Payment Card Competitor Tracker: June 2011

Introduction

The Payment Card Competitor Tracker provides expert analysis and opinion on the strategic moves of leading competitors in the payment card market. Produced on a monthly basis, the Tracker is a global product and covers over 100 players, including American Express, Barclaycard, Capital One, Citigroup, Discover, GE Money, First Data, HSBC, JCB, MasterCard, Standard Chartered and Visa.

Features and benefits

• Gain invaluable information on your key competitors in one concise document, and track long-term trends using the interactive news database.
• Sharpen your strategy by implementing the best market, product, competitor and strategic developments of leading global players.
• Learn the Datamonitor Cards & Payments Team's view on the most important competitor developments in the month.

Highlights

63 competitor developments are analyzed in the June edition of the Payment Card Competitor Tracker. This is significantly higher than the 12-month average of 51 and is the joint highest (with January 2011) since July 2010.
At 34 stories, the number of new product innovations and launches was lower in June compared to the previous two months, with 41 and 46 such developments recorded for May and April, respectively. Meanwhile, 29 M&A, partnership, and organic growth announcements were recorded in June, up from 16 in May.
Analysis of the leading new products and service developments in June shows that many players across the industry have been focusing on alternative payments in the past 12 months. Once again the mobile channel was the most active in June, with eight stories recorded in total. Seven contactless and four prepaid developments were also recorded.

Your key questions answered

• What have been the key new product developments in the industry this month, particularly in contactless, mobile, online and prepaid?
• Which players are leading the way with these new developments, and where are they occurring?
• How have trends in competitor activity changed over time, and which regions are becoming more active?
• What are the top developments in the past month and what do they mean for my business?

Table Of Contents

OVERVIEW
Catalyst
Summary
Methodology

INTRODUCTION
The Payment Card Competitor Tracker provides both one-month and 12-month views of developments
Improvements to the 2011 Payment Card Competitor Tracker series
Each month, Datamonitor tracks the most relevant announcements from over 100 competitors
Datamonitor’s Cards and Payments team provides analysis of the key developments at one-month and 12-month intervals
A fully searchable database of developments from January 2007 onwards is also delivered alongside the report

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN JUNE
Developments in the contactless, mobile, online, and prepaid sectors in June
UK: Everything Everywhere, Telefónica, and Vodafone announce NFC joint venture
UK: McDonald's contactless rollout has the potential to launch the technology into the mainstream
US: American Express's no fees prepaid card introduces a new business model to challenge the status quo
Global: Visa's agreement with Monitise will bring mobile payments and banking services to millions of Visa customers
There were 63 developments in June, which is above the 12-month average
The level of competitor activity grew significantly in June compared to the previous month
Products, services, and innovation-related developments were above the 12-month average in June
North America had the highest level of activity in June
Issuers accounted for the majority of competitor activity in June, but schemes were not far off
The mobile channel continued to see significant developments in June, ahead of the 12-month average
Partnerships accounted for the majority of developments in the M&A, partnerships, and organic growth category

PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND INNOVATION
Agricultural Bank of China
China: Agricultural Bank of China launches the first inter-industrial tripartite co-branded card in China
American Express
US: American Express launches Facebook ad purchasing through membership reward points
US: American Express and foursquare roll out coupon-less special offers to card members
US: American Express launches prepaid payment card with no monthly, recurring, or maintenance fees
US: American Express membership rewards program counts OpenTable, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and several popular ski resorts among new partners
US: American Express and AOL’s Patch team up to "Serve" communities, small businesses
US: AAA Southern New England and American Express launch prepaid program for AAA Southern New England members
Bank of America
UK: lastminute.com launches contactless credit card with reward program
UK: MBNA offers 19-month 0% balance transfer deal
Bank of Moscow
Russia: Bank of Moscow to offer ICE credit cards to students of regional universities
BBVA
Spain: BBVA launches a mobile banking application for the iPhone
Capital One
US: Capital One offers 25,000 mile sign-up bonus on its Venture Card
Cielo
Brazil: Cielo expands its mobile payment solution to Android devices
Crédit Agricole
France: Kwixo launches banking service combining online payments and money transfers
First Data
US: First Data and LSN Mobile launch mobile coupon service
hyperWALLET
Canada: hyperWALLET provides global payments for direct selling firm Scentsy
Interac
Canada: Interac Flash to be accepted at Petro-Canada locations this year
ISIS
US: Isis to launch NFC services in Austin, Texas
JCB
US: JCB launches Hawaii Guide, a location-based discounts iPhone app
JPMorgan Chase
US: Ink from Chase launches Jot, an expense management Mobile App aimed at small business owners
MasterCard
UK, Germany, Switzerland: BP/Aral to roll out PayPass acceptance at service stations
Singapore: Cassis International expands its TSM services to support MasterCard OTA provisioning
Canada: Indigo Books & Music to accept PayPass
Monitise
India: Monitise launches its first mobile money application for Standard Chartered in India
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates: flydubai joins NBAD loyalty program
PayPal
UK: News International and PayPal partner to provide online content purchasing
UK: PayPal launches Pizza Express mobile payment app
Swedbank
Estonia: American Express card members can now shop online at US merchants
U.S. Bank
US: U.S. Bank becomes first in the US to issue dual EMV chip and contactless payment solution
Canada: U.S. Bank launches Payment Plus for Canadian business customers
Western Union
US: Western Union launches a prepaid card for receiving international money transfers
Visa
Australia: Visa Easy Payment Service introduced at merchants to speed up small-value transactions
UK: McDonald’s rolls out contactless payment technology across all 1,200 of its UK restaurants
M&A, PARTNERSHIPS, AND ORGANIC GROWTH
Barclaycard
UK: Barclaycard announces Egg integration plans
Blackhawk
US: Blackhawk announces Lowe's has joined the company's Gift Card Mall
Capital One
US: Capital One boosts its access to funding through acquisition of ING Direct
Discover
Russia: Diners Club and Russian Standard Bank partner to form new franchise
Everything Everywhere
UK: Everything Everywhere, Telefónica, and Vodafone announce NFC joint venture
First Data
Poland: First Data and Alior Bank extend their processing agreement
UK: First Data rebrands its UK acquiring business
FIS
Europe: FIS signs multi-year agreement with Transact24
UK: FIS to process the UK Post Office Travel Money Card Plus
US: FIS selected by Tyburn Group for prepaid card processing
JCB
Asia: JCB and UnionPay announce further alliance
MasterCard
Global: China UnionPay cards to be accepted on MasterCard's e-commerce platform
MoneyGram International
Global: MoneyGram International adds Friendly Check and RiteCheck to its network
Asia Pacific: MoneyGram International expands into the Philippines
Morocco: MoneyGram International and Al Barid Bank partner to offer money transfer services in Morocco
Monitise
Global: Visa signs a new agreement with Monitise for the delivery of mobile financial services
PayPal
Global: PayPal reaches 100 million active accounts
Global: PayPal doubles mobile payments predictions to $3bn in 2011
China: PayPal no longer a payment option on AliExpress
Russian Standard Bank
Russia: Diners Club and Russian Standard Bank partner to form new franchise
Scotiabank
Uruguay: Scotiabank completes acquisition of Nuevo Banco Comercial
Total System Services
Europe: TSYS announces agreement with U.S. Bank to process corporate card payments in Europe
UnionPay
Asia: JCB and UnionPay announce further alliance
Brazil: UnionPay jointly develops business with Itau and Redecard in Brazil
Peru: UnionPay cards launch in Peru
Italy: UnionPay and Setefi sign a co-operative agreement
Taiwan: Chunghwa Post’s ATMs to roll out UnionPay card acceptance
Visa
Global: Visa acquires Fundamo, a platform provider of mobile financial services
Global: Visa signs a new agreement with Monitise for the delivery of mobile financial services
South Korea: Visa and HanaSK announce milestone of 100,000 mobile payment accounts

APPENDIX
Methodology
Further reading
Ask the analyst
Datamonitor consulting
Disclaimer