JCB International and CIMB Bank Singapore with Wirecard Seal Merchant Acquisition Partnership

TOKYO and SINGAPORE, December 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

JCB International Co., Ltd. ("JCBI"), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., CIMB Bank Singapore ("CIMB"), and Wirecard AG ("Wirecard") are pleased to announce their signing of a License Agreement to begin JCB merchant acquiring services in Singapore. Through the partnership, JCB card acceptance facilities will be available at CIMB merchants.

With its ASEAN footprint firmly in place, CIMB is a befitting partner with JCBI on both the local and regional front.  Having established similar collaborations in Malaysia and Indonesia, this new License Agreement extends the collaboration into other parts of Southeast Asia and enhances cooperation in the region.

Tourism is a key contributor to the Singapore economy and the country is a popular destination for regional JCB cardmembers. This new merchant acquisition partnership with CIMB will bolster the JCB card acceptance network in the market and promote new merchants to JCBI's  rapidly expanding cardmember base from Asia during their stay in Singapore.  

Vincent Ling, Managing Director of JCB International Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., commented, "As Singapore continues to be a key tourist destination for Asians including Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, a stronger JCB card acceptance will bring about enhanced convenience to JCB cardmembers. JCBI is pleased to collaborate with CIMB Bank Singapore and we look forward to working closely together to serve our cardmembers, merchants and business partners better."

Mak Lye Mun, CEO of CIMB Bank Singapore and Country Head of CIMB Group Singapore said, "As a leading bank in ASEAN, CIMB Bank is proud to expand our payment acceptance offering with JCBI in Singapore. This partnership unlocks opportunities for our merchant acquiring business and I'm confident it will benefit both merchants and JCB cardmembers through greater card acceptance and increased payment options."

CIMB Bank Singapore's one-stop merchant solution is in partnership with Wirecard, a global leader in electronic payment and mPOS technology and infrastructure. Wirecard has been providing an integrated payment platform that supports eCommerce, mCommerce, mobile and traditional Point-of-Sale, to facilitate merchants' real-time tracking of transactions across multiple sales channels as part of the partnership. Mr Jeffry Ho, Managing Director of Wirecard Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia A&I added, "We are delighted with another milestone of our partnership with CIMB Bank. We believe that the CIMB-JCB initiative will certainly provide a better payment experience for both merchants and JCB cardmembers in Singapore."

About JCB  

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 31 million merchants and over a million cash advance locations in 190 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 21 countries and territories, with more than 95 million card members. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide.

Note: Statistics  About JCB are as of March 2016.

For more information, please visit: http://www.global.jcb/en/

About CIMB Bank Singapore 

CIMB Bank Singapore was officially established on 29 September 2009 as part of CIMB Group's longstanding commitment to Singapore - the Group has had a local presence since 1947 through Ban Hin Lee Bank and acquired GK Goh Securities in 2005. CIMB Bank Singapore represents the consumer banking arm of CIMB Group, a leading ASEAN universal bank. Strategically located in the financial centre of ASEAN and operating on a full banking license, CIMB Bank Singapore offers individuals, businesses and corporate clients a comprehensive suite of financial solutions.

CIMB Group is Malaysia's second largest financial services provider and one of ASEAN's leading universal banking groups. It offers consumer banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management and insurance products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is now present in nine out of 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, Bahrain, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Korea, the US and UK.

CIMB Group has the most extensive retail branch network in ASEAN of more than 1,000 branches as at 31 March 2016. CIMB Group's investment banking arm is also one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment banks, offering amongst the most comprehensive research coverage of more than 1,000 stocks in the region.

CIMB Group operates its business through three main brand entities, CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB Group is also the 97.9% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 93.7% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.

CIMB Group is listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It had a market capitalisation of approximately RM38.1 billion as at 30 June 2016. The Group has 40,000 employees located in 17 countries.

About Wirecard:    

Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard.

Media contact:

JCB International Co., Ltd.
Ayako Tanaka
Corporate Planning
Tel: +81-3-5778-8390
Email: jcbinternational-pr@info.jcb.co.jp

CIMB Bank
Josandi Thor
Senior Managing Director and Head
Group Marketing, Brand and Sponsorship Management
CIMB Group
DID: +603-2261-0628 (Malaysia) I +65-6302-3885 (Singapore)
Email: josandi.thor@cimb.com

Daryl Tan
Assistant Vice President, Communications
Group Marketing and Communications, Singapore
DID: +65-6317-2334 | Mobile: +65-9720-8466
Email: daryl.tan@cimb.com

Wirecard AG
Iris Stoeckl
VP Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Wirecard AG
Tel: +49 (0)-89-4424-1424
Email: iris.stoeckl@wirecard.com