Bank of Bhutan to Start Accepting JCB Card

Sep 26, 2016 10:00 JST

Source: JCB

Tokyo and Thimphu, Sep 26, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., and Bank of Bhutan Ltd. (BOBL), the first and largest scale commercial bank in Bhutan, today announced that BOBL started accepting JCB cards at the bank's merchants.

Bhutan is popular destination for people in Asia Pacific. According to Tourism Council of Bhutan, over 150,000 travelers visited the country in 2015, which has more than tripled over the past 5 years. Most of the travelers are from regional countries in Asia, where JCBI focuses on for its business. BOBL, established in 1968, is the first bank of the country and currently has about 45 branches throughout Bhutan. With this launch, JCB cards are accepted at more than 480 locations and it covers 90% of POS terminals and ATMs in the market.

JCBI Deputy President Kimihisa Imada said, "This year is the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bhutan and Japan and it is my pleasure to announce the launch of business cooperation of BOBL and JCB in such a historic year. South Asia is an emerging market and Bhutan is located in the middle of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Through the bank's nationwide merchant network, we can meet JCB cardmember demand while travelling and sightseeing in Bhutan, especially cardmembers from neighbor countries, such as China, Bangladesh, and Thailand, which have about 13 million cardmembers."

Pema N Nadik, Chief Executive Officer of BOBL, said, "The introduction of JCB card acceptance has been long awaited given the popularity of Bhutan as a destination for Japanese travelers. With JCB cards now being accepted in Bhutan through the network of Bank of Bhutan's ATM and POS terminals, visitors holding JCB cards have the option of making payments securely through this payment channel."

About Bank of Bhutan

Bank of Bhutan is the only bank in Bhutan which accepts International Cards at Point of Sale (PoS), ATM and Online-through payment Gateway besides issuing Debit, Prepaid and Credit Cards. Bank of Bhutan has now become principal member of JCB International Co. Ltd. and have started accepting any Cards issued under JCB brand at Bank of Bhutan POS and ATM terminals, in addition to Visa, MasterCard and all domestic Banks. Bank of Bhutan currently has 82 ATMs and more than 400 PoS terminals across the country. Bank of Bhutan is into acquiring business since 2010 after getting principal membership of Visa and MasterCard.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payments 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 more than 350 leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and card member base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

Note: Statistics in About JCB is as of March 2016.

Contact

Bank of Bhutan
Ngawang Namgyel
Cards Division, BoBL
Tel: +975 2 334589
Email: ngawang.namgyel@bob.bt

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

Source: JCB
Sectors: Cards & Payments, Daily News