, formerly Japan Credit Bureau, is a
credit card company based in
Tokyo,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
History
Japan Credit Bureau was founded in 1961 by
Sanwa Bank (now
MUFG Bank) and Nippon Shinpan (now
Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS), as the country's second credit card issuer and payment network after the Japanese branch of
Diners Club International
Diners Club International (DCI), founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company owned by Discover Financial Services. Formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider, Matty Simmons, and Alfred S. Bloomingdale, it was the first independent ...
. JCB firmly established itself in the Japanese credit card market after purchasing, and then absorbing, Hokkaido Credit Bureau and Osaka Credit Bureau in 1968. its cards are issued to 130 million customers in 23 countries. JCB also operates a network of membership airport lounges for holders of their Platinum Cards issued outside Japan.
JCB cards are issued in 24 countries. In most of these, JCB is affiliated with financial institutions to issue JCB-branded cards.
In the United States, JCB is not a primary credit card network such as
Visa or
MasterCard. While the brand was primarily accepted by tourism-related businesses such as airlines and car rental companies, it gained wider acceptance in 2006 when JCB announced an alliance with
Discover Network
Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched, Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the e ...
. The two companies signed a long-term agreement that led to the acceptance of Discover Network brand cards at JCB point-of-sale terminals in Japan and of JCB cards on the Discover network in the U.S. This partnership became operational in 2011.
Local JCB accounts in the United States were issued by JCB USA, and offered to residents of
California,
Connecticut,
Illinois,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
New Jersey,
Oregon,
Washington and
Hawaii. JCB USA stopped issuing JCB cards in the American market on January 8, 2018, and closed all current consumer credit card accounts on April 30, 2018.
Foreign JCB cards continue to work through the Discover network partnership.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Credit cards
Credit card issuer associations
Financial services companies based in Tokyo
Financial services companies established in 1961
Midori-kai
1961 establishments in Japan