UnionPay brings borderless payment experience to global cardholders

UnionPay has announced that 170 international wallets can now be used directly at merchants that accept UnionPay in China, offering a truly borderless payment experience for cardholders from across the world.

This change brought by Union-Pay's rapid expansion of its cross-border business massively enhances the payment experience for foreign travelers in China.

Hong Kong and Macao residents can now use familiar options like the UnionPay app, Octopus card and BOC Pay. Other international wallets, including Malaysia's GoPayz, Thailand's K PLUS and South Korea's Naver Pay, allow travelers to scan UnionPay QR codes to make payments.

Since the start of the year, Southeast Asian payment networks like Malaysia's PayNet, Vietnam's NAPAS and Cambodia's Bakong have all reached agreements with UnionPay.

Various payment products

In partnership with more than 2,500 institutions worldwide, UnionPay has enabled card acceptance in 181 countries and regions with issuance in 79 countries and regions. It provides high quality, cost-effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world's largest cardholder base when they visit China.

In recent years, the digital transformation of the global payment industry has been accelerating with Chinese payment financial institutions represented by UnionPay creating a smooth and interconnected global payment network.

UnionPay has cooperated with international banks and payment companies to support wallets that bind UnionPay cards or issue Union-Pay virtual cards within the app, with 170 of these wallet products have been launched across 35 countries and regions. It is expected that the number will exceed 200 by the end of the year.

UnionPay is also cooperating on transit network technology standards, QR code standards and chip card standards with many central banks, national transit networks and payment alliances worldwide.

Network interconnection

UnionPay's new "network interconnection and interoperability" cooperation model is another step in UnionPay's constant innovation.

It promotes the interconnection between payment networks in China and internationally while supporting the coordinated development of domestic and international payment products. This has brought untold conveniences for international travelers in China.

Thai tourist Kittiphan who was visiting Hangzhou in Zhejiang province said: "I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that our local Thai K+ wallet can directly scan QR codes to pay in China. I experienced it myself in Hangzhou this time and it was super convenient."

International partners and users have warmly welcomed UnionPay's latest innovation as it offers five significant advantages: a seamless connection, no additional costs, better privacy protection and customer risk identification that ensures safer cross-border transactions, as well as a wide range of application scenarios.

These include catering, retail, transportation and entertainment, and the UnionPay card experience is becoming increasingly convenient for people who wish to take rides, go shopping and claim back tax refunds.

For instance, cross-border transportation such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the China-Laos Railway along with 44 urban subways and more than 1,760 urban buses in the region all support UnionPay cardholders.

Newly-launched Tour Card

Currently, the acceptance network of UnionPay in China covers major cities. There are more than 25 million merchants, more than 33 million POS (point of sale) machines and more than 880,000 ATMs supporting various UnionPay payment tools.

For foreigners who do not hold UnionPay cards, UnionPay has also launched a Tour Card product in partnership with China Construction Bank, Bank of Shanghai and Bank of Hangzhou.

After entering the country, travelers can apply for and recharge the Tour Card online in the UnionPay app with their passports (to support the recharge of bank cards issued by other card schemes).

Then they can make transactions via the UnionPay app at a wide range of online and offline merchants in China.

It is worth mentioning that global travelers can also activate the "UnionPay bus code" function within the Tour Card, making it convenient for them to scan QR codes to take a subway or bus.

The global payment industry's digital transformation is on the rise. UnionPay aims not just to refine offerings but to innovate cooperation models.

Through interconnection and interoperability with global payment networks, UnionPay ensures that international travelers feel right at home with their payment experiences.