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AmEx Cards Rejected at MTS Outlets
// More companies boycott AmEx’s new processor
Russia’s largest cell company MTS said Tuesday it is no longer receiving payments by American Express credit cards. AmEx cards are also rejected in several outlets of other cell operators, MegaFon and Beeline. Those in the market say that problems with the cards are likely to persist for up to six months.
MTS is informing its subscribers that it would not accept American Express credit cards for payments, the company’s spokesperson Irina Osadchaya said in an interview with Kommersant. “Payments by AmEx cards are already available through the Internet,” Ms. Osadchaya said, adding that as little as 500 payments by this card type are done at MTS monthly.
The move came after the United Card Service (UCS) processing company halted AmEx’s card acquiring on August 7. UCS said that Russky Standart secured exclusive rights to handle processing for AmEx in Russia on June 1. MTS underlines that it would like to continue cooperation with the U.S. payment system. “Russky Standart is now installing its imprinters at MTS offices to accept AmEx,” says Irina Osadchaya.
Meanwhile, 30 outlets of another cell operator, MegaFon halted operations by AmEx cards back on June 1. “We would like to accept AmEx cards in the future but not at the expense of our business,” MegaFon’s presser told Kommersant. The company would not name AmEx’s share in the total payment turnover, but said that it is far below Visa and MasterCard’s statistics. VimpelCom which operates Beeline said that its several offices which were run by UCS are no longer accepting the cards. The cell major would not name the exact number of the affected outlets.
Cell operators are not the only ones to suffer from the AmEx rights transfer to Russky Standart. Sedmoy Kontinent supermarkets, Globus Gurme stores and Person and Tony & Guy barbershops are also rejecting the cards. Those in the market note that it is very unlikely that Russky Standart will fulfill the promise to resume operations at 20,000 outlets that were accepting AmEx cards within one week. Experts say it may take up to six months. Meanwhile, Russky Standart says that it has already covered 70 percent of the locations once run by UCS including retail majors such as Ramstore, Perekryostok and 36,6. “Russky Standart is trying hard to make sure that AmEx card holders enjoy using their cards in Russia,” says the bank’s spokesman Artem Lebedev.
Anna Dorofeeva
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 08, 2007
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