ARCA: GLOBAL RECESSION HAS NO MAJOR IMPACT ON CARD BUSINESS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Feb 5, 2010

YEREVAN, February 5. /ARKA/. The global recession had no major impact
on card business in Armenia, Shahen Hovhannisyan, executive director
of Armenian Card – ArCa payment system, said in an interview with
ARKA News Agency.

"We have done completely what we have planned, but we could reach
even higher results, if it were not a crisis," he said.

In his opinion, card business in Armenia still has unfilled niches,
but understanding and a real turnover, not only demand and supply,
are needed to fill them.

"We don’t want to give cards to everybody, if they won’t be in use,"
Hovhannisyan said in his interview. Growth will become possible
only when the necessity of cards is acknowledged well by population
and economy."

The executive director of ArCa said that the card culture being
implemented by the payment system in Armenia should be economically
justified, and the economy shouldn’t hobble development of card
business.

Hovhannisyan also said that card business has considerably reduced
shady dealing in Armenia by shrinking cash circulation, on which the
shadow sector stands.

Armenian Card payment system member banks have issued 190,346 cards
as of 2009.

More than 6.8 million deals worth AMD 331 billion were effected on
cards in 2009.

Armenian Card CJSC was established on March 16, 2000.

Twenty of 22 commercial banks in Armenia are Armenian Card members.

The member banks issues ArCa Classic, ArCa Gold, ArCa Business,
ArCa Affinity, ArCa Co-branded, ArCa Debit and ArCa Platinum cards.

Armenian Card is a full member of MasterCard Europe international
payment system.

The company process VISA (Third Party Processor) cards. ($1 = AMD
376.03).