Cartes Bancaires

Cartes Bancaires – also known as CB, which means “bank cards” in English – is France’s local card organization, founded in 1984. It is responsible for processing bank card transactions and ensuring secure payments between cardholders and businesses, with 76 million cards in circulation in 2022. More than 95% of CB cards are co-branded cards of the Visa and Mastercard organizations, so they are an important part of payments in France.

The CB is a cooperative owned by its member banks, including major French banks such as BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, as well as other smaller institutions. Unlike Visa or Mastercard, the CB is a non-profit organization. This means that its main job is to serve the French financial system and the country’s residents, rather than maximizing shareholder profits.

The CB acts as the central card organization in France for processing bank card transactions. It provides a safe and reliable infrastructure for debit and credit card payments, including online and contactless transactions. CB operates a nationwide network of 50,000 ATMs as of 2022 and offers a range of debit and credit card options, including Classic, Contactless and Premium. CB uses advanced security technology to protect cardholder data and prevent fraud, and it supports a variety of digital wallets such as Apple Pay, allowing for secure and convenient contactless payments via smartphones.