Global UnionPay card issuance exceeds 5 billion – after 13 years o fast development the Chinese payment network ranks No.2 in terms of transaction value

The cumulative number of UnionPay cards issued globally has exceeded 5 billion and UnionPay has become Chinese residents’ preferred payment brand, Ge Huayong, Chairman of China UnionPay, said at the opening ceremony of 2015 Shanghai City Campaign in Milan.

Ge Huayong also said that UnionPay is working closely with many cities including Shanghai, to improve the payment services. For example, UnionPay has built up a platform where residents are able to pay utility and credit card bills conveniently. It has also been promoting the contactless UnionPay QuickPass service for small-ticket transactions, by which payment can be completed with a simple tap-and-go. The QuickPass service has been launched in many cities in the Chinese mainland as well as in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea. Northeast Asia plays a critical pole in QuickPass service.

Innovation is a „question” that must be answered by UnionPay, Ge Huayong said. The payment innovation is characterized by consumer orientation, diverse participants, innovative payment channels, and comprehensive payment services. To keep up with this trend, UnionPay has created an online payment platform and stepped up efforts in mobile payment. Its online and mobile payment users have surpassed 200 million to date. UnionPay is always committed to meeting the diversified payment demands of cardholders. This is the source of innovation and the exploration of the „Internet+Payment”.

Ge Huayong talked about UnionPay’s future strategy with the media. He said that after years of exploration and considering the current market environment and trends, UnionPay has found its strategic positioning that suits its development. And that positioning is to be an open and comprehensive platform with international influence. To realize that goal, internationalization is essential. After 13 years of fast development, UnionPay as a payment network ranks No.2 in terms of transaction volume and No.3 in terms of acceptance footprint. This has set the foundation for its internationalization. UnionPay will speed up its internationalization to build into a „global network and international brand” as early as possible.

When asked how to realize UnionPay’s internationalized layout, Ge Huayong said, firstly, in the next few years, UnionPay will continue to expand its card acceptance, accelerate the service localization in eligible markets, and gradually increase the number of overseas-issued UnionPay cards. Secondly, „one market, one policy” differentiated development strategy has been adopted. In the U.S and Europe, UnionPay will increase the coverage of card acceptance. In Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and  Southeast Asia with almost full coverage of UnionPay card acceptance, UnionPay will increase the issuance of UnionPay cards locally.

UnionPay International also announced on the same day a partnership with CartaSi, the largest acquirer in Italy, which will see 15,000 merchants under CartaSi start accepting UnionPay cards by the end of July this year. The merchants, located mainly in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and other popular tourist cities, include shopping malls, brand stores, restaurants and scenic spots frequently visited by visitors and are able to accept UnionPay chip cards. CartaSi is the largest acquirer and card-issuing network of credit cards in Italy. Most of the ATMs under CartaSi have previously enabled cash withdrawal with UnionPay cards. In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Italy has witnessed a rapid annual increase of nearly 20% and exceeded 500,000 last year.

One day later, UnionPay International and Westpac jointly announced on June 12 in Sydney that Westpac would enable acceptance of UnionPay cards by all its merchants in Australia within the next two years. To date, all the four major banks in Australia will be able to accept UnionPay cards on their ATMs and POS terminals. The local UnionPay card acceptance environment is dramatically optimized and merchant acceptance is expected to grow to over 80% by the end of 2016. The latest development will see UnionPay card acceptance by Westpac’s 150,000 POS terminals in Australia. As the next step, the two sides will expand their cooperation to more areas including contactless payment, local card issuance and online payment.

The latest data shows that UnionPay has enabled card acceptance in 150 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland with issuance in 40 countries and regions. UnionPay card has been accepted by over 26 million merchants and 1.8 million ATMs in the world. The cumulative number of UnionPay cards issued globally has exceeded 5 billion. Now UnionPay has become the preferred payment brand of outbound Chinese tourists, as well as the new payment choice of more overseas cardholders.