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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] BC Card will establish a joint venture specializing in card payment processing in Kyrgyzstan and enter Central Asia in earnest.
BC Card announced on the 23rd that it will establish BCCARD Kyrgyzstan (BCKG), a joint venture specializing in card payment processing in August, along with Kyrgyzstan national payment operator Interbank Processing Center (IPC).
Each company signed a SHA for the establishment of a joint venture on the 21st. The total capital of BCKG is 1.044 billion KGS (about 15.2 billion won), with BC Card sharing 52.5% and IPC and Smartro sharing 30% and 17.5%, respectively.
Until now, Kyrgyzstan's payment infrastructure has been distributed by bank, so multiple terminals have been installed at one merchant. If the bank that installs the terminal and the bank that issues the card are different, the merchant was charged a high payment fee depending on the payment network of the international brand. According to the local central bank, annual card payments have increased by more than 100% every year since 2021.
With the support of the two financial authorities, the Kyrgyzstan government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IPC and SmartRo in May to cooperate in building local payment infrastructure.
Through its partnership with BC Card, BCKG is also expected to have inter-country payment capabilities. Currently, BC Card is interconnected with major state-owned payment providers in Southeast Asia.
AlphaBIZ 폴 리(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
