Discover Financial Services Partners With Grupo Financiero Banamex To Increase Merchant Acceptance In Mexico

March 27, 2003
México D.F. March 27, 2003.- Discover Financial Services and Grupo Financiero Banamex announced today an agreement that will expand acceptance of the Discover® Card in Mexico.

As part of the agreement, Banamex will activate merchants, initially in Mexico's tourist destinations and border crossings, and eventually throughout all Mexico, offering the Discover Card merchant acceptance program. Banamex currently facilitates card acceptance services for more than 20,000 merchants in Mexico.

“Our partnership with Banamex will provide merchants in Mexico with additional payment options for their customers,” said Tom Dailey, senior vice president, Discover Financial Services, Inc. “In addition, Discover Cardmembers will now be able to use their Discover Cards when traveling to Mexico.”

“Banamex is always searching for the best alternatives to help our merchants to increase their sales. As the first financial group in Mexico to offer merchants Discover Card acceptance, our customers will receive new benefits”, said Augusto Escalante, Corporate Director of Consumer Banking of Banamex.

“We consider this arrangement to be an important way for Banamex to continue supporting the Tourism Industry in our country”, said Escalante.

Discover Financial Services, a business unit of Morgan Stanley, operates the Discover Card brands and the Discover Business Services network for its more than 50 million Cardmembers. Discover Business Services is the largest proprietary credit card network in the United States with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations.

Grupo Financiero Banamex is a member of Citigroup, Inc. and is the leading financial group in Mexico with Banco Nacional de México (Banamex) founded in 1884. Through its affiliates, the Group keeps a preeminent position in the financial markets of the country, including deposits, consumer financing, management of resources of investment societies and retirement funds, insurance banking, pensions and money brokerage. The Group has an extensive distribution network of more than 1,400 branches and 4,400 ATM's located throughout the country.