Alpine Card Service (ACS), a financial service company conducting card acquiring business in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Nepal) and a wholly owned subsidiary of Alpine Travel Service, and JCB International (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, the only global payment brand based in Japan, today announce the agreement of acquiring license between ACS and JCBI.
ACS provides acquiring services to 1,900 merchants and 800 ATMs operated by SmartChoice Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a group company of ACS. Following the new alliance, JCB cards will be phased in with these merchants and ATMs starting this fall.
In a launching ceremony held in Kathmandu, Nepal, today, Mr. Koremitsu Sannomiya, President of JCBI, said, "Nepal has beautiful landscapes and we recognize that Nepal is one of the preferred destinations among many Asian tourists including Japanese travelers. Through this alliance with ACS, we hope that we can contribute to 'Nepal Tourism Year 2011' by expanding the JCB merchant and ATM network, creating a comfortable payment environment for tourist in Nepal not only from Japan, but also from other Asian countries."
"We are extremely pleased to have partnered with JCB the renowned card company of Japan and I am confident that we will make its usage widely accepted in Nepal both at the merchant outlets as well as at the ATMs for cash withdrawal.", said Mr. Rabindra B. Malla, CEO of ACS. "This giant step will undoubtedly be a huge milestone for us who have been striving hard to promote plastic cards and make Nepal a 'cash-less' society."
JCB entered this partnership with the aim of increasing convenience for over 69 million JCB cardmembers largely based in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries who travel to Nepal, as well as issuing JCB cards to residents of Nepal in the future. In the light of "Nepal Tourism Year 2011", the nation's initiative to promote its tourism sector, ACS aims to enhance services for its merchants by enabling them to attract customers traveling in Nepal with JCB cards.
Separately, Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL), a major commercial bank in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Nepal), and JCB International (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, the only global payment brand based in Japan, today announce that HBL and JCBI have signed an issuing and acquiring license agreement. Through this agreement, JCB cardmembers will be able to use JCB credit cards at approximately 1,200 HBL merchants and ATMs starting this fall, and HBL will be the first to issue JCB cards in Nepal which is scheduled in the next year.
"Being chosen as the Licensee of JCB for Nepal is an enormous honor for the bank.", said Mr. Ashoke SJB Rana, CEO of Himalayan Bank Ltd. in a launching ceremony. "I cannot deny that as we went through the vetting process we were very apprehensive of the thorough due diligence carried out by the JCB team to assess whether they had chosen the right partner. I think in the end they have made the right decision."
Mr. Koremitsu Sannomiya , President of JCBI, said, "We see Nepal as one of the important market for JCBI in terms of JCB card acceptance. In order to enhance the JCB merchant network, I am extremely pleased that HBL, one of the major commercial banks in Nepal, will start facilitating JCB card acceptance at their merchants starting this fall followed by JCB card issuance starting next year. I believe this will further increase the level of cardmember convenience throughout Nepal."
JCB entered this partnership with the aim of increasing convenience for over 69 million JCB cardmembers largely based in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries who travel to Nepal. In the light of 'Nepal Tourism Year 2011', the nation's initiative to promote its tourism sector, HBL aims to enhance services for its merchants by enabling them to attract customers traveling in Nepal with JCB cards. This will be the beginning of a new era for JCB expansion in South Asia, where there are many countries with fast-growing economies .