Diners Club
Looks To The Future
Ricardo Leite, senior vice president and head of international markets for Diners Club International, explained how Diners Club continues to innovate to serve customers’ payment needs.
Leite described Diners Club as a premium brand offering a sense of belonging to a “special club” with perks like access to a global network of airport lounges, as well as exclusive local benefits and rewards determined by each market. He also highlighted the tools it offers to help cardmembers manage expenses and process payments. Additionally, local financial institutions, such as banks, are licensed to issue Diners Club cards in their market. These arrangements include ready-to-go payment products and marketing materials that local issuers can adapt to their target markets. Diners Club’s longtime focus on social responsibility also makes it unique, Leite said. Issuers have supported causes including health care, education and disaster relief. The brand’s Together for Change program offers a platform to help Diners Club cardmembers and local issuers support causes that matter most in their communities.
What Sets Diners Club Apart From Other Payment Brands?
How Does Its Legacy As A Trusted Brand Continue Today?
As a premium brand that offers a “club” feel, Diners Club will continue on this path while evolving the global access and rewards cardmembers have available to them. To stay at the forefront of B2B payments, one area of focus for Diners Club is commercial payments. Through local issuers, Diners Club supports businesses and corporate clients of all sizes with its full range of commercial payment solutions.
Additionally, an important focus is working with local issuers to leverage the latest technology, such as tokenization, to provide more secure transactions. Leite also plans to strengthen partnerships with new market entrants — such as fintech companies — by giving them access to the Diners Club global payment network.
“Job No. 1 that we focus on every day is continuing to build and protect the brand’s merchant acceptance across the globe, to enable cardmembers to pay wherever, whenever and however they want,” Leite said. “We’re constantly evolving products like our tokenization solution to meet market demands and working to bring new use cases to market.”
What Do The Next 25 Years Hold For Diners Club?
Leite remembers leaving his home in Brazil to travel to the U.S. for school in the late 1980s. As he prepared to leave, his stepfather handed him a Diners Club card. It was intended for emergencies, but it streamlined Leite’s international move in ways the family didn’t expect.
“It took me a while to actually get a bank account in the U.S. And then by the time I got the bank account, they figured out it was easier for me to just start using the card, rather than wiring money from a Brazilian account to a U.S. account,” Leite recalled. “It did make my life a lot easier, and maybe that’s why I went into the industry. I’ve been a big fan since.”
Making It Easier To Travel Around The Globe
Click Play And Experience Diners Club’s Heritage
Video Produced By Diners Club International
1 Based on data provided to Diners Club International by merchants, acquiring institutions and other third parties as of December 31, 2023.
Diners Club International is part of a family of payments networks that includes PULSE and Discover Network in the U.S., as well as other local network alliances around the world.
Extending Diners Club’s global acceptance footprint allows all its cardmembers to use their card of choice both at home and abroad, Leite said.
Additionally, Diners Club has been expanding into the alternative payments space by pursuing collaborations that can lower costs and improve efficiency for business customers.
Leite said Diners Club makes sure the latest payment methods are available to cardmembers and issuers. He added that security is paramount, and authentication tools are constantly rolled out and optimized.
“We definitely show a tremendous amount of collaboration that perhaps other networks don’t,” Leite added.
