JCB (credit card company)
JCB Co., Ltd., formerly Japan Credit Bureau, is a credit card company based in Tokyo, Japan.
History
Japan Credit Bureau was founded in 1961 by Sanwa Bank and Nippon Shinpan, as the country's second credit card issuer and payment network after the Japanese branch of Diners Club International. JCB firmly established itself in the Japanese credit card market after purchasing, and then absorbing, Hokkaido Credit Bureau and Osaka Credit Bureau in 1968. its cards are issued to 130 million customers in 23 countries. JCB also operates a network of membership airport lounges for holders of their Platinum Cards issued outside Japan.JCB cards are issued in 24 countries. In most of these, JCB is affiliated with financial institutions to issue JCB-branded cards.
In the United States, JCB is not a primary credit card network such as Visa or MasterCard. While the brand was primarily accepted by tourism-related businesses such as airlines and car rental companies, it gained wider acceptance in 2006 when JCB announced an alliance with Discover Network. The two companies signed a long-term agreement that led to the acceptance of Discover Network brand cards at JCB point-of-sale terminals in Japan and of JCB cards on the Discover network in the U.S. This partnership became operational in 2011.
Local JCB accounts in the United States were issued by JCB USA, and offered to residents of California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. JCB USA stopped issuing JCB cards in the American market on January 8, 2018, and closed all current consumer credit card accounts on April 30, 2018. Foreign JCB cards continue to work through the Discover network partnership. JCB and IBM of Japan would collaborate in a partnership.
Products
JCB offers the following products:Standard products
JCB The Class
These cards are black in their nature and they are the highest class that one can obtain. Their annual membership fee is around 50,000 yen.JCB Platinum
It is issued by the application system, and the fee is around 25,000 annually.JCB Gold the Premier
The primary condition to receive it is to shop for around a million or more for two consecutive years, along with possessing a registered account in the MyJCB service. A fee of 5,000 is issued annually.JCB Gold
Anybody above the age of twenty is able to register for it, however they have to be above twenty years of age. They cannot be students, and they must pay around 10,000 per year.JCB General
The primary privilege of the card is the year following it is free.JCB Gold Extage
It is aimed at people from the ages of 20 - 29, and it levies at around 3,000 per year, with a free first year. In addition, they will receive privileges in accordance with gold, however, once it expires after five years, it will switch back to gold.JCB Card W
It has a free membership fee, and is aimed at people from the ages of 18 to 40. They are very preferential with points for this service.JCB Card S
There is no usage limit with it for anybody below the age of 39. It stays for a long time, and it is free, and lets family members apply for free.Prepaid Card
JCB EIT
It is based on the previous Arubara card, and it is payment variable. The Arubara card was initially aimed at people over 20 years of age, but has now expanded to students and people above 18 years of age. It closed it's offering by 2008, but would be reinstated as EIT by 2010.Other products
Besides it's credit card business, JCB offers the following products:- QuicPay
- iD
- Quo cards
- Gift cards