Source: JCB
Belinvestbank JSC ("Belinvestbank"), a leading bank in Belarus, and JCB International Co., Ltd. ("JCBI"), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., today announced that they have signed a license agreement on merchant acquiring of JCB cards in Belarus.
The agreement was signed by Gennady Sysoev, Chairman of the Board of Belinvestbank, and Kimihisa Imada, Deputy President of JCBI, and a press conference was held in Minsk on October 10th.
Entering the market of Belarus will give JCB cardmembers more convenience during their stay in the country. JCB cardmembers will be able to pay for goods and services with their cards and to withdraw the local currency from ATMs, which eliminates the need for foreign currency exchange.
Kimihisa Imada commented: "I am confident that the partnership with Belinvestbank, which is among the five strongest banks in Belarus, will expand the JCB card acceptance network and will contribute to the development of the payment industry of the Republic of Belarus. The number of JCB cardmembers is growing, and I am glad that now cashless transactions are available for JCB cards in Belarus. Belarus is a convenient location for tourists from Russia, where banks are issuing JCB cards, and also has a rich history and culture that can attract numerous cardmembers from Japan, China, South Korea and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region".
Cooperation between Belinvestbank and JCBI will allow Belinvestbank merchants to serve a new segment of customers - JCB cardmembers and co-badged MIR-JCB cardmembers including businesspeople, tourists, and students from Russia and the Asian region - and will increase and develop card payments in the country as a whole.
Belinvestbank has a wide network with more than 6,000 merchants and 700 ATMs located in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and this network is constantly expanding. It is planned that all JCB cardmembers will be able to use JCB cards at the bank's acceptance locations.
"We highly appreciate our cooperation with JCBI", said Gennady Sysoev, the Chairman of Belinvestbank Board. "Certainly, our cooperation will allow our partners from Japan to expand their payment cards acceptance network on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, and Belinvestbank in its turn will be able to open new opportunities for its clients worldwide and to strengthen its positions in the market of merchant and ATM acquiring", he added.