Emmanuel Petit appointed as General Manager of newly created company
PARIS, and WATERLOO, Belgium, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MasterCard
Europe and Europay France today announced an agreement to integrate their
operating structures in France, a priority market for MasterCard in Europe.
The integration will support French banks' efforts to provide competitive
payment services. Under the terms of the agreement, a new company is to be
formed. Additional terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061031/MCLOGO )
The transaction is expected to be completed on April 1, 2008 and will
enable French and international banks in France to benefit from a direct
relationship with MasterCard Europe for payment services. The two businesses
have a history of combining their strengths, with MasterCard International and
Europay International having merged their pan-European activities in 2002.
Under that agreement, Europay France has acted as a liaison between MasterCard
Worldwide and financial institutions in France.
Commenting on the announcement, Alfredo Gangotena, General Manager
Continental Europe, MasterCard Europe said: "This agreement is essential to
strengthening our direct presence in this market, and ensuring that French
banks can have a single point of contact for their electronic payment needs.
It also means that French consumers and retailers can enjoy the benefits of a
more competitive and richer range of card payment products and increased
acceptance. Quite simply, we are combining MasterCard's international
expertise, proven ability to innovate and cutting edge technology and
marketing with the technical and professional expertise and experience of
Europay France."
Mr. Gangotena continued: "This recipe for success will help ensure banks
and merchants are ideally positioned to deliver payment products and services
to meet the needs of their French customers. This will strengthen French banks
in the intensely competitive international marketplace and they will further
benefit from a payments system unrivalled in terms of both reliability and
efficiency."
MasterCard Europe has also announced the appointment of Emmanuel Petit as
General Manager of the newly-created company. Mr. Petit will be responsible
from today for leading the integration process, before assuming the role of
General Manager on April 1, 2008. Mr. Petit, who joined MasterCard in 2002,
currently leads MasterCard's relationship with a key banking client in Europe.
Mr. Petit will report to Alfredo Gangotena.
Mr. Petit will work closely during the integration process with Mr. Herve
Kergoat, currently Country Manager for MasterCard Europe in France. Mr.
Kergoat will, from April 1, 2008 assume new responsibilities as head of
Business Development, Special Projects. He will continue to report to Mr.
Gangotena.
The agreement is particularly timely given the establishment of SEPA, the
Single Euro(pean) Payments Area, the financial infrastructure which will
demand that cross-border payment instruments are made available in all
Eurozone markets, in addition to national ones.
MasterCard is fully equipped to provide SEPA compliant solutions which
will enable banks not only in France, but throughout Europe, to compete
effectively both at a domestic and international level. The influence of SEPA
has already directly impacted the French domestic market by allowing the
issuance of co-branded cards in France since October 2007.
The French market has long been a leader in innovation for the payments
sector. French banks were amongst the first to embrace Chip technology, which
has played a major role in increasing card payment security in France.
November 2007 also marked the French launch of Europe's first MasterCard(R)
PayPass(TM) contactless payments trial involving co-branded cards. MasterCard
is the worldwide leader in contactless payments, with 20 million PayPass cards
and devices and 80,000 merchant acceptance locations in 20 countries.
MasterCard Europe is ideally placed to deliver these benefits, offering
consumer debit, credit, corporate and prepaid cards, coupled with the
industry-leading PayPass contactless technology and acceptance.
Emmanuel Petit said: "We will be working hard to continue to enhance
payment solutions available in France. I am relishing the prospect of leading
this new business during 2008 and beyond. We will be offering a strong
combination of market leading payment card products and unrivalled global
acceptance to French consumers and retailers."
Jean-Claude Perchet, General Manager, Europay France said: "This agreement
is the result of a relationship between Europay France and MasterCard which
dates back more than thirty years. We're truly excited to be combining forces
with MasterCard to provide French banks with Europe-wide solutions, which will
enable them to become world class performers in the payments industry and
leaders in the SEPA market."
About MasterCard Europe and MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Europe is the entity responsible for managing MasterCard
Worldwide's business in Europe -- for Europe. With headquarters in Waterloo,
Belgium, MasterCard Europe works with 51 European countries organized
administratively into three customer areas, incorporating the Single Euro
Payments Area (SEPA), mature markets and the developing markets of Europe,
stretching as far afield as the eastern border of Russia. Through its network
of local offices, MasterCard Europe can understand and meet the diverse needs
of customers in the very different types of markets throughout Europe,
enabling people to do business in their own way in their own language.
Through MasterCard Worldwide, MasterCard Europe offers its European
customers and consumers access to leading payment services throughout the
world. MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical
economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and
merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard
develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 16 billion transactions
each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to
financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands,
including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers
and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more
information, go to http://www.mastercard.com.
About Europay France
Europay France manages the development and adoption by French banks of
MasterCard's product in France. The organization develops and champions the
use of cards as a payments mechanism in the country. Europay France manages
the performance of the payments network for all card payment operators in
France and processes the transactions for foreign cardholders in France and
French cardholders abroad.
Europay France also manages the interface between French institutions and
international networks and informs banks of all regulatory requirements
relating to the issue and acceptance of MasterCard cards.
Note to Editors
About Emmanuel Petit
A French national, Emmanuel Petit joined MasterCard in 2002. He is the
Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Citibank account for APMEA
and Europe. This role spans more than 26 countries and includes a number of
the key strategic growth countries for Citibank. As a member of the senior
management team at MasterCard, Mr. Petit is also an active participant in a
number of global and regional strategic initiatives within the organization.
Mr. Petit also spent ten years with Visa in a variety of roles including
Senior Vice President for Central and Northern Europe, based in Brussels, and
Vice President for International Debit products at Visa's International's Head
Office in San Francisco. Between MasterCard and Visa, Mr. Petit was Marketing
Director of Hilton EMEA.
Before joining Visa, Mr. Petit was Director of Marketing and
Communications at Groupement Carte Bleue in Paris and before this, he held
marketing responsibilities in the French Group Paribas. Mr. Petit holds a
diploma of the Institut Superieur de Gestion in Paris and a degree in Business
Law, which he completed at the University of Paris-II Assas.
Forward-Looking Statements -- United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
Statements in this press release which are not historical facts, including
statements about MasterCard's plans, strategies, beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they are made. Accordingly, except for MasterCard's
ongoing obligations under the United States federal securities laws,
MasterCard does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking
information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in general
economic or industry conditions, changes in financial condition, changes in
estimates, expectations or assumptions or other circumstances arising and/or
existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the
occurrence of any unanticipated events. Such forward-looking statements
include, without limitation:
* the ability to close the transaction on April 1, 2008;
* the ability to successfully integrate the MasterCard operating
structure in France with that of Europay France;
* the likelihood that the newly-created company will strengthen
MasterCard's direct presence in the market, allowing French banks to
have a single point of contact for their electronic payment needs;
* the likelihood that the integrated operations of the newly-created
company will strengthen French banks' competitive position; and
* MasterCard's ability to have its products remain competitive, continue
to benefit French consumers and retailers and enhance payments
solutions available in France.
Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements
for a number of reasons, including those set forth in MasterCard's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, its Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that have been filed with the SEC
during 2007, as well as reasons including difficulties, delays or the
inability of the company to achieve its strategic initiatives set forth above.
Factors other than those listed above could also cause MasterCard's results to
differ materially from expected results.
SOURCE MasterCard Worldwide
-0- 01/08/2008
/CONTACT: Corinne Raes, +32-2-352-5237, corinne_raes@mastercard.com, or
Louise Herbert, +32-2-352-5647, louise_herbert@mastercard.com, both of
MasterCard Europe, or Alain Thiebaut of Europay France, +33-1-43-23-21-13,
alain.thiebaut@europayfrance.fr/
/Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061031/MCLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com /
/Web site: http://www.mastercard.com /
(MA)
CO: MasterCard Worldwide; Europay France; MasterCard Europe
ST: France, Belgium
IN: FIN
SU: PER CON
AL-AP
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3244 01/08/2008 07:55 EST http://www.prnewswire.com