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A joint venture operated by a major processor from the United States and China's main payment card network has landed a deal to process credit card transactions for the Bank of East Asia, which is based in Hong Kong. The contract went to China UnionPay Data Services Co. Ltd., a joint venture operated by card network China UnionPay and Total System Services Inc., commonly known as TSYS. Late last year, the bank said it was issuing yuan credit cards in mainland China, making the issuer among the first not located there to do so (CardLine Global, 18 Dec. 2008). Chinese regulators over the last year have opened the country's payment card network to foreign financial institutions, which includes banks not incorporated on the mainland, that are seeking to issue their own yuan-based debit and credit cards. A TSYS spokesperson was unable to say how many credit card accounts the joint venture expects to process because the program launched by the bank is so new. Outside mainland China, the bank issues cards carrying brands from Visa Inc. and Japan's JCB Co. Ltd. The joint venture, established in 2003, has at least 60 processing agreements. Despite the global economic crisis and mounting signs of a significant slowdown in China, TSYS remains "optimistic" about its prospects in the country over the next year, Gaylon Jowers, president of TSYS International, tells CardLine Global. China's "credit card industry is still relatively new and growing, making it a strategic focus for banks," he says. "And with China's economy being favorable toward outsourcing right now, we're optimistic about our growth this year, both organically through our existing clients and also through our strong sales pipeline."
