Bank of Ireland UK sells credit card portfolio for £530m
Bank of Ireland UK is to sell its credit card portfolio – comprising Bank of Ireland UK, the AA and Post Office-branded consumer cards – for around £530 million, reports Jane Connolly.
The portfolio is being acquired by digital finance company Jaja, as part of a consortium advised by affiliates of Centerbridge Partners LP and KKR.
Jaja will also become the consumer credit card issuer for Bank of Ireland UK and the AA.
The sale excludes the bank’s Northern Ireland commercial credit card portfolio and will not affect credit cards issued in the Republic of Ireland.
Affected credit card accounts will transfer to Jaja next year, but the bank’s customers will be able to continue using their cards as usual.
The deal is part of Jaja’s strategy to become a major player in the UK credit card market, through scaling by partnering with other financial institutions and consumer brands.
“This announcement with the Bank of Ireland UK is an exciting and important development in Jaja’s journey and is part of our strategy to create partnerships that will help more people embrace a simpler way of managing credit,” says Jaja’s CEO Neil Radley, who was formerly managing director of Barclaycard in Western Europe.
“Our vision is to enable a new generation of mobile-first credit card products with unrivalled functionality, service and security.”
The London-based company’s portfolio already includes its own brand credit card and a point of sale financing solution with ASDA’s George.com.
