AT&T; Ponders Entering Credit Card Business

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., which has 40 million phone charge cards, is investigating the possibility of getting into the general credit card business, the company confirmed Monday.

The possibility of making some AT&T; Cards into general credit cards “is one of a number of options we are looking at to enhance the AT&T; Card,” AT&T; spokesman Daniel Coulter said.

Coulter said the company has asked several financial institutions to submit proposals for deals with AT&T; to provide new service offers, some of which involve the phone charge card.

Under the concept, people who did not want a general credit card from AT&T; could keep the plain phone charge card, Coulter said.

The Wall Street Journal said Monday, quoting bank executives, that AT&T; had reached an agreement with Total Services Inc., the nation’s second-largest processor of credit card transactions, to convert many of its phone charge cards to bank credit cards.

Total Systems, a data processing subsidiary of CB&T; Bancshares Inc., a Columbus, Ga.-based bank holding company, services 14 million Visa and MasterCard holders for other banks and 300,000 merchants in the United States.

Coulter said no contracts had been signed.

Richard Ussery, president of Total Systems, declined to comment Monday on the report.