Card Briefs: Israel Investor, Oil Firm Get Mondex Franchise

Discount Investment Corp. and Paz Oil Co. have acquired the Israeli franchise rights to the Mondex electronic cash system, Mondex International announced.

Discount Investment, which has a wide range of corporate investments and assets approaching $1 billion, is part of IDB Holding Group, the parent of Israel Discount Bank.

Paz is Israel's largest petroleum company, with 1996 sales of $1.4 billion. Its chairman, Bino Zadik, is former managing director of Bank Leumi le-Israel.

The franchisees said they intend to recruit partners from banking, retailing, and other industries to ensure the program's success. They plan to introduce Mondex in the first quarter of 1998, using the recently announced Multos multiple-application operating system.

"Israelis have a reputation for embracing new technology, and I am confident Mondex will quickly become a part of everyday life," Discount Investment managing director Dov Tadmor said.

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