit at any
store or online.

GE Capital Retail Bank creates
private-label credit card for mattress retailer...

Wirecard Bank to manage new
gift card scheme for Lidl in Germany

Also in the field of consumer finance in the US, GE Capital Retail
Bank and Sleep Train, a leading
retailer of mattresses, have entered
into a multi-year agreement to provide a branded private-label credit
card program. Specifically, the
Sleep Train credit card is being
made available for purchases at
more than 100 retail locations
across California with application
possible both at the point of purchase and via the retailer's
www.sleeptrain.com web store.
Cardholders can also access and
manage their account with a suite

In Germany, supermarket brand
Lidl has commissioned Wirecard
Bank to issue and process its new
range of gift cards. The cards, available in various denominations, will
be available to purchase or redeem
at more than 3,300 Lidl branches
throughout the country and also
via the company's website. The two
partners have collaborated for
online payment processing since
2008.

... and Staples

www.finaccord.com

19

Organisations in this issue
Acculynk, 16
Achmea, 11
Adagio, 8
Adorn, 8
AEGG, 5
AEGON, 6
AEGON-CNOOC, 6
Affinion, 6
Akademikerförsäkring, 9
Allianz, 4, 8
Allianz Global Assistance, 4, 8
Allianz Zentrum für Technik, 4
Ally Financial, 12
American Association of Retired Persons, 9
American Express, 17
Aparthotels, 8
Asda, 18
Associação Brasileira de Franchising, 14
AssurOne Group, 4
Asurion, 7
AT&T Mobility, 16
Atlantica, 12
Aventura, 8, 9
Aviva, 10
AXA, 4, 6
Bancomat, 18
Bank of Beijing, 12
Bank of China, 17
Bank of Ireland, 11
Bank of Nanjing, 14
Bank of Xi'an, 12
Barclays, 18
BIDV, 9
Bilsport & MC, 12
Blackberry, 17, 19
BNL, 14
BNP Paribas Cardif, 10
BNP Paribas Personal Finance, 12, 14
Boku, 15, 16
Bombardier Recreational Products, 12
Bonnfinanz, 5
Bradesco, 14, 16
BraunAbility, 12
Brightstar, 6, 7
British Tourist Authority, 18
Buell, 8
Buick, 13
Cadillac, 13
cadooz, 13
CaixaBank, 14, 16
Canton Fair E-commerce, 17
Capital One, 12, 13
CarGarantie, 7
CEAJE, 4
Center Parcs, 8
Charleston Water System, 4
Chevrolet, 13
China Everbright Bank, 12
China National Tourism Administration, 18
CIBC, 8
Citi Retail Services, 18, 19
Claro, 16, 17
CommBank, 15
Consorzio, 18
Daimler, 6
Danske Bank, 12

DAS, 6
Deezer, 15, 16
Denizbank, 14
Diamond Trust Bank, 18
DKV, 5
EBC, 15
Efectivo Sí, 6
Egyptian Banks Company, 15
El Corte Inglés, 13
Elan, 17
Equity Bank, 17
Euronet Worldwide, 13
Europ Assistance, 4, 8
Eurovita Assicurazioni, 10
Eximbank, 18
Farmafidi, 14
Fawry, 15
Fiditalia, 14
Financiera Efectiva, 7
First Eastern, 16
Ford, 4
GE Capital Retail Bank, 19
Geely Automobile, 12
GM, 12, 13
Google Play, 4
Groupe Pierre & Vacances, 8
Hachijuni Bank, 10, 11
HanseMerkur, 8
Harley-Davidson, 7, 8
homegate.ch, 5
HomeServe, 4
Intesa Sanpaolo, 16
Isuzu, 7
iTunes, 4
JC Flowers, 10
JCB, 18
JCPenney, 19
Joannes, 14
Kenya Commercial Bank, 18
La Banque Postale, 14
La Poste, 14
Liberty Seguros, 5, 6
Lidl, 19
Loblaw Companies, 17
Lottomatica, 13
Maeva, 8
Manulife, 11
MasterCard, 13, 15, 17, 18
Mercedes-Benz, 6, 7
MetLife, 9, 10
Moderna Försäkringar, 9, 12
Mondial Assistance, 8
MoneyGram, 14
Monitise, 16
Motocorp, 7
Nakumatt Holdings, 18
National Bank of Egypt, 15
Nationale Suisse, 5
Netvox, 4
NEW, 7
Nikko Securities, 11
Nordea, 11
NTT DOCOMO, 15
Opel, 8
Orange, 15, 16
PaymentPin, 15, 16

www.finaccord.com

PayPass, 15
PKO Bank Polski, 11
President's Choice Financial, 17
PT Astra Graphia Information Technology, 16
Rabobank, 11
RadioShack, 18, 19
Rewards Now, 16
RSA, 8, 11
Saigon Commercial Bank, 10
Samsung, 15
Santander, 13
Scotiabank, 12
Setefi, 16
Seychelles Tourism Board, 18
Sleep Train, 19
SoftBank, 6, 7
Solid Försäkringar, 8
Staples, 19
Sunparks, 8
Suzuki, 7
Taiwan Cooperative Bank, 17
Tarjeta Shopping, 6
TD Bank, 17
Telefónica, 14, 16
Ten Lifestyle Management, 4
The Hartford, 9
The Warranty Group, 7
Thomas Cook, 8
Tiendas Efe, 7
T-Mobile USA, 16
Total Artefactos, 7
Tourism Western Australia, 18
Towergate Insurance, 6
Transamerica Life, 6
Tryg, 9
U.S. Bank, 16, 17
UniCredit, 18
UnionPay, 17, 18
Verizon Wireless, 16
Vietcombank, 10
Virginia Surety Company, 7
Visa Europe, 15, 16
Vodafone, 16
Wells Fargo, 16
Western Union, 13, 14
Wirecard Bank, 19
Wirecard Card Solutions, 13, 15
Zürcher Kantonalbank, 5
Zurich, 5

20

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 partnership 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 addition, it concentrates exclusively on
affinity and partnership marketing
strategy.
Affinity and partnership marketing
strategy is an important component of
general distribution strategy for a majority of large banks and insurance
companies serving consumers and
small businesses as successful partnerships 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 affinity and partnership marketing.
Our areas of expertise include: affinity
and partnership marketing; automotive
financial services; bancassurance; commercial non-life insurance brokers;
consumer intelligence; creditor insurance; 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 consultants is able to deliver information
quickly and accurately across a range
of countries worldwide, basing research projects on robust data and
knowledge rather than supposition
and theory.

Does your organisation have
news about its affinity or partnership marketing relationships
that we missed in this newsletter? To produce it, we systematically research close to 300
major financial services institutions 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 analysis@finaccord.com and we will
ensure that it is tracked in future quarters.
To access the archive of news
from the Global Affinity Finance Club please visit
www.finaccord.com/afi

© Finaccord Ltd., 2014
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

Finaccord’s latest published reports include:
 Automotive Finance and Leasing for Consumers in Europe
 Extended Warranties for New and Used Cars in Europe
 Global Bancassurance: Strategies of the World's Top 125 Retail Banking Groups
 Insurance and Assistance linked to Payment Cards and Bank Accounts in Major Global Markets
 Manufacturer-Branded and Dealer-Intermediated Motor Insurance and Road Assistance in Europe
 Professional Indemnity Insurance in Europe
 Retailer Insurance and Assistance in Europe
 Retailer Online Payment Acceptance in Europe
 Retailer Payment, Gift and Loyalty Cards in Europe
 Travel Insurance and Assistance in the Asia-Pacific Region

www.finaccord.com

GBP 2,995
GBP 2,995
GBP 2,995
GBP 3,995
GBP 2,995
GBP 2,995
GBP 1,295
GBP 1.995
GBP 1,995
GBP 2,995

21

Global Affinity Finance Club Autumn 2013

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

En vedette

En vedette (9)

Similaire à Global Affinity Finance Club Autumn 2013

Similaire à Global Affinity Finance Club Autumn 2013 (20)

Plus de Intelligo Consulting

Plus de Intelligo Consulting (14)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Global Affinity Finance Club Autumn 2013