JCB International, Japan’s major payment brand, is hoping to gain more business in Vietnam resulting from a deal it announced June 13 to sponsor the country’s national soccer team, a company spokesperson said in an email statement.
Vietnam is a key target market, the spokesperson said, citing the country’s entrance into the World Trade Organization in 2007 and its growing economy for driving its interest.
“Vietnam’s economy has grown, and [the] potential scale for [the] card-payment market has expanded,” the spokesperson said.
Sponsoring the national soccer team was an important marketing effort to support JCB’s presence in the market, according to the company, which plans to begin issuing JCB credit cards in Vietnam in August.
The issuer also envisions having cobranded credit cards with the Vietnam Football Federation, with which it signed the deal to sponsor the national team. JCB did not disclose specific details of its plans.
JCB has merchant-acquiring relationships with nine partner banks in Vietnam, and 12,600 merchant locations in the country accept the card. Merchants in Vietnam have accepted JCB cards since 1991.
For the team sponsorship, the two organizations will provide a combined logo on decals to merchants that accept the cards and for display at the federation’s soccer stadium.
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