Riverwoods, Illinois and Beijing, China
– November 8, 2006 – It was less than a year ago
that a landmark transaction at the famous Macy's
Herald Square in New York City kicked off the
first phase of a reciprocal acceptance agreement
between Discover Financial Services LLC, a business
unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and China Unionpay
(CUP), China's only national bankcard payment
network. Today, a single swipe of a Discover Card
marks the second phase of the agreement, signifying
the acceptance of Discover Network cards at more
than 480,000 merchant locations and 90,000 ATMs
across China.
Just prior to a ceremonial
luncheon at Qianmen Quanjude restaurant in Beijing
to celebrate the successful implementation of
the next phase of the agreement, Discover Financial
Services Chairman and CEO David Nelms purchased
a bronze horse with his Discover Card, marking
the first transaction using a Discover Network
card in China. Last December, Liu Tinghuan, chairman
of China Unionpay, and Su Ning, deputy governor
of the People's Bank of China, purchased a necktie
with a CUP PIN debit card issued in China, marking
the beginning of China Unionpay bankcard acceptance
in the U.S.
“This historic alliance
opens the door for Chinese merchants on the CUP
network to benefit from the purchasing power of
Discover Network cardholders traveling to China.
The number of American travelers in China grew
close to 20 percent last year alone,” said Wan
Jianhua, president and CEO of China Unionpay.
“As our CUP cardholders have already been doing
for nearly a year in the United States, we are
excited to welcome the use of Discover Network
cards at our CUP merchant locations beginning
in mainland China.”
Acceptance of Discover
Network cards on the CUP network throughout China
marks the latest phase of a long-term agreement
that the two companies signed in May 2005.
“This successful transaction is a testament
to the new opportunities that exist for commerce
between the growing number of American travelers
to China and Chinese merchants,” said David Nelms,
chairman and CEO of Discover Financial Services.
“By broadening international acceptance of Discover
Network cards, this transaction further expands
the link between the U.S. and China, while providing
increased sales volume for Chinese merchants.”
Discover Network cards are also accepted
in other regions popular with U.S. travelers,
such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America,
and Canada.
# # #
About
China Unionpay China Unionpay Co.,
Ltd. (CUP) is the only national bankcard payment
network in China, with more than 900 million bankcards
issued on the CUP network. CUP bankcards are accepted
in 23 countries and regions, including Hong Kong,
Macau, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, and Australia.
Approved by the State Council and licensed by
the People's Bank of China, CUP is a shareholding
financial service institution established through
capital contributions by more than 80 domestic
financial institutions and a total of 189 member
banks, of which 30 are overseas. For more information,
visit
www.chinaunionpay.com/englishversion.
About Discover Financial Services
Discover Financial Services LLC, a business
unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), operates the
Discover Card with more than 50 million Cardmembers,
and the Discover Network, with more than 4 million
merchant and cash access locations. Discover Financial
Services also operates the PULSE ATM/debit network,
which serves more than 4,200 financial institutions
and includes nearly 250,000 ATMs and approximately
3.4 million POS terminals. For more information,
visit
www.discovercard.com,
www.discovernetwork.com
or
www.pulse-eft.com.
CONTACTS: Leslie
Beyer
Discover Financial Services
224/405-5154
Tao Zhou
China Unionpay
86-21-6100-6566
ext 6115