On February 4, BC Card announced that for the first time in Korea it would issue a joint credit card – the Zhong Guo Tong (literally meaning “Around China”) - in collaboration with UnionPay.

Until now, major credit card companies in Korea have mostly collaborated with international card issuers such as VISA, MasterCard, and JCB. The partnership with a Chinese operator is the first of its kind. According to the terms of the agreement, BC Card will have exclusive rights to issue the Zhong Guo Tong card for three years in Korea.

On February 4 BC Card held a signing ceremony to issue the Zhong Guo Tong card at the Westin Chosun Hotel. Several dignitaries were present at the ceremony, including the Chinese Ambassador to Seoul, Ning Fukui and UnionPay President Xu Luode.

At the ceremony, President Chung said in his opening speech, “I am pleased to witness the first joint credit card between two companies in China and Korea. It should be an occasion for us to expand marketing and promotion activities in the Chinese market.” Ambassador Ning said, “I expect this to contribute in important ways to increased bilateral trade and human interaction between the two countries.”

At the event, many reporters were present from the Chinese press, including the Xinhua News Agency and the People’s Daily.

Members using the new card will benefit in terms of user convenience. For example, the Zhong Guo Tong card is accepted widely both by member merchants and ATMs throughout China. There are as many as 740,000 Zhong Guo Tong-affiliated merchants in China, surpassing by a large margin the number for major international credit cards (100,000). The card has another benefit of not incurring additional transaction fees, unlike any of the other major cards. As the first stage of its marketing effort, BC Card plans to issue the card to the employees of Korean companies doing business in China, business travelers, and corporate members with a presence in China. This will be followed by a push to widen the market to Korean students registered in Chinese universities and other educational institutions with a specifically-tailored check card. Finally the company will develop a debit card that the buyer can give to others as a gift. As another initiative, the company contemplated issuing joint marketing cards on the occasion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The new Zhong Guo Tong card offers several benefits: first, the user can receive certain mileage benefits (e.g., Korean Air gives one mile for every 1,500 won spent, and Asiana one mile for every 1,000 won spent); second, the user can enjoy travel-related privileges such as reservations for hotels, flights, and golf clubs in China; third, up to a 7 percent discount is available on airfares when reserved directly through BC Card travel services (up to 5 percent for Korean Air flights starting April 2008); and finally, free coupons offering discounts of between 5 and 15 percent for use in the duty-free shops at the Shilla Hotel Seoul and the Walker Hill Hotel.