Sony Bank and Sony Finance to Start Handling Credit Cards with Dual-Currency Settlement Function
October 27, 2008
Sony Bank Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings, and Sony Finance International, Inc. ("Sony Finance"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, will start handling credit cards with a dual-currency settlement function on October 29, 2008. The official credit card of Sony Corporation, the Sony Card will be embedded with a function that allows automatic settlement either in Japanese yen or U.S. dollar. This is the first credit card in the world* to offer such functionality in a single card. To commemorate the launch, Sony Bank will offer cash back until September 30, 2009, on the initial annual fee (¥5,250) for customers who meet Sony Bank's specific criteria.
The Sony Card with dual-currency settlement function, which is issued by Sony Finance, allows cardholders to pay in yen when in Japan and in U.S. dollars outside Japan. Yen charges are debited from Sony Bank customers' yen ordinary deposit accounts, whereas overseas charges are debited from their U.S. dollar ordinary deposit accounts. As U.S. dollar charges are settled in that currency, customers save on foreign exchange costs. Customers who hold ordinary deposit accounts in both yen and U.S. dollar are eligible to apply for this credit card, via Sony Bank's post-login service site.
Going forward, Sony Bank and Sony Finance will continue to respond to customers' diverse financial needs.
*According to the survey by the editorial desk of Diamond Money (As of October 15, 2008). The credit card enables simultaneous settlements in dual currencies automatically and without any special procedures. Yen-denominated charges are debited from yen ordinary deposit accounts, and foreign currency charges are debited from U.S. dollar ordinary deposit accounts.
Note: This is an English-language summary of a Japanese announcement made by Sony Bank and Sony Finance on October 27, 2008. The summary was prepared by Sony Financial Holdings Inc. solely for the convenience of non-Japanese readers.
