Good news for Amex in the US.
The same should occur in Europe !

Example : France.

All bank cards are issued with the Carte Bleue group sign. This group owns the exclusive Visa license for France (not the banks), the exclusive Eurocard/Mastercard license, and the national french card license.

All banks in France have a contract with the group to issue cards accepted by almost all shops, and to withdraw money from all ATMs free of charge.

Also, the charges with a national card, Visa or Mastercard are processed by the Group.

As some bank decided to accept Amex cards in their ATM, the Group said the contract with the bank (the right to issue Carte Bleue cards) would be canceled in this case, that means :
- no more national cards
- no more Visa cards
- no more Mastercards !

That's why it's so difficult to find an ATM accepting Amex cards in France. The Credit Lyonnais Bank does, but for "foreign" Amex cards only (Amex cards issued in France are not accepted, as result of a deal with the Group).



[This message has been edited by ahrz (edited 10-13-2001).]