Absa and Virgin Money kill credit card product in South Africa
Absa will shut down the Virgin Money credit card brand and is offering clients the ability to merge their credit limits into an Absa credit card.
This news comes from the report of Virgin Money clients, who say that they have been called by Absa to inform them of the change.
Clients were informed that their cards will stop working on 31 December 2020.
Virgin Money sent a notice to clients earlier this year stating that they will no longer be supporting the card.
Absa has provided the core systems behind Virgin Money since the card’s launch in 2006.
Virgin Money launched as a joint venture between Absa and Virgin Group, initially offering a non-tiered credit card with no annual fees.
The card offered a competitive interest rate, along with a flat 5% interest on any positive balance. It also allowed holders to withdraw cash from ATMs overseas at a flat fee.
Reuters reported as recently as last year that Virgin Money had designs on launching a bank account product that has zero monthly fees and low transaction fees for cross-border payments.
“For context, the Virgin Group is disinvesting in their South African operations,” said Cowyk Fox, the managing executive of everyday banking at Absa Retail and Business Bank.
“As a result, Absa and Virgin Money SA have agreed to embark on a mutual separation. The agreement will see Absa cease issuing Virgin Money branded credit cards.”
Fox said that to minimize the customer impact, existing Virgin Money customers will have the option of being migrated to an appropriate Absa credit card product.
“Absa and Virgin Money have been working towards a seamless customer transition, and the migration is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.”
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