Under an agreement with Korean payments network BC Card, Discover Financial Service is enabling BC Card holders to use the Discover, Diners Club International and Pulse networks for international purchases and cash access outside of Korea, Discover announced yesterday.
The long-term agreement will increase transaction volume on Discover’s networks outside of Korea, according to Discover. A spokesperson for the company declined to share Discover’s transaction-volume expectations.
Korean cardholders spent $12.6 billion in 2008 on international expenditures, notes the network, citing Korea Tourism Organization figures.
“Our new alliance with Discover opens the door to providing BC Card customers with more opportunities to make purchase and access cash around the world, especially in the U.S.,” Chang Hyung-duk, BC Card president and CEO, said in a statement.
BC Card holders should be able to transact on Discover’s networks by late this year. BC Card issuers also will begin providing cards under the agreement later this year. “The reissue is expected to be gradual,” says the Discover spokesperson.
Discover’s agreement with BC Card is similar to ones it made previously with China UnionPay and JCB, notes Adil Moussa, an analyst with Boston-based Aite Group LLC. “It is the same strategy that Discover has done in China and Japan,” Moussa says. “There is potential to increase transaction volume” with the BC Card agreement, he says.
Discover began its relationships with China UnionPay in 2005 and with JCB in 2006. It purchased Diners Club International in 2008. “These actions are all part of our strategy to build scale via network alliances,” says the spokesperson.
BC Card has a 32% market share in Korea, with more than 52 million cards issued by 11 financial institutions.
