UnionPay expands cross-border QR network interoperability to facilitate visitors to and from China

With the signing of a memorandum of understanding between UnionPay International and the National Bank of Cambodia, Union-Pay's linkage with national QR networks outside the Chinese mainland, especially with the networks of Southeast Asian countries has been accelerated. At present, two-way opening projects between the local QR code network of Sri Lanka, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia and UnionPay have been or are being implemented.

The new cooperation model of QR network interoperability not only reflects the trend of Southeast Asian countries exploring the cross-border interconnection of bank card switching services, but also shows UnionPay's continuous breakthrough in business models and acceleration of business layout on the basis of its mobile payment acceptance advantages. This means that UnionPay e-wallet products in China can be fully accepted by QR code merchants in these countries, and e-wallet products in these countries can also be used in UnionPay QR code merchants worldwide including China.

From card to mobile payment

Currently, UnionPay cards are accepted in 181 countries and regions. Since the beginning of this year, more and more Chinese outbound tourists have stated on social media that "UnionPay mobile payment is becoming more and more useful overseas". Behind the consumer word-of-mouth is the ever-expanding acceptance scope, usage scenarios and usage methods of UnionPay mobile payment. The latest data show that 98 overseas countries and regions support UnionPay mobile payment services.

Accepting UnionPay mobile payment has also become an important way to welcome Chinese tourists. Taking this project in Cambodia as an example, the KHQR QR code payment standard led by the National Bank of Cambodia basically covers all local QR code merchants. The bank's partnership with UnionPay International supports KHQR QR code to integrate UnionPay payment, which will realize the direct use of UnionPay QR code-enabled e-wallets in local KHQR merchants, and rapidly expand the acceptance of UnionPay at local QR code merchants.

UnionPay International continues to promote the ecological and systematic development of mobile payment scenarios, and has formed service features in transportation, catering and retail and other livelihood scenarios. For example, China's Hong Kong MTR and the Fukuoka subway lines in Japan support UnionPay cardholders to swipe their mobile phones to pass through the gates, and Malaysia Airport Express, the buses and parking lots in Hong Kong, Macao, Paris and other well-known tourist destinations support scanning UnionPay QR codes or mobile QuickPass.

The development paths of the payment industry in various countries and markets are different, and consumption habits vary. As UnionPay mobile payment products have various types, cross-border tourists can flexibly choose UnionPay QR code or mobile QuickPass payment. Also taking its platform advantage of "Four-Party Model", UnionPay provides commercial bank apps connected to the UnionPay APP Network Payment Platform with its global QR code acceptance network and diversified application scenarios, which further enriches consumers' cross-border payment options. At present, there are many bank apps in China that have access to this platform and support cross-border QR code payment.

UnionPay solutions for visitors to China

UnionPay is a pioneer that facilitates payments for foreigners in China. Over 200 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 78 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland, and these cards can be conveniently used in merchants and ATMs in China.

In recent years, UnionPay International has provided diversified "China solutions" for inbound payment for overseas institutions: In addition to promoting the issuance of physical UnionPay cards by card issuers, it has also cooperated with mainstream banks and payment institutions on app-based mobile payment. Overseas institutions which have their own wallets can support the binding of existing UnionPay cards or issue virtual UnionPay cards.

For overseas users, the UnionPay solution has five significant advantages: First, consumers can use their local payment tools directly in China; second, no extra cost will be charged for transactions in comparison to using cards; third, UnionPay supports contactless, QR code, and online payment in a wide range of scenarios; fourth, privacy protection is more complete. Users only need to complete ID verification at the local service providers; and fifth, UnionPay strictly follows the "Four-Party Model" and has internationally accepted business rules, technical specifications and incident handling machinism which can make cross-border transactions safer.

At present, more than 170 Union-Pay-standard wallet products have landed in 30 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland. Take K+ App, an e-wallet of KASIKORNBANK (KBank) in Thailand and one of the most popular mobile payment tools locally, as an example. Users only need to bind their UnionPay cards issued by the bank in the app or open a UnionPay virtual account, and then they can pay in UnionPay QR code merchants in China. It is estimated that by the end of 2023, there will be more than 200 UnionPay standard wallets in overseas markets, covering more than 600 million potential users.

Facilitate financial connectivity in GBA

The cross-border UnionPay payment products have also assisted the construction of the interconnected payment network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China, and have been favored by people in the region.

At present, UnionPay payment products have achieved full coverage in major cities in the Bay Area. Over 110,000 merchants support UnionPay QR codes, and a total of over 30 million UnionPay cards have been issued locally.

On this basis, UnionPay launched the Hong Kong and Macao version of UnionPay APP in 2018. Over the past five years, the number of users has continued to grow, meanwhile more than 20 local mainstream e-wallets have been connected to the UnionPay network. Users only need to bind local UnionPay cards or apply for Union-Pay virtual cards in the apps, and then they can pay in the global UnionPay network including the Chinese mainland.

While providing consumers with high-quality payment services, UnionPay International is also actively bringing convenient scenario services to local residents. In recent years, UnionPay International has participated in the consumer coupon programs by the Hong Kong government; it has innovatively launched a cross-border frictionless parking payment service; and also for the first time, it has exported Transit QR code in the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong e-wallets.

Interoperated mobile payment ecosystem

Through continuous innovation of cooperation models and the opening of networks and services, UnionPay International has attracted more and more overseas institutions in different fields to join its mobile payment ecosystem to seek win-win opportunities.

In terms of acceptance, UnionPay, relying on its advantages in standards, technology, services and other fields, has launched its QR Network Interoperability payment solution, which supports the mutual use of UnionPay products and overseas wallets in the overseas networks. The ROK's ZeroPay mobile payment solution and LankaPay, the Sri Lankan national payment network, have implemented this solution. Through this innovative business cooperation model, overseas payment networks can improve their service capabilities for international consumers with low cost and high efficiency.

At the same time, in order to help cooperative institutions carry out UnionPay digital business efficiently and at low cost, UnionPay International has successively established more than 20 Application Programming Interface platforms such as its Unified Payments Interface Content & Service Platform and UPI SaaS Card Issuing Service.

Taking UCSP as an example, overseas institutions with UnionPay standard wallets can quickly access diverse merchants such as payment, transportation, life services, and entertainment through this platform, and obtain rich value-added one-stop services to improve the user experience.