Arkea signs a partnership with JCB International

Monday, 3 June 2019, 14:00 HKT/SGT

JCB cards will now be accepted by Arkea retailers on their payment terminals and e-commerce sites.

Brest & Tokyo, June 3, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International, Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd. and Arkea, a banking group with cooperative principles, today announced their strategic partnership alliance. Arkea business partners* with face-to-face payment acceptance (payment terminals) or e-commerce sites will begin to accept cardmembers of the JCB network imminently.

All Arkea ATMs will also be integrated into the JCB network for cash withdrawals. Given the strong tourist attractions within the French territory, this will provide retail business partners with additional revenue potential.

JCB is the leading issuer and acquirer in Japan and one of the largest payment networks in the international market. Further, it is also a partner of many of Asian major banks. It has more than 130 million cardmembers, and around 30 million merchants worldwide, who accept JCB card.

Arkea, a progressive French banking group, is known to have innovation in its DNA. In order to support its business customers in their development and growth, Arkea signed this partnership with JCB. This is a multi-channel acceptance offer for the entire acquisition scope: face-to-face payment, e-commerce, and ATMs. Thus, Arkea customers, who are currently using an electronic payment terminal (EPT) or an e-commerce site (Citelis solution,) will now be able to accept JCB card payments.

Access to international customers and new revenues

For Arkea business partners, this provides new opportunities to win customers and increase customer loyalty with additional revenue growth. In 2018, there were more than 9.2 million hotel nights booked in the territory. A real potential for French businesses.

Arkea will gradually deploy access to JCB cards on all of its payment terminals portfolio. In addition, it will also ensure access to its online payment pages from its wider networks of partners, including Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, Credit Mutuel du Sud Ouest, Credit Mutuel Massif Central and Arkea Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels. By the end of June 2019, without additional cost, Arkea business customers will be able to accept JCB cardmember transactions. This includes access to all Arkea group ATMs, including those located in shopping malls and railway stations. This also ensures that JCB cardmembers can withdraw cash when they need to.

Frederic Laurent, Deputy General Manager of Arkea in charge of the Innovation and Operations Cluster, comments: "We are very proud to announce the deployment of this partnership Arkea-JCB which allows us to enrich our offer of acceptance in terms of credit cards. JCB is a leader in its market and offers high quality services to more than 130 million JCB cardmembers. Arkea's ambition is to support its clients, regardless of their typology, in the development of their projects. Enabling merchants to expand their customer base to JCB cardmembers is a truly international opportunity."

Mr. Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director of JCB International (Europe) Ltd., says: "This partnership with Arkea comes at a key juncture in JCB's European strategy, which aims to strengthen its acceptance as close to consumers as possible. JCB cardmembers coming to France will benefit from convenient access to luxury, retail, hospitality, catering, gastronomy and cash withdrawals from ATMs. Arkea is present at major tourist destinations such as Brittany and New Aquitaine. In addition to the purchasing power of JCB cardmembers during their travels, Arkea can now attract new customers on the Internet, given the greater flexibility offered by this excellent omnichannel and cross border partnership."

* Partners of Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, Credit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest, Credit Mutuel Massif Central, Arkea Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels.

About JCB International

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide.
For more information: www.global.jcb/en or www.jcbeurope.eu

About Arkea

Arkea is made up of Federations of Credit Mutuel de Bretagne, Sud-Ouest and Massif Central, as well as about thirty specialized subsidiaries (Fortuneo, Monext, Arkea Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels, Arkea Investment Services, Suravenir, etc.). With 10,500 employees, 3,000 directors, 4.5 million members and customers in bancassurance and more than 135 billion euros in balance sheet total, Arkea ranks among the very first banks with their headquarters in the region. More information on www.arkea.com

Press Contacts:
Arkea
Ariane Le Berre-Lemahieu
02 98 00 22 99
ariane.le-berre-lemahieu@arkea.com
Twitter: @cmarkea

JCB Co., Ltd.
Kumiko Kida
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
Email: kumiko.kida@jcb.co.jp

Topic: Press release summary
Source: JCB / Arkea
Sectors: Cards & Payments
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