Discover Expands Acceptance In Puerto Rico, Caribbean

Discover Financial Services is partnering with the operator of Puerto Rico's ATM and debit network, as part of the credit card company's ongoing efforts to increase acceptance abroad by teaming up with local networks.

The deal will allow banks participating on Puerto Rico's ATH network to issue Discover cards with point-of-sale signature debit. The deal will increase Discover's acceptance in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and expand usage of the ATH cards worldwide, wherever Discover and Diners Club International cards are accepted.

"We get improved acceptance in Puerto Rico and Caribbean, and they get increased acceptance and utility internationally for their members," Diane Offereins, executive vice president and president of Discover's payment services unit, told American Banker in an interview on Wednesday. She would not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

"We had pretty good acceptance in Puerto Rico already, but the deal does enhance that and help us fill in some gaps in the Caribbean," she adds.

Discover finalized a similar network partnership deal with India's RuPay network earlier this month. And over the past few years, Discover has forged similar deals in South Korea and Serbia.

Going forward, more deals of this type could be in the offing, Offereins says.

"We've got a fair amount of momentum and we're clearly open for business," she says, adding that "there are a number of networks out there that are paying a lot of attention to the deals we've done."

Processing company Evertec Inc. owns and operates the ATH network.