75 jobs to go at credit card firm

SEVENTY-FIVE jobs are to go at credit card payments processor Euroconex’s operations in Dublin and Arklow, Co Wicklow.

The company’s US parent, US Bancorp, said last night that it would axe 90 jobs in Euroconex, which employs 500 people in Ireland and a further 100 in the mainland Europe.

Euroconex hired 200 people in Ireland over the last 18 months.

“It was necessary to make a difficult business decision to remain fiscally sound,” said a statement from US Bancorp.

Euroconex chief executive Billy Saunderson is understood to have resigned from the company, which processes large volumes of credit card transactions on behalf of some of the world’s biggest banks, but US Bancorp refused to comment on his position, while Mr Saunderson last night could not be contacted.

The company was originally set up in 2000 as a joint venture between Bank of Ireland and Nova Information Systems, the fourth-biggest card payment processor in the US, which was later taken over by US Bancorp. Bank of Ireland exited the business last year, selling its 50% stake for around e40 million.

Euroconex had been performing well, winning new business in the recent past from big banks in Britain, Spain and Poland. Its business, however, is based on the kind of high-volume, low-margin activity that automatically grants the industry’s biggest players a cost advantage.

Payments processing had been relatively fragmented in Europe, unlike in the US, where a high degree of consolidation has taken place with firms coming together to process bigger volumes while stripping out cost overlaps. Euroconex is significantly smaller than the major American processors, but had ambitious plans to grow to a similar scale over the next five to 10 years.

US Bancorp said it hoped the job losses would be achieved through “normal attrition”.

“Euroconex business performance continues to be strong,” the company said.

Ireland “is and will continue to be” an important centre and all Euroconex’s offices in Europe will remain open, according to the company. US Bancorp promised a smooth and fair transition as it implements restructuring, over the next 30 days, and said business would continue as normal.