Wirecard and UnionPay, the World's Largest Card Scheme, Sign MoU to Form Expanded Global Strategic Partnership

PR80540

ASCHHEIM, Germany, Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-  UnionPay leads the global card scheme market, having issued 57.6% of the

world's payment cards in circulation

-  Partnership aims to support Wirecard's growth in China

-  Scope includes expanding global acceptance of UnionPay and developing joint

digital payment solutions

    Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology,

has signed an MoU with UnionPay, the world's largest card scheme, to form a

global strategic partnership. The agreement will support UnionPay's ongoing

international expansion and Wirecard's growth in China and with Chinese

businesses.

    With over 7.59 billion cards issued under its brand, amounting to 57.6% of

the world's payment cards in circulation according to the Nilson Report,

UnionPay leads the global card scheme market, and is an association for China's

banking card industry. The cooperation between Wirecard and UnionPay will focus

on expanding the global acceptance of UnionPay as a digital payment method

across all channels. In addition, the partnership will also launch a number of

issuing projects, including corporate solutions such as payout products and SCP

(Supplier and Commission Payments), and consumer-oriented products in the form

of digital wallets for incoming tourists to China.

"As the world's largest card scheme in terms of card issuance, UnionPay will be

one of our key alliances in Asia," commented Georg von Waldenfels, EVP Group

Business Development at Wirecard. "We're excited about the immense potential

this partnership creates for both entities, and to deliver innovative solutions

for current and future UnionPay cardholders globally. As a major tourist and

business destination, China receives hundreds of millions of travelers every

year, which means that the scope of our solutions will also address non-Chinese

nationals and enable them to pay with UnionPay nationwide."

    "Through our global strategic partnership with Wirecard, we plan to

continue driving our international expansion forward," added Larry Wang, Vice

President at UnionPay International. "We are proud to have an experienced

partner in digital financial technology and global payments by our side to

provide an even wider range of innovative solutions for UnionPay customers. We

look forward to launching our partnership with Wirecard."

    The initial stage of the partnership will focus on launching additional

projects in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US, where both partners already work

together for several years. Especially point of sale and issuing solutions will

merge with the existing online payment business. Additionally, a consumer

solution for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is being planned to

take advantage of the large number of tourists who will visit the country.

    About Wirecard:

    Wirecard (GER:WDI) is one of the world's fastest growing digital platforms

in the area of financial commerce. We provide both business customers and

consumers with a constantly expanding ecosystem of real-time value-added

services built around innovative digital payments by using an integrated B2B2C

approach. This ecosystem concentrates on the areas payment & risk, retail &

transaction banking, loyalty & couponing, data analytics & conversion rate

enhancement in all sales channels (online, mobile, ePOS). Wirecard operates

regulated financial institutions in several key markets and holds issuing and

acquiring licenses from all major payment and card networks. Wirecard AG is

listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (DAX and TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060).

Visit us on www.wirecard.com, follow us on Twitter @wirecard and on Facebook

@wirecardgroup.

    About UnionPay:

    China UnionPay (CUP) is a bankcard association founded in 2002 in Shanghai,

China, with an aim to facilitate interbank transactions in the Chinese

Mainland. So far, all POS and ATM terminals of all the banks in mainland China

are connected to the UnionPay network. UnionPay International (UPI) is a

subsidiary of CUP focused on the growth and support of UnionPay's global

business. In partnership with more than 2,000 institutions worldwide, UPI has

enabled card acceptance in 174 countries and regions with issuance in 56

countries and regions. UPI provides quality, cost-effective and secure

cross-border payment services to the world's largest cardholder base and

ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay

cardholders and merchants.

    Wirecard contact:

    Wirecard AG

    Iris Stöckl

    VP Corp. Comm./IR

    Tel.: +49 (0) 89-4424-1424

    Email: iris.stoeckl@wirecard.com

    http://www.wirecard.de

    ISIN DE0007472060

    Reuters: WDI.GDE

    Bloomberg: WDI GY

    UnionPay contact:

    UPIPR

    Tel.: +86 (0) 21 2026 5843

    Email: UPIPR@unionpayintl.com

    Source: Wirecard AG