Discover Financial Forays Into Kazakhstan With New Alliance

Diners Club International Ltd, a direct banking and payment services company owned by Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) , recently partnered with Kazakhstan-based JSC Kazkommertsbank. With this alliance, the company intends to extend the Diners Club card business to Kazakhstan.

Kazkommertsbank, one of the largest commercial banks in Kazakhstan, is slated to become the exclusive acquirer and issuer of Diners Club cards. Apart from this, the bank will be in the charge of the other two cards issued on Discover Global Network, namely Discover Network and PULSE.

Diners Club cards are globally recognized offerings and are accepted in more than 185 countries and territories, millions of merchant locations and at over 1 million ATMs and cash access locations. With the latest deal, Diners Club cards will now be accepted at over 42,000 POS-terminals and 2,266 ATM locations throughout Kazakhstan.

Discover Financial is poised to benefit substantially from the agreement owing to Kazakhstan’s advantageous position that supports smooth transactions across Asia and Europe. Hence, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) renowned consumer loans provider’s foray into the nation will significantly boost the growth of its Diners Club business.

Discover Financial has always been focused on establishing a foothold in the international card market and the Diners Club has significantly strengthened the company’s global network. Discover Global Network has entered into important partnerships around the world, including alliances in Japan, China, India, the Middle East, Serbia, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, South Korea, Europe and others.

The international renown of Diners Club on the other hand is likely to boost Kazakhstan’s potential for tourism. With upcoming events like the Universiade 2017 and EXPO-2017 expected to pull crowd from all over the world, Discovery Financial’s entry is being viewed as favorable for the nation. Kazkommertsbank hopes to be able to handle the payment requirements of the foreign visitors efficiently with the help of Diners Club cards. Cardholders from India, South Korea and certain other countries serviced by Discover Global Network will also be eligible to perform any transaction in Kazakhstan by using their Diners Club card membership.

Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider some better-ranked stocks from the same space like Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM) , Credit Acceptance Corp. (NASDAQ:CACC) and SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) . Regional Managementsports a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy) where as the other stocks carry Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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