UK banking giant Lloyds TSB and credit card titan MasterCard Worldwide have entered into an agreement to issue the majority of the bank's credit card portfolio through the MasterCard scheme.
The alliance represents one of the largest deals of its kind in the UK. Lloyds TSB serves some 15 million retail customers through a network of approximately 2,100 retail banking branches across the country.
The bank is already one of the largest MasterCard issuers in the UK and the agreement, which came into effect in March 2007, will see a doubling in the size of MasterCard branded Lloyds TSB credit cards in issue over the next year.
Commenting on the announcement, John Bushby, general manager for UK and Ireland at MasterCard Europe, said: This deal represents a significant landmark in the evolution of our UK business and underscores our commitment to forging deeper relationships with our key banking customers.
Colin Walsh, credit card director for Lloyds TSB, said: We have a very strong relationship with MasterCard and are delighted to enter into this partnership. The relationship allows us to develop unique products with MasterCard to meet our customers’ everyday payment needs and build even greater security to protect our customers against credit card fraud.