American Express (Amex) has agreed to purchase UBS’s 50% stake in Swiss credit card provider Swisscard AECS for an undisclosed sum.
American Express to become the sole owner of Swisscard
Upon completion of the transaction, subject to certain closing conditions, Amex will acquire full ownership of Swisscard, in which it previously held a 50% stake.
The company was founded in 1998 as a joint venture between Amex and Credit Suisse. Swisscard positions itself as the “only card issuer in Switzerland to offer the world’s most important credit card brands American Express, Mastercard and Visa all in one place”.
Swisscard claims to manage over 1.5 million credit cards and is “also responsible for expanding and handling the American Express network of points of acceptance in Switzerland”.
In a statement announcing the deal, Swisscard says it will “continue to issue all other card portfolios it issues under the American Express, Mastercard and Visa licenses and will continue to operate the American Express acquiring business in Switzerland”, adding that there is “no near-term impact on any of these cardholders, merchants or partners”.
Speaking on the sale, UBS states that, although it remains “fully committed” to its credit card business, “issuing credit cards in Switzerland through Swisscard does not align with the existing operational setup and strategic priorities of UBS as legal successor to Credit Suisse”.
Additionally, as part of the deal, Swisscard says “the Issuers have been informed that Swisscard and UBS have entered into an agreement to transition the Credit Suisse branded card portfolios to UBS”, with the transition set to commence in the “first half of 2025”, according to UBS.
“UBS is looking forward to welcome and integrate the cardholders and to offer them the full range of the UBS credit card and end-to-end services going forward,” UBS says.
“For cardholders, there is no need for action and no near-term effect, cards can be used as usual for the time being. Clients with Credit Suisse branded credit cards will be informed transparently and in a timely manner about the next steps for their respective new card issuance, which is expected to commence in the first half of 2025, together with the migration of the banking relationship. There will be no changes or implications for clients who already hold credit cards issued by UBS.”
Swisscard adds that the “transition of the Credit Suisse branded card portfolios to UBS does not affect the combined CHF 400 million [approximately $436 million] outstanding ABS notes of the Issuers”.
