ARCA TO INTRODUCE AMERICAN EXPRESS PAYMENT CARDS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Feb 3, 2010

YEREVAN, February 3, /ARKA/. Armenian Card (ArCa) Armenian payment
system said it will introduce this year American Express international
payment system’s cards.

American Express is one of the three largest international card
payment systems along with Visa and MasterCard, Armenian Card executive
director Shahen Hovhanesian, told in an interview with ARKA.

He said ArCa has received all necessary certificates and implemented
several pilot transactions planing to start issuing these cards in
the first half of 2010.

He said the introduction of the new payment system is expected to
increase the banks’ turnover which will receive additional profits
for servicing new cards, but declined to reveal the name of a bank
that has received a license to service these new cards

‘This bank has developed an appropriate business plan and has been
granted the exclusive contract to service American Express cards.

Under the contract all other banks will be serviced through it,’
he said.

In 2009 ArmCard system -member banks issued 190,346 cards. Also last
year 6.8 million transactions were executed by payment cards worth
over 331 billion drams.

Armenian Card was founded in 2000 and 20 of 22 Armenian commercial
banks are its members, which issue now ArCa Classic, ArCa Gold, ArCa
Business, ArCa Affinity, ArCa Co-branded, ArCa Debit E ArCa Platinum
cards. It is also a full member of MasterCard Europe, implementing the
processing of VISA cards (Third Party Processor). ($1 – 376.03 Drams).