HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) on Monday signed a partnership agreement to become the only issuer of Diners Club (DC) cards in Việt Nam.

The agreement helps to expand Vietinbank’s existing acquisition relationship with Diners Club International Ltd, a business unit and wholly-owned subsidiary of Discover Financial Services and a part of the Discover Global Network.

“Our partnership with Diners Club International will help us accelerate our product mix in the market and provide more choice to our customers in Việt Nam. Diners Club will allow us to boost our credit card line-up and enhance our services to our clients by providing global access and solutions that make business and international travel more efficient,” said Phùng Duy Khương, director of retail banking at Vietinbank.

The DC cards have the same issuance process and method of use as international credit and debit cards. In addition to the functions of international credit cards, such as internet payments, point of sale payments, withdrawals and accessing transaction history, cardholders also enjoy many discounts across more than 30 countries at restaurants, hotels and shopping centres.

Diners Club also offers VietinBank and its cardholders, particularly international and business travelers from Việt Nam, a comprehensive new suite of products and features such as access to more than 800 airport lounges and worldwide acceptance.  

 “Việt Nam is a fast-growing market that is critically important for Diners Club International to further expand our presence in Asia," said Joe Hurley, senior vice president and head of global business development for Discover.

"We are excited to open up the vast Discover Global Network to Vietnamese travelers when they are using their VietinBank Diners Club card while abroad,” Joe added.

Currently, Diners Club International has over 26 million merchant acceptance locations and 1.9 million ATM and cash access locations across 185 countries and territories.

Established in 1988, Vietinbank now provides a nationwide network of 155 branches scattered across 63 provinces and cities in Việt Nam, as well as two branches in the Federal Republic of Germany and one subsidiary bank in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. — VNS