ABN Amro/PPR: moving into French retail banking

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Card fraud: threat from abroad

Research from Barclaycard shows that France, the US and Spain account for much of the fraud conducted overseas on UK issued cards. There are already initiatives underway to combat this, but as one solution to fraud is found, the fraudsters find a new weakness. Levels of mail non-receipt and identity theft fraud are already on the increase.

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Cofinoga: challenging the heavyweights

The French Post Office and consumer credit group Cofinoga have announced an agreement whereby Cofinoga cardholders will gain access to La Poste's ATM terminals for cash withdrawals. French private label cards are bounding ahead to gain equal footing with Visa and MasterCard bankcards. They may even prevent the successful penetration of the European market by US and UK card issuers.<BR />

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Commercial fuel retail: fuel cards lead the way in Europe

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Contactless payment technology: at service stations in France and Germany

Fuel retailer Orlen has begun rolling out contactless payment terminals at its service stations in Germany, while in France, Carrefour has announced that it will be deploying readers throughout its entire network. Contactless payments offer benefits such as reduced transaction times and higher convenience, which should give these players a significant competitive edge in the long term.

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Egg: cracking the French cards market

Egg's new French cashback Visa product is compelling, and the UK-based online bank has a brilliant track record in credit cards. However, French wallets are dominated by private label cards, French consumers are adverse to credit card borrowing, and the French press is preoccupied with over-indebtedness. France will be Egg's biggest challenge so far.

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Egg: cutting its losses in France

Egg's [EGG.L] Q1 results reflect contrasting fortunes in the UK and France. Egg has been exceptionally successful in the UK market since its launch five years ago, but its recent foray into the French card market has been nothing short of disastrous. Although loses in its French business have declined as the bank reins in its spending, Egg's fate will be in the hands of its eventual new owner.

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Egg: retreat from France on the cards?

Rumors of Egg's [EGG.L] possible withdrawal from the French card market appear to be substantiated by reports that Prudential [PRU.L] wants to sell its majority share in the bank. Certainly, Egg has struggled in France, but there may yet be something to build on. Corporate pressure from above however means the bank may never find out.

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Egg: sunny side up in the US

Following its entry into France, UK Internet bank Egg has announced it is considering a product launch in the US. It will spend GBP5 million investigating opportunities in the US market and testing the Egg brand. However, despite Egg's seemingly unabated international ambition, there is a danger that the bank could be overstretching itself.<BR />

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French loyalty cards: S'Miles better for Shell

Groupe Caisse d'Epargne has joined Shell in S'Miles, a major syndicated retail loyalty card scheme in France. The French retail bank will represent a welcome addition to the scheme for Shell, increasing the number of card touch points for its customers in a market where an independent loyalty card may not be the best route for the fuel retailer.

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