(4 April 2008 – Australia) Westpac has bought Virgin’s credit card business in Australia for $A39 million.The deal includes Virgin Money’s credit card portfolio and brand licence and allows Westpac to have the portfolio and use the name for the next 14 months.
Westpac had previously provided the funds and back office services in the partnership which started in 2003.
For customers, this means that for the next 14 months, the service will run interrupted, with Westpac managing the customer base.
Virgin has said that during the extended licensing period no new Virgin credit cards will be issued and Westpac will issue customers with a competitive replacement offer.
The market share for Virgin Money is thought to be around six percent of the retail credit card market, or about 800,000 card holders.
The deal requires Virgin Money to refrain from entering into the credit or debit card markets over the same time frame.