Dusseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt – WestLB has a very close relationship with the Sparkasse banks and has been a partner in Germany’s largest bonus programme PAYBACK for three years. Together, WestLB and PAYBACK operate the successful “PAYBACK Plus” debit card. In the fourth quarter of 2009, this card will be relaunched as a free Maestro™ card with payment function and a range of innovative benefits and service functions. As a debit card solution, Maestro already fulfils all the requirements of SEPA (single euro payments area). In the future, the Maestro solution will enable customers not only to use their PAYBACK Plus card to collect points, but also to make payments at all participating retailers and withdraw cash from ATMs throughout Europe. As an added bonus, Maestro is also recognized worldwide. From now on, WestLB and PAYBACK will be working with MasterCard – which provides innovative payment solutions – in order to further boost the benefits the PAYBACK customer cards offer consumers and retailers alike. “Our expectations of PAYBACK and the potential offered by highly-efficient dialogue marketing in the financial services sector have been completely fulfilled,” says Dietrich Voigtländer, member of the WestLB Managing Board. “In addition, we are ensuring that all Sparkasse banks and network partners have the option of accessing the largest marketing platform in Germany via the Institut für Marketing und Kundenbindung GmbH (S-IMK), which provides customer loyalty services for the Sparkasse banks. The added cooperation with MasterCard is the next logical step toward ensuring PAYBACK customers also reap the benefits of worldwide payment functions. By relaunching the PAYBACK Plus card, we are also reflecting the PAYBACK partners’ wishes that the PAYBACK Plus card should feature attractive services for the end customer.” In light of all this, PAYBACK and WestLB AG have – ahead of schedule – agreed to extend their cooperation until the end of 2014. “A number of partners such as dm-drogerie markt, Galeria Kaufhof, real,-, the Linda pharmacies and WMF have already extended their contracts with PAYBACK over the last few months, so we are delighted that yet another partner has chosen to confirm their confidence in the strength of our programme. The new MasterCard Maestro solution enables us to further increase the benefits the PAYBACK cards offer consumers and retailers,” comments Burkhard Grassmann, member of the PAYBACK Management team. Peter Ehmke, General Manager Deutschland at MasterCard, adds: “This new partnership with PAYBACK and WestLB marks an important milestone and also clusters a range of skills that complement one another perfectly. As card issuer, WestLB offers many years of experience in developing this card portfolio, while PAYBACK is an extremely strong brand much valued by consumers and the retail sector alike. In addition to Maestro, we also plan to take things a step further by developing and offering additional functionalities for PAYBACK.” About WestLB:
WestLB AG is a European commercial bank based in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest federal state. With total assets of EUR 288 billion, it is one of Germany’s leading financial services providers. It is the central institution for the over 120 Sparkasse banks in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg and acts as their link to the global financial markets. Working in close partnership with the Sparkasse banks, WestLB offers the full range of banking products and services, focusing on lending, specialised finance, capital market and private equity products, asset management, transaction services, real estate finance and private banking. Further information is available at <link www.westlb.de/>www.westlb.de</link>. About MasterCard Europe
MasterCard Europe is responsible for operating the business activities of MasterCard Worldwide in Europe and for Europe. From its headquarters in Waterloo, Belgium, MasterCard Europe works in cooperation with 51 European countries. Its total area of operation covers the single euro payments area (SEPA) and extends as far as the eastern border of Russia. Thanks to its network of local branches, MasterCard Europe can identify and fulfil the individual needs of its member banks across the very varied markets in Europe – and do so in their own languages and in accordance with their respective cultural environments. Through MasterCard Europe, MasterCard Worldwide offers its European customers and consumers access to leading payment services throughout the world. MasterCard Worldwide promotes global trade by creating networks between companies in the financial sector and millions of companies, card holders and traders across the globe. As a franchising company that provides processing and consulting services, MasterCard develops and markets solutions for monetary transactions, processes around 21 billion transactions annually and offers industry-leading analysis and consultancy for traders and customers from the financial services sector. With a family of products that includes the high-profile brands MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus, and its global network, MasterCard operates as a service provider for card holders, banks and traders in more than 210 countries. Further information is available at <link www.mastercard.com/>www.mastercard.com</link>. About S-IMK:
The Institut für Marketing & Kundenbindung GmbH (S-IMK) is part of the S-Finanzgruppe. S-IMK provides system solutions, products, concepts and consulting services in the fields of marketing, sales and customer loyalty management. Working on behalf of WestLB AG, it provides support to the Sparkasse banks and network partners participating in PAYBACK. Further information is available at <link www.s-imk.de/>www.s-imk.de</link>.