UnionPay Global Acceptance Network Expanded to 157 Countries

Ge Huayong, Chairman of China UnionPay, attended the ATM acceptance launch ceremony jointly held by UnionPay International and Central Bank of the UAE. He disclosed at the ceremony that UnionPay acceptance network has expanded to 157 countries and regions worldwide. And within this year, the UAE will become another overseas market where UnionPay cards are fully accepted at all ATMs and POS terminals. H.E Mubarak Rashed Al Mansoori, Governor of Central Bank of the UAE attended the ceremony, with the presence of representatives of several domestic commercial banks.

Over the years, UnionPay International has kept improving its overseas acceptance network according to the trend of international tourism and cardholders’ payment needs, and has made breakthroughs in many overseas markets. Now, UnionPay cards are fully accepted in Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, and Cuba in general, and will be fully accepted in Jordan within this year. In South Korea and Pakistan, almost all POS terminals accept UnionPay cards, while in Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Thailand and Burma, UnionPay cards are accepted at almost all ATMs. In the next two years, the acceptance scope of UnionPay cards in Australia, Turkey and Russia will expand substantially.

Currently in the UAE, UnionPay cards are accepted at all POS terminals and about 50% of ATMs. Through its cooperation with UAE SWITCH, a local switch network subordinate to Central Bank of the UAE, UnionPay International will enable the full acceptance of UnionPay cards at all local ATMs by this May. Then, UnionPay cards will be comprehensively accepted in the UAE. UAE SWITCH is the only local ATM switch network in the UAE whose members cover all the 45 local institutions with ATM business.

To date, UnionPay cards are accepted at about 34 million merchants and over 2 million ATMs across the world. In the meantime, cardholders are able to enjoy abundant UnionPay value-added services, including global hotline, emergency cash assistance, global tax refund, cross-border remittance, as well as global assistance, global concierge and airport VIP lounge which are exclusive for premium cards. Besides, UnionPay provides preferential privileges covering various fields of travel, airport, accommodation, shopping, catering, leisure and entertainment.