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Retailer Financial Services in Southern and Western Europe

Finaccord Ltd.
November 1, 2009
170 Pages - SKU: FIN2608604

Abstract Table of Contents Related Reports

Countries covered: Europe

Retailer Financial Services in Southern and Western Europe is a report, based on a survey of 1,230 high profile retail brands in eight countries in Southern and Western Europe, about the activity and partnerships of major retailers in areas of financial services including payment cards, consumer finance, retail banking and mainstream insurance policies, namely motor insurance, household insurance, accident insurance, dental insurance, other health insurance, travel insurance, pet insurance and life insurance. In addition, the study also covers proprietary and coalition loyalty schemes and international remittances. Countries covered are Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK. In fact, the study provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of the market for retailer financial services across the eight countries in Southern and Western Europe that goes far beyond the scope of previously published research. Moreover, the PartnerBASE™ database that accompanies the report details each of the many marketing initiatives for co-branded and store cards, proprietary and coalition loyalty programs, consumer finance, banking products, retailer insurance and international remittances traced by Finaccord. Other global regions covered in sister reports and associated databases are Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Northern and Central Europe, and North and Latin America. Key features of this report include: - comprehensive coverage of the involvement in financial services of 1,230 major retail brands in eight countries in Southern and Western Europe; - investigation of over 700 schemes for retailer payment cards and point-of-sale finance: which finance providers are strong in which countries and with which retail chains do they collaborate? - identification of over 400 proprietary retailer loyalty programs including the split by country according to whether they are linked to a corresponding payment card or to a card with no payment function; - focus on key initiatives in retailer banking such as Banque Accord, Banque Casino, Banque Chabrières, Financiera El Corte Inglés, M&S Money, Sainsbury’s Bank and Tesco Bank; - in-depth consideration of retailer provision of mainstream insurance: 51 major retail brands in Southern and Western Europe were active in ‘brandassurance’ by the end of 2009.

0.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The research is based on a survey of 1,230 major retail brands across eight countries; Almost a third of major retail brands in the region operate their own payment card scheme…; … with high penetration among fuel retailers largely due to widespread provision of fuel cards; Over a half of retailer payment card initiatives are classifiable as private label programs; Three banking groups are ultimately behind over one third of retailer card initiatives identified; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs are most common in Portugal, Spain and France…; … although retailer participation in coalition loyalty schemes is most widespread in the UK; The impact of the ‘credit crunch’ may have been positive for classic point-of-sale finance; Five retailing groups are identifiable as the region’s most advanced competitors in retailer banking..; The UK hosts the highest number of initiatives in retailer distribution of personal lines insurance… ..; … and is also characterized by the greatest diversity in operating models used to this end; Consumer research in Germany and the UK offers encouragement for retailers in other nations; Several factors are likely to drive the future development of retailer financial services…; … including points specific to consumers, financial institutions and the retail brands themselves
1.0 INTRODUCTION: Rationale; Retailer financial services can be broken down between ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ services; Retailers can take advantage of changes in consumer finance and payment card markets; Consolidation among conventional banks provides justification for the entry of retailer banks; The evolution of the retailing market itself is also favourable to the integration of financial services; Methodology; Finaccord’s research covers 1,230 major retail brands across Southern and Western Europe; Product definitions; Coverage of payment cards includes credit, deferred debit, debit and rechargeable pre-paid cards ...; Proprietary and coalition loyalty programs are present in a variety of different formats; The involvement of retail chains in the distribution of consumer credit is also considered…; … as is their activity as distributors of mainstream consumer insurance products; Finaccord
2.0 REGIONAL OVERVIEW: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Retailers in Portugal, Spain and France are most likely to have their own payment card; Over two thirds of department store chains surveyed offer their own co-branded or store card; Most fuel retailers in the region continue to focus on offering traditional fuel cards only; Other than in Ireland, retailer payment cards are primarily credit or deferred debit products; Card issuing joint ventures are present in five of the eight countries investigated; Over a half of the region’s retailer payment cards are effectively private label products; Retailer cards badged with the Visa brand are especially widespread in four countries; Initiatives due solely to issuers controlled by three groups account for over one third of schemes; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; In relative terms, proprietary loyalty programs are least widespread in the UK and Ireland; Exactly a half of the supermarket chains surveyed possess their own loyalty program; More than a third of all proprietary loyalty programs identified are linked to a payment card; Coalition loyalty programs; Retailer involvement in coalition loyalty schemes is most advanced in France, Spain and the UK… ...; … with speciality brands and retailers of books, music and videos also keen on the concept; Consumer finance / personal loans; Classic point-of-sale finance is offered by over a third of retail brands surveyed in France and Italy; Retailers of electronic products are most likely to make consumer loans available; France, Italy and Spain host both joint venture and captive consumer finance models; Banking products; Five retail brands are identifiable as the most advanced competitors in retailer banking; Captives and joint ventures; Captive retailer finance arms can be of significant interest to mainstream banking institutions; Insurance; Retail brands are active in promoting insurance in all eight countries in the region; Initiatives in travel insurance and pet insurance make up around one quarter of the total; A majority of activity is concentrated in the supermarket and department store retail categories; The most diverse range of operating models for retailers selling insurance is apparent in the UK; International remittance services; There are around 24.31 million international migrants in Southern and Western Europe…; … generating international remittance outflows worth in excess of US$50 billion…; … with the value of outflows per international migrant highest in the Netherlands; The evidence of consumer research in Germany and the UK; Supermarkets and other retailers are influential in Germany for certain financial products…; … most notably personal loans / consumer finance and credit cards…; … although there is little evidence to suggest that consumers will use them to buy insurance; In contrast, retail brands are significant for various types of insurance in the UK…; … with their distribution share apparently highest for pet insurance
3.0 BELGIUM: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Colruyt and Okay are unusual in offering cards that carry a debit rather than credit functionality; The majority of retailer payment cards in Belgium are classifiable as private label products; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Over a third of major retail brands in Belgium possess a proprietary loyalty program; Coalition loyalty programs; Delhaize Group’s Carte-plus ties in a variety of other consumer-facing organizations; Consumer finance / personal loans; Cetelem, Santander and Citibank are the most frequently used providers of consumer finance; Banking products; Insurance; Carrefour and Inter Partner Assistance collaborate for the sale of travel assistance policies; International remittance services
4.0 FRANCE: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Cards with a credit or deferred debit function dominate the retailer card landscape in France; Joint venture issuers continue to play a significant role in the French retailer card market; In spite of the change in rules concerning co-branded cards, private label cards remain dominant .; Franfinance heads the list in terms of its outright number of exclusive retailer card relationships; The Aurore card alone possesses around nine million customers in France; Banque Accord claimed in excess of six million customers worldwide by the middle of 2009; BNP Paribas Personal Finance manages around 12 million active customers worldwide…; … with its S2P joint venture with Carrefour among its most important initiatives in France; Finaref possesses payment cards in circulation in France in the region of 6.5 million; For Franfinance, the introduction of co-branding has thrown up new partnership opportunities; The web-based sales of LaSer have been rising exponentially; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; A majority of proprietary loyalty programs are linked to a card with no payment function; Coalition loyalty programs; Over 10% of retail brands surveyed are affiliated either to Maximiles or S’Miles; Maximiles possesses around 5.55 million members across four European countries…; … and believes that its proposition is characterized by several unique attributes; However, it found it harder to achieve revenue growth during the first six months of 2009; Consumer finance / personal loans; Cetelem lays claim to the highest number of exclusive relationships with major French retailers; Banking products; Involvement in the broader banking market is limited to the provision of money market funds; Insurance; Several major retail chains in France offer mainstream lines of insurance to their customers…; … with Carrefour likely to have established the largest portfolio of policyholders; International remittance services
5.0 IRELAND: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Rechargeable pre-paid cards are more widespread than credit or deferred debit cards; Few retailer card schemes in Ireland are linked either to MasterCard or Visa; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Proprietary loyalty programs have been established by comparatively few Irish retail chains; Coalition loyalty programs; Consumer finance / personal loans; Ireland’s troubled economy reduces competition for deals with retailers for consumer finance; Banking products; Insurance; Tesco collaborates with subsidiaries of Aviva for both motor insurance and life insurance; International remittance services
6.0 ITALY: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Retailer payment cards in Italy are oriented heavily towards credit and deferred debit formulae; Several retailers offer payment cards in both private label and either MasterCard or Visa versions; Agos, Fiditalia and Findomestic are the leading non-captive issuers of retailer payment cards… .; … with two of these three firms having experienced important changes in ownership structure; Other non-captive issuers of retailer cards in Italy possess just one major relationship each; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; The vast majority of retailers operating a loyalty card have not launched a parallel payment card; Coalition loyalty programs; Maximiles was launched in December 2007 as Italy’s first online multi-partner scheme; Consumer finance / personal loans; Consel’s strength among online retailers makes it a valid challenger to Agos and Findomestic…; … with most other providers of consumer finance limited to a single, major retailer relationship; Banking products; Insurance; Retailer provision of insurance in Italy is limited to special offers for loyalty card customers; International remittance services
7.0 NETHERLANDS: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Dutch retailers are the least likely in the region to have launched their own payment cards; Through Laser Cards and PrimeLine, LaSer enjoys a dominant position in the retailer card sector; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Loyalty cards with no payment function make up a half of all proprietary loyalty programs identified ...; Coalition loyalty programs; Several major retail brands are affiliated to the Dutch version of Air Miles; Consumer finance / personal loans; Santander Consumer Finance is the closest challenger to PrimeLine for point-of-sale finance; Banking products; Two health and beauty chains belonging to AS Watson have launched savings accounts; Insurance; Three Dutch retailers are using their brands to promote insurance products; International remittance services
8.0 PORTUGAL: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Portugal’s retailers are the region’s most enthusiastic in launching their own payment cards; Almost a half of Portuguese retailer payment cards are available only as private label products ..; As many as 11 external card issuers compete in Portugal’s retailer payment card market; As part of a wider international initiative, Credifin has been integrated within Cetelem; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Over a half of major retail brands in Portugal have introduced a proprietary loyalty program; Coalition loyalty programs; Consumer finance / personal loans; The market for point-of-sale finance offered through retailers is a great deal more concentrated ..; Banking products; Insurance; Four major retail brands in Portugal are being leveraged to promote insurance products; International remittance services
9.0 SPAIN: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Credit and deferred debit cards are dominant in the Spanish retailer card market; Financiera El Corte Inglés had issued in excess of ten million store cards by the end of 2008; Retailer cards carrying the Visa marque are more widespread than those linked to MasterCard ..; Seven non-captive card issuers in Spain possess at least two relationships with retailers; Payment cards have also been developed in association with shopping centres or malls; Both Banco Cetelem and Uno-e Bank have issued in excess of three million cards in total; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Proprietary loyalty programs are up and running among more than a half of major retail chains; Coalition loyalty programs; There are three main coalition loyalty schemes with retailer involvement in Spain; Consumer finance / personal loans; Arrangements for point-of-sale finance are organized on a regional basis by some retail chains ..; Banking products; Eroski continues to collaborate with Santander Consumer Finance for mortgages; El Corte Inglés is one of seven shareholders in Inversis Banco; Insurance; Four major retailing groups are active in the distribution of insurance products; Seguros El Corte Inglés has built up a portfolio of more than 1.5 million policies; International remittance services
10.0 UNITED KINGDOM: Introduction; Retailer payment cards; Almost one quarter of major retail brands in the UK have introduced their own payment card… ..; … most of which are developed either through a single, external issuer or on a captive basis… ..; Home Retail Group Card Services possesses around 1.17 million active store card customers; In the UK, MasterCard is more influential than Visa as a retailer payment card marque; Having acquired GE’s store card business, Santander is now a market leader in the UK; LaSer UK manages a portfolio of in excess of four million cardholders; IKANO Financial Services experienced a widening of pre-tax losses during 2008; Vanquis Bank reached profitability in 2008 in spite of a near doubling of provisions for bad debts; Proprietary retailer loyalty programs; Relatively few major retail brands in the UK possess their own proprietary loyalty scheme…; Coalition loyalty programs; … which is, in part, a consequence of the participation of many in coalition loyalty programs; AIRMILES, ipoints and Nectar have very different profiles and histories…; … although co-branded credit cards are offered in conjunction with all three; Consumer finance / personal loans; A diverse range of approaches is in evidence among major retailers for point-of-sale finance; Shop Direct Finance Company is the main financial services subsidiary of Shop Direct Group…; … although it also possesses a joint venture established in conjunction with Bank of Scotland; V12 Finance distributes consumer finance primarily through web-based retail brands; Hitachi Capital has enjoyed substantial growth in its consumer finance division in the UK…; … an experience also reflected in the most recent financial accounts of Barclays Partner Finance; Black Horse, on the other hand, saw a small decline in the value of its loan book during 2008; Other competitors are HFC Bank, IKANO Financial Services, LaSer UK and Santander; Banking products; Mortgage lending has not yet entered the mainstream retailer financial services sector…; … although several major retail chains in the UK have developed a savings proposition…; … including both Marks & Spencer, by means of its partnership with HSBC; … and WH Smith, which has been collaborating with NS&I since August 2007; Sainsbury’s Bank has achieved a better level of profitability during 2008 and 2009; Tesco Bank will become a very significant challenger to incumbent retail banks in the UK; Insurance; As many as 25 major retail brands are involved in the promotion of insurance policies…; … with no clear consensus emerging with regards to the preferred operating model; Tesco is aiming to double its volume of customers with a motor or household policy; As a result of its affinity broking activity, BDML Connect has become a significant competitor; International remittance services

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Retailer Financial Services in Southern and Western Europe

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