Sale of shares in card complete Service Bank AG completed
The sale of the shares held by UniCredit Bank Austria AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG in card complete Service Bank AG to the Austrian investment company EAVISTA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, owned by Arif Babayev, which was announced in February, has been completed today following the fulfillment of all conditions and the receipt of all regulatory approvals.
UniCredit Bank Austria AG held a 50.1 per cent stake in card complete Service Bank AG, while Raiffeisen Bank International AG held a 25 per cent stake. AVZ Privatstiftung retains a 24.9 per cent stake. The parties have agreed not to disclose the details of the transaction or the purchase price.
Ivan Vlaho, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria, emphasises: “With the closing of the sale of our shares in card complete, we are opening a new chapter in the history of UniCredit Bank Austria. The aim is to bring the entire value chain in the payment sector in-house. We already made a very successful start in the second quarter by offering our customers both the issuance of new-generation credit cards and card acceptance payment processing with POS terminals and all related banking services from a single source. The further strengthening of our payment services business is a strategically important step for us. This makes us a strong new player in the Austrian payment-market, where we have already positioned ourselves very successfully.”
A new business area
The payment transactions business is a growing and highly competitive market – payments are one of the most dynamic areas in banking. By directly offering credit card issuing and acquiring products, UniCredit Bank Austria has brought important business areas back in-house. Issuing refers to the provision of credit cards to customers, while acquiring involves providing companies with the appropriate card acceptance payment terminals and e-commerce solutions.
Credit cards for private and corporate customers
The switch to the new generation of credit cards issued by UniCredit Bank Austria is already in full swing, and a large proportion of UniCredit Bank Austria customers are already making extensive use of the new credit cards. Apple Pay and Google Pay are particularly popular. Switching to the new UniCredit Bank Austria credit cards is very easy, as the attractive offer can be taken out with just a few clicks in the MobileBanking app, Internet Banking 24You and in branches.
Modern solutions for accepting card payments
In July 2025, UniCredit Bank Austria also began offering its corporate customers omnichannel solutions for
accepting card payments, including POS terminals, e-commerce solutions and mobile payment applications such
as SoftPOS (card acceptance solution directly on smartphones). This gives companies maximum flexibility to
cover all their customers' payment needs. The keen interest shown by corporate customers demonstrates that
Bank Austria's offering is ideally suited to all relevant customer segments.
Inquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel. +43 (0)5 05 05-52809
Email: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at