Three years after its announcement to partner with AirPlus International to provide its multinational clients with an international commercial card offering, JPMorgan Chase has announced plans to discontinue the program by the end of the year. According to a recent announcement, Chase will work with existing clients to migrate to a new card program outside of the U.S. The bank will continue its offerings in the U.S. for these clients.
According a recent article in Business Travel News, Chase has decided to concentrate on
“areas where we can best meet clients’ needs for a competitive offering and superior client experience”.
This announcement counters recent trends by U.S. issuers to identify more opportunities for multinational card clients despite its inherent regulatory and management challenges. Fragmentation in corporate program management adds to this as the article cites a recent BTN Global View survey noting that
“34 percent of 138 travel buyers with multinational programs surveyed negotiate with their primary corporate card provider on a global basis, while 26 percent allow different regions to have their own corporate cards”.
“Running a successful multinational T&E program is complicated” noted Rick Hall, Director of Commercial and Enterprise Payments at Mercator Advisory Group. “With so much fragmentation out there it is certainly understandable why an issuer would think seriously about the strategic viability of any program due to limitations on resources and returns. The somewhat surprising aspect of this announcement is which issuer is making it. Chase has a very strong position in the U.S. commercial card business and it speaks to the need for all issuers to prioritize strategic efforts going forward, not to just look at the size of an opportunity.”
Overview by Rick Hall, Director, commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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