UnionPay Acceptance Coverage in Spain Will Grow from 90% Now to 100% Within This Year

UnionPay acceptance network is continuously expanding in Europe. It is learnt recently that nearly 90% of the ATMs and POS terminals in Spain already accept UnionPay cards, and it is particularly easy to pay with UnionPay cards in the major business districts in Madrid and Barcelona. It is expected that all the ATMs and bankcard-accepting merchants in Spain will accept UnionPay within this year, including the entire network of Repsol gas stations in Spain.

As reported by Spanish media, Spain received a total of 718,000 Chinese tourists last year, which is four times of that in 2012. To better serve the tourists, UnionPay International is collaborating with local major institutions to expedite expanding UnionPay’s acceptance scope in Spain. In this January, through the collaboration with Banco Cooperativo, 81,000 POS terminals and 2,600 ATMs have been enabled to accept UnionPay cards. The collaboration increases UnionPay’s acceptance coverage to 90%. In particular, tourists can pay with UnionPay Card in merchants in Mediterranean Coast in Spain. Recently, UnionPay International has also achieved agreements with Cajamar and also with Santander España Merchant Services (SEMS), which will accept UnionPay cards at all their terminals. Thanks to this latest progress, UnionPay will reach 100% acceptance in Spain.

With the continuous expansion of its acceptance scope in Spain, UnionPay is offering better service to free-and-independent travelers. Now, local popular restaurants such as Txistu, O’Pazo, and La Fonda, hotel groups such as Mandarin Oriental and Hotel Dante Barcelona, popular shopping villages like Las Rozas Village in Madird and La Roca Village in Barcelona all accept UnionPay cards. More than 80% of the local taxis accept UnionPay payment too. In addition, Repsol, one of the top companies in the oil and gas industry, will allow UnionPay cardholders to pay with UnionPay in its around 3,500 service stations in Spain before this summer. This collaboration will make it easier for UnionPay cardholders to go on self-driving trips in Spain. Repsol also becomes the first oil company in Europe to have accepted UnionPay.

UnionPay cardholders may also enjoy multiple discounts and privileges in Spain. The largest retail group in Spain, El Corte Ingles, give UnionPay cardholders multiple promotions to UnionPay cardholders if they use UnionPay cards to pay or claim for tax refund. UnionPay International and El Corte Ingles have also reached strategical agreement to jointly promote UnionPay innovative payment services in the future. At the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, UnionPay cardholders can enjoy discounts when buying books, brochures and other products at the museum stores.

At present, UnionPay is accepted at over 3 million merchants in 39 countries and regions in Europe. These merchants account for more than 60% of all the merchants accepting bankcards. In Portugal, more than 90% of ATMs and POS terminals that accept international bankcards accept UnionPay. In Italy, over 80% of ATMs and 50% of merchants accept UnionPay cards. In Greece, UnionPay is accepted at almost all ATMs and over 80% of POS terminals, and cardholders can make payments with their mobile phones in popular tourist destinations.