Toronto-based BMO Financial Group expects its plannedacquisition of the Diners Club North American franchise fromCitigroup, which gives it exclusive rights to issue the travel andentertainment expense cards to U.S. and Canadian corporatecustomers, will add about $7.8 billion in transactions to itsT&E and purchasing card business.

While BMO already had a T&E card program, Diners Club'sworldwide franchise system will make it easy for BMO to set upaccounts for global corporations and service customers in countriesaround the world, says Terry Wellesley, managing director for BMOSpend & Payment Solutions in North America.

Wellesley cites the Diners Club rewards program as anotherattraction, as well as the data Diners Club can provide tocustomers about their transactions. “In the Diners system, they canconsolidate information about transactions anywhere in the worldand get it broken down any way, shape or form,” he says.