Bank of America Merrill Lynch expanded commercial card programs to seven European countries.

Cards for large, midmarket and government accounts now are available in Argentina (through a local issuing bank), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Company officials said card programs by year-end would be available in more than 70 countries and 29 currencies. They also announced plans to offer direct debits within the Single Euro Payments Area to help commercial customers "benefit from the operational simplification and cost savings created by the harmonization of multiple instruments and reduced number of paper mandates that need to be managed for cardholders." Spanning 32 countries, the SEPA initiative aims by 2014 to replace all pre-existing, local payment instruments.