Last week UnionPay, the Chinese bank card giant, signed collaboration agreements with four financial institutions from Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The signing ceremony took place in Tbilissi, Georgia, with participation from the Chinese ambassador to Georgia, the vice-president of the Central Bank of Georgia, and the CEO of UnionPay International, Mr. Cai Jianbo.
In Russia, Rosselkhozbank – a state-owned bank supporting the agro-industry – will carry out joint marketing promotion with UnionPay International to attract more local customers to sign up for UnionPay cards. So far, over 10 banks in Russia have issued more than 1.5 million UnionPay cards. The Chinese company expects to reach 100% acceptance in Russia this year.
Russia has also become a “demonstration market” for UnionPay’s contactless payment, with over 1 million POS terminals accepting UnionPay mobile QuickPass. Local customers will also be able to enjoy UnionPay mobile QuickPass service soon.
UnionPay’s ambitions in Georgia will be supported by Basisbank. This organization will issue UnionPay Diamond cards and introduce UnionPay QR code payment service for the first time in the country. The acceptance coverage of UnionPay has exceeded 80%, and the scale of card issuance is expanding continuously, as a reflection of the growing economic and trade exchanges between China and Georgia.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s ATF Bank committed itself to issue 200,000 UnionPay cards in the next 3 years in the country. UnionPay QR code payment will be made available for the first time, along with local e-wallet product based on the UnionPay technical standards.
In Uzbekistan, Bank Ipak Yuli will issue 500,000 UnionPay-UZ co-brand cards in three years, expanding the use of UZ cards from Uzbekistan to UnionPay’s global network.
So far, UnionPay’s acceptance coverage in Central Asia has reached 70%, and it is expected to reach 90% within three years.
Source: UnionPay
