TSYS Opens Office in China

TSYS has established its first offices in the People’s Republic of China to focus on business development and emerging growth opportunities in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

“China is beginning to see exponential growth in the adoption of electronic payments, which has drawn investments from around the world,” says Philip W. Tomlinson, chief executive officer of TSYS. “As one of the world’s leaders in payment services, TSYS is eager to offer support, innovation and a spirit of partnership to the financial community in China and across the Asia-Pacific as leaders there address these extraordinary opportunities.”

China’s mainland economy is projected to become the world’s second-largest over the next generation. China’s gross domestic product expanded by more than 9 percent in 2004, and expansion rates of 6-8 percent are expected to continue for the next seven years, analysts predict. Though China already has more than 875 million debit and credit cards in circulation, that’s far less than one card per person in a population of more than 1.3 billion, according to published reports.

“We view our presence in China as a critical stepping stone to offering broader service in the Asia-Pacific region in the years ahead,” says Gaylon Jowers Jr., executive vice president of international business for TSYS. “TSYS is confident that we will begin to see the benefits of these investments in the near future.”

Jonathan E. Wheeler will be head of business development for TSYS in China. Mr. Wheeler worked more than five years for global services at Vital Processing Services (a former joint venture that is now wholly owned by TSYS), where he specialized in market research and strategy development. For the past three years, Mr. Wheeler has served as a lead director in global services for TSYS based in Tokyo. The new office, based in Shanghai, opened this month.