The office, located in the Ukrainian capital, was established to facilitate expansion of the company's payment services to this promising market which, according to The Nilson Report World Fact Book, experienced a 42 percent increase in card issuing from 2004 to 2005.

Additionally, the Kiev office will better serve existing Global Payments Europe customers who are increasing business development focus within the Ukraine. Global Payments Europe serves Central, East, and Southeast Europe and has offices strategically located in Prague, Bratislava, Moscow, Warsaw, Sarajevo, and now Kiev.

CEO of Global Payments Europe, Petr Sedlacek said, "The Ukrainian market is one of the most dynamically developing card markets in Europe and a key area in our expansion plans. We are deeply committed to providing this, and all our markets, with the highest quality card issuing and processing products and services for financial institutions."

Based in Prague, Global Payments Europe (formerly MUZO) serves financial institutions with a comprehensive package of payment services including credit and debit card transaction processing, installation and servicing of ATM and POS terminals, as well as card issuing services such as card database management and card personalization. The company also provides mCommerce and eCommerce services as well as credit bureau processing services. Global Payments Europe's proprietary platform was among the first in the European market to be compliant with the international EMV standards for chip-based payment cards.