Interview with Anthony J. Helbling, Diners Club

How is Diners Club positioned in the French market?

Anthony J. Helbing - Diners Club has been present in France for almost sixty years and has never really left this market. However, we have to admit that over the last few years, our company has been like a sleeping beauty that it is now time to wake up. We currently have around one hundred and fifty corporate customers in France, with business travel budgets ranging from €200,000 to €15 million. Our goal is to have a thousand companies on board by 2014.

How is Diners Club different from the competition?

A. J. H. - By dealing with Diners Club, companies benefit from our neutrality. We are not part of an airline or a bank. Another advantage is our size, which means we can react quickly and respond to the needs of our customers, whatever their size. Our affiliations are another advantage: to date, the Diners Club card is accepted in 40,000 points of sale in France. Our membership of the American Discover group also gives us excellent coverage in the United States. We also have distribution agreements in Asia.

How do you view virtual payment?

A. J. H. - Over time, the payment of business expenses has tended to become more paperless. This is currently changing with the introduction of NFC, which will soon be operational in Europe. But I think that virtual payment will remain complementary to other means of payment. And it will not replace the individual cards that travellers keep in their wallets.