Over 68 Million UnionPay Cards Have Been Issued Outside Mainland China

According to the latest data released by UnionPay International, more than 68 million UnionPay cards have been issued in over 40 countries and regions by the end of November: 15 million more cards are issued this year. Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and markets along the “Belt and Road” are all major issuing markets. From January to November this year, the number of transaction of overseas-issued UnionPay cards in mainland China grew by about 50%.

China’s outbound tourism has witnessed rapid growth for many years, and now, the inbound tourism is picking up steam. According to the data released by China’s National Tourism Administration, in the first six months of 2016, the number of inbound tourists reached 67.87 million, growing by 3.8% year-on-year; that is 8.84 million more than the outbound tourists. It is estimated that the number of inbound tourists in the second half of this year will mark a year-on-year growth of 4% or more.

“With more people from abroad visit China, UnionPay is facing new opportunities and challenges.” CEO of UnionPay International, Cai Jianbo, said. “We not only provide payment convenience Chinese people to go abroad, but also endeavor to optimize inbound tourists’ payment experiences to facilitate more overseas guests’ travel and payment in China so as to support the personnel exchanges between China and the rest of the world.”

To do so, UnionPay International has taken several measures. Firstly, to promote the large-scale issuance of UnionPay cards in markets outside mainland China to make UnionPay a familiar and popular brand. Secondly, to build special business circles in cities in mainland China and to improve trade settlement service to meet the cross-border payment demands. Thirdly, to offer exclusive offers and value-added services for UnionPay cards issued outside mainland China.

Thanks to UnionPay’s extensive acceptance network in mainland China, more and more customers like to bring UnionPay cards when visiting China. From January to November, the transaction volume of Korea-issued UnionPay cards in mainland China grew by about 50%. Customers from the Belt and Road countries frequently use UnionPay cards in mainland China too: the transaction volume of UnionPay cards issued in Pakistan and Nepal grew by about 2 times, and that of UnionPay cards issued in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and Mauritius also grew by about 50%.

More exclusive privileges are offered for UnionPay cards issued outside mainland China. Now, UnionPay International provides VIP services to cardholders applying for Chinese visa at 10 Chinese Visa Application Service Centers in South Korea, Singapore and Australia. Moreover, mainstream banks in Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Singapore have offered exclusive cashback for local UnionPay cardholders. In the future, major business and trade districts as well as famous OTAs in mainland China will offer discounts and privileges for cardholders outside mainland China.