Through an arrangement with First Data and JCB International, Discover will expand its card acceptance at merchant locations in Hong Kong to better accommodate travelers carrying Discover cards.
Discover was able to leverage an existing acquiring partnership between JCB and First Data to include acceptance of all cards that run on Discover Global Network, including Discover, Diners Club and affiliate network cards through Discover's current relationship with JCB.
"This is a great example of partners working together to bring value to both customers and merchants," Amy Parsons, senior vice president of global acceptance at Discover, said in a Thursday press release. "Our strong existing relationships with First Data and JCB allow us to grow faster and reach merchants that are important to our customers."
First Data plans to enable acceptance for Discover and Diners Club cards at merchant sites, including key international restaurant chains, airport duty-free stores and national department stores in Hong Kong.
"At First Data, we are committed to enabling commerce for businesses around the world so they can, in turn, offer flexible payment options to their customers," Ivo Distelbrink, executive vice president and head of the Asia Pacific region for First Data, said in the release.
Discover currently works with First Data as its acquiring partner in both the U.S. and Europe to expand card acceptance on its network. Discover and JCB have worked together since 2006 to increase acceptance of JCB cards on the Discover Network in the U.S., and of Discover cards on the JCB network in Japan.
This is the third joint acquirer agreement between JCB and Discover following Kazakhstan and Republic of South Africa, leveraging Discover's current network-to-network relationship with JCB through First Data processing.
