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Total System Services Inc., a United States-based payment processor, says its Global Services business, which includes issuing and acquirer services for international companies, handled 22.8% more transactions in 2008 than it did the previous year. Last year, the company, better known as TSYS, processed 281.1 million transactions outside of North America, which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico, compared with 229 million in 2007. On the issuing side of the business, TSYS managed 33.5 million accounts outside of North America at the end of 2008, up 43.2% from 23.4 million accounts a year earlier. TSYS's international business could grow in 2009, as the company recently announced an agreement to service the credit and charge card portfolio of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG. In addition, last week China UnionPay Data Services Co. Ltd., a joint venture operated by card network China UnionPay and TSYS, announced it will process credit card transactions for the Bank of East Asia, which is based in Hong Kong.
