The joint approach of Nexi Croatia, a member of the Nexi Group - the leading European PayTech company - and PBZ Card - the leading card company in Croatia and part of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, one of the top banking players in Europe - brings simple, fast and reliable payment solutions, which are already being used by more than two million merchants Europe-wide, to the point of sale.

"PBZ Card is one of the pioneers of the card industry on our market. During more than fifty years, we have built the strongest sales network and acquired the status of the largest card acceptance service provider on the Croatian market. All this is unthinkable without a good knowledge of our market, continuous introduction of innovative solutions and conveniences for points of sale, strong support for their daily business but, most of all, nurturing of long-term partnership relationships, based on mutual trust. In the new model, PBZ Card will retain an active role and in the future we will be the first contact for our points of sale, and we will give additional momentum to their sales achievements with various sales and marketing activities. In addition, cooperation with a leading European PayTech such as Nexi will bring advanced payment solutions to the points of sale that will improve their business even more," said Mislav Blažić, president of the PBZ Card Management Board.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce our strategic partnership with PBZ Card. Nexi Croatia is a provider of payment solutions that process an average of 1.5 million payment transactions per day. With this partnership Nexi Croatia now becomes an acceptor of payment cards. Thanks to the size, expertise and presence of Nexi Group in numerous European markets, we are able to offer simple, fast and safe payment solutions that can improve merchant sales activities by making payment acceptance more attractive on the Croatian market. PBZ Card and Nexi, now united in a strong joint approach, look forward to future cooperation and the benefits it will bring," said Irina Bručić, CEO of Nexi Croatia.

In the new model of card acceptance, PBZ Card remains in charge of concluding agreements on card acceptance and maintaining business relations with merchants. PBZ Card will do so as a provider of payment transaction acceptance in the name, and on behalf, of Nexi Croatia.

Nexi Croatia, as a new provider of payment card acceptance services, will be focused on the development of products and functionalities within the acceptance network, devices and channels, and the provision of operational support for card acceptance.

A new business model will be implemented while ensuring continuity in the provision of card acceptance services at the POS for contractual partners/merchants, without the need for additional technological adjustments. Nexi Croatia has obtained all the necessary authorizations of payment schemes and competent authorities for the performance of card acceptance operations.

Dinko Lucić, President of the Management Board of PBZ and President of the Supervisory Board of PBZ Card, Irina Bručić, CEO of Nexi Croatia, and Mislav Blažić, President of the Management Board of PBZ Card presented the mentioned new business model today convening in a panel discussing the future of payments with prominent Croatian and European experts in finance and card business and e-commerce. The panel included also: Rozana Grgorinić, Director of Nexi Croatia’s Merchant Solutions; Eugenio Tornaghi, Regional Director of Nexi Group Central, Southern and Eastern Europe; Giulio de Taddeo, Director of Corporate Clients Nexi Italy; Vedrana Pribičević, economic analyst of ZŠEM; Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, member of the PBZ Management Board; Draženko Kopljar, member of the PBZ Management Board and Ivan Ivičić, deputy president of the PBZ Card Management Board.