THE LOCAL BANKER
Dimon’s April decision to ditch the JPMorgan Chase partnership with AirPlus and exit the international commercial card business in 2015 left large corporations scrambling to seek other solutions.
JPMorgan Chase’s April decision to exit the international commercial card business in 2015 and concentrate on its North America card business not only accentuated the challenge of establishing a truly global card program for travel managers but also left large corporations scrambling to seek out other solutions.
JPMorgan Chase had partnered with payments provider AirPlus International in 2012 to offer large corporations a single, co-branded global payment solution. It issued the walking plastic cards while AirPlus provided the lodge cards. In 2013, JPMorgan Chase managing director of commercial cards Lionel Le Meur acknowledged that the local implementations for global programs was challenging, but he was confident in the bank’s approach and cited growth in 2012 that he attributed to globalization.
By 2015, the bank had changed its mind and announced it would exit the international card market. Spokesperson Edward Kozmor said, “We are concentrating on areas where we can best meet clients’ needs for a competitive offering and superior client experiences."
The move left at least one customer who spoke to BTN disillusioned about the shrinking possibility of achieving a truly global program. An AirPlus spokesperson told BTN in December that all joint customers had “successfully migrated across to [other] AirPlus products.”
The move also brought to the fore those banks, such as Citi and U.S. Bank, that have committed to international presences for several years and provided opportunities for those and other banks to expand their portfolios of clients.