PR91129

SHANGHAI, Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- One Hundred E-Wallets outside the Chinese Mainland Now Support UnionPay

UnionPay International (UPI) announced today that it has partnered with the

International Bank of Tajikistan to launch the country's first contactless

e-wallet, making UnionPay the first payment brand to offer mobile contactless

payment services in the country. As a result, the number of e-wallets outside

the Chinese mainland that support UnionPay cards reaches 100. Meanwhile, the

number of merchants accepting UnionPay mobile payments has exceeded 10 million.

The two milestones mark the forming of an interconnected UnionPay cross-border

mobile payment ecosystem.

An Evolving Product Portfolio

The growth of the global mobile payment industry has accelerated in recent

years, with the transaction scale up by nearly three times from 2017 to 2020.

In line with the trend, UPI continues to apply the technology, specifications

and market experience of Chinese mainland mobile payments to the international

market. As the first international card scheme engaged in switching and

clearing of mobile payments, UnionPay now offers a variety of wallet products

such as the UnionPay App, mobile QuickPass and QR code e-wallets outside the

Chinese mainland. Users can enjoy diverse payment experiences with a scan, tap

or click. In particular, UnionPay launched the new mobile QuickPass this year,

with some products integrating contactless, QR code and in-app payments. This

means the payment demands in all use cases in and outside the Chinese mainland

can be met with one mobile phone.

UnionPay standard e-wallets have been launched in more than 20 countries and

regions, including Hong Kong, Macao, South Pacific, and Southeast Asia, and

nearly ten new e-wallets were rolled out in the second quarter of this year

alone. One out of every five transactions initiated by cards issued outside the

Chinese mainland goes through mobile payment tools. For example, the Hong Kong

and Macao versions of the UnionPay App provide access to almost all local

card-issuing banks, driving 18 e-wallets in the region to support UnionPay QR

codes, with over 1 million cards enrolled.

Localized Cooperation

Arab News Express, a prominent news website in the UAE, commented that the

cooperation between UnionPay and local institutions has improved the mobile

payment environment in the Middle East and protected consumer health. Khmer

Times, a Cambodian media outlet, said that UPI's diversified cooperation with

local banks in mobile payment has helped accelerate Cambodia's transition to a

cashless society. The rapid localization of UPI's mobile payment business has

benefitted from several factors: firstly, the four-party model under which UPI

operates is in line with the regulatory requirements of each country and makes

it easier to develop deep and win-win cooperation with local partners;

secondly, UPI offers a wide range of solutions to meet the needs of users in

different markets; thirdly, all types of products are compliant with EMV

specifications and hence can be used in cross-border use cases, which adds to

the appeal.

The e-wallet launched in Tajikistan reflects these features. Local POS

terminals supporting UnionPay QuickPass account for over 80% of the total, and

the International Bank of Tajikistan has also issued a large number of UnionPay

cards within the country over the past three years. Taking into account the

characteristics of the local acceptance network and the needs of cardholders,

the UnionPay contactless e-wallet solution has less demanding requirements on

mobile hardware and high Android compatibility. Users can simply link their

UnionPay cards with their wallets to make tap-and-go payments at home and

abroad seamlessly.

A Mobile Payment Ecosystem Taking Shape

In addition to a wide range of localized products, the increasingly

sophisticated acceptance network and enhanced digital payment service

capabilities have accelerated the formation of the UnionPay mobile payment

ecosystem. Currently, UnionPay's physical acceptance network has been extended

to 180 countries and regions, more than half of which support UnionPay's mobile

payment services. UnionPay QR payments have been rolled out in 45 countries and

regions, with over 1.5 million merchants outside the Chinese mainland accepting

the payment product, three times the number of the same period last year.

Additionally, 9 million POS terminals outside the Chinese mainland accept

UnionPay QuickPass payments, doubling the number last year.

SOURCE  UnionPay International