JCB and Bulgarias Transcard Sign License Agreements

The signing ceremony took place at JCBs world conference held in Kyoto this month. Transcard will start merchant operations by March 2005 and card issuing by September 2005. Transcard entered the credit card business in 2002, when there were only about 50,000 credit cards in Bulgaria. Offering cash-back benefits that vary from 1 to 30%, Transcard built a substantial base of over 60,000 cardholders with 100,000 cards in two short years. It offers Classic and Gold cards for individuals, a Business card for corporate clients, and a Fleet card for use at gasoline stations and expecting to issue 30,000 of the new JCB cards in the first year. In merchant acquiring, Transcard is planning to achieve a coverage rate of 80% of merchants accepting credit cards in Bulgaria by the end of this year. JCB is committed to strengthening its presence in Bulgaria and the rest of Eastern Europe, and to a stronger cardmember base in Europe. JCBs partnerships in Bulgaria include United Bulgarian Bank, and now, Transcard. The Transcard JCB card is expected to rapidly become a leading international credit card in the Bulgarian market.