A newly established bank in Laos has launched a private label debit card using technology from New Zealand international payments software and services company GFG Group.
GFG has formed a strategic partnership with Thailand-based Bred IT, a subsidiary of French banking society Bred Banque Populaire. It in turn had a joint venture through a subsidiary and the newly formed Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao (BCEL), which is owned by the State of Laos.
Bred IT is hosting and managing the private label debit card system using infrastructures developed by GFG.
The end-to-end payment solution includes GFG’s issuing and acquiring solution, Cadencie, as well as payment switching functionality to drive ATMs and point of sale devices.
Cadencie connects the payments network through Oracle’s Flexicube retail banking system, and drives the issuing and acquiring activities for Visa and the private label cards.
Bred Banque Populaire is part of the Banque Populaire Caisse d’Espargne Group, the second-largest banking group in France.
GFG vice president sales Asia Miguel Warren says Bred IT’s aims for the project were to set a platform to develop payment infrastructures in the region, offering more security and payment options to customers and local merchants..
Bred IT card manager Claire Bonnert says the company has been investigating further expansion opportunities in the region and that GFG will play a key role in helping Bred IT secure those opportunities.
GFG has multiple implementations in Asia: the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Three of the world’s top mobile network operators are GFC customers.
