National Bank MasterCard/PHH Arval corporate multicard : Companies will be the first to benefit from the alliance between two industry leaders

The combination of National Bank MasterCard's expertise in corporate cards with PHH Arval's expertise in vehicle fleet management will create a unique expense management system. With its highly attractive features and Internet accessibility, the new system will enable Canadian companies to pay and manage their travel and entertainment expenses, business purchases and vehicle expenses using a single platform.

"Not only is our alliance great news for companies, it's great news for us as well. Our partnership with PHH Arval will open doors to different parts of the country, which will enable us to develop new markets. We will also be able to broaden our own expertise in cards designed for vehicle expenses, drawing on PHH's extensive experience in this area," said Rubina Havlin, Vice-President, Business Development, National Bank MasterCard.

"Our alliance with National Bank MasterCard means we can now offer our clients a full complement of expense management services designed to reduce costs and increase productivity," said Michael Goddard, Senior Vice President aux General Manager at PHH Arval. "PHH has developed an innovative Internet solution for managing our clients' T&E, purchasing and fleet expenses. This award-winning, Internet-based information management platform will give our clients secure, comprehensive information on their MasterCard transactions."

Experienced, competent partners

Both partners are already well-established players in the corporate credit-card sector.

One of Canada's leading issuers of MasterCard cards, National Bank MasterCard, a division of the National Bank, has some 3,000,000 personal and corporate cards in circulation. Its corporate cards are used by such organizations as the Government of Canada, Canadian National, Via Rail Canada, Vidéotron, the TVA Group and the Jean Coutu Group. National Bank is an integrated group that provides comprehensive financial services to individuals as well as companies of all sizes in its main market, along with specialized services to other clients around the world. It has over $75 billion in assets and 16,600 employees, including its subsidiaries. Its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Founded in 1946, PHH Arval is one of the world's leading vehicle management company. A member of Avis Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AVI), PHH provides integrated leasing, management and card payment solutions to thousands of corporate, government and service-related fleets, including nearly one-third of the Fortune 500 companies.

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