American Express to take over UBS’s stake in Swisscard

"There is no short-term impact on cardholders, merchants or partners," Swisscard said. Keystone-SDA

American Express is to acquire UBS's 50% stake in credit card provider Swisscard, which the two groups currently hold in equal shares.

AmEx will become the sole owner of Swisscard on closing of the transaction, the timing of which has not yet been announced. Issuers have also been informed that Swisscard and UBS have reached an agreement to transfer Credit Suisse-branded cards to UBS.

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“This transfer of portfolios has no impact on the combined Credit Suisse card portfolio of CHF400 million [$462 million] of ABS notes in circulation,” Swisscard said in a statement on Monday.

Swisscard will continue to issue all the other card portfolios it issues under the American Express, Mastercard and Visa licenses, and will continue to operate the American Express acquiring business in Switzerland. “There is no short-term impact on cardholders, merchants or partners,” the company said.

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American Express, it added, remains committed to operating in Switzerland through Swisscard.

UBS explained in a separate statement that issuing credit cards in Switzerland through Swisscard is not compatible with UBS’s existing operational processes and strategic priorities as the legal successor to Credit Suisse.

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“Customers with credit cards distributed under the Credit Suisse brand will be informed in a transparent and timely manner of the next steps in the transition to a new card,” said the bank. “Issuance of the new cards is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2025, at the same time as the transfer of banking relationships. For customers who already have a UBS credit card, nothing will change.”

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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