The once pioneering Diners Club credit card will cease to exist from the middle of next month, after almost 70 years in Australia.
NAB will close its Diners Club business in Australia on April 15, less than two years after it bought the local consumer operations from previous US owner Citigroup.
Diners Club was born as a credit card in 1950 after businessman Frank McNamara forgot to bring his wallet to a high-end lunch at a New York restaurant.
The idea caught on globally: the card was launched in Australia in 1956 and became a fixture in upscale restaurants.
The Diners Club credit card will cease to exist from the middle of next month after almost 70 years in Australia
But starting in the middle of next month, Diners Club will no longer accept cards from corporate accounts, and accounts will automatically close on April 15 for those without rewards points.
The closing date will be July 30 for customers with rewards points and reward claims for purchases made by April 15 will be accepted until November 30.
Australians buy Diners Club International travel insurance or interstate flight inconvenience insurance must have your trip booked by April 15 and have until November 30 to file an insurance claim for a trip arranged for the end of September.
The move comes just over 18 months after NAB bought the rights to the Diners Club Australia business as part of its acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer business in Australia on June 1, 2022.
NAB chief executive Ross McEwan gave few clues about the possible closure of Diners Club in Australia when he announced the upcoming purchase of Citigroup’s Australian assets in August 2021.
“The proposed acquisition of Citigroup Consumer Business brings scale and deep expertise in unsecured lending, particularly credit cards, which remain an important way for customers to make payments and manage their cash flows,” he said at the time.
A Reserve Bank report published in 2022 found that Diners Club had the highest merchant fees of 1.7 per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent for American Express and 0.9 per cent for MasterCard and Visa .
Starting in the middle of next month, Diners Club will no longer accept cards from corporate accounts and accounts will automatically close on April 15 for those without rewards points.