BofA Considers Starting Own Credit-Card Brand
From Bloomberg News
Bank of America Corp., whose 1950s-era BankAmericard paved the way for modern credit cards and evolved into Visa, may start its own brand of credit card to compete with Visa USA Inc. and MasterCard Inc.
“It’s an idea, one of many that we have for the credit-card business,” said Terry Francisco, a spokesman for the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank.
Most banks and other card issuers pay fees to Visa and MasterCard to use their network. By building its own, Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck said, Bank of America could save as much as $75 million a year.
