Euronet Services is to provide outsourcing of a credit card management system and processing of point-of-sale (POS) transactions for Credigen Bank, a new consumer credit institution in Hungary which began offering its retail credit card service at the beginning of September. Credigen Bank is the Hungarian subsidiary of France's Sofinco, a consumer credit subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group.
Under the agreement, private-label cards for use at major retail chains operating in Hungary will be issued by Credigen Bank using a card management system and on-line electronic financial connections provided by Euronet. Consumers can apply for cards on-site at the retailers, receive immediate credit through an online approval process, and start using their cards the same day.
Euronet's data processing centre in Budapest will manage the credit card accounts on behalf of Credigen Bank, and will process each POS transaction performed with the private-label cards. The cards can also be used to withdraw cash at any of the 364 proprietary Euronet ATMs located throughout Hungary.
Fabien Bardinet, executive director of Credigen Bank says Euronet was chosen to deliver the service because it could manage the entire life of the payment transaction: from card issuance, to point-of-sale, to payment authorisation and account reconciliation.