UnionPay continues to expand fast outside Chinese mainland

SINGAPORE -- China UnionPay continued to expand its presence fast outside the Chinese mainland market, and it is now one of the most widely accepted payment methods in Southeast Asia, chief executive officer Shi Wenchao said on Tuesday.

"Our operations outside Chinese mainland has seen very good growth since the establishment of UnionPay International (as a subsidiary of China UnionPay) on November 30 last year," Shi said at a ceremony to mark the Southeast Asia regional headquarters of UnionPay International moving to a new office in Singapore's glamorous Marina Bay Financial Center.

"We have the support of our member organizations worldwide," he added.

Shi, who is also vice chairman UnionPay International, said UnionPay cards are now accepted in all the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The payment services provider also issued UnionPay cards in nine of the 10 Southeast Asian countries.

"We have also seen the expansion of our cross-border online payment services accelerating," he said.

The Southeast Asia regional office, one of China UnionPay's nine regional offices, oversees operations in 15 markets in Southeast Asia and South Asia, including India, the Maldives and Bangladesh.

China UnionPay launched card services in Singapore in 2005, marking its expansion into the first market beyond the Chinese markets that include the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao as well as Taiwan.

Now it has representatives in seven of the 10 markets in Southeast Asia.

Yang Wenhui, head of the company's Southeast Asia operations, said UnionPay cards are now accepted in most of the shops that accept card payment and at most of the ATM machines in the city state.

It is now even accepted on taxis and in some of the petrol stations and supermarkets in Singapore.

Yang said UnionPay has started to gradually grow its local presence by adding services catering to not only the tourists from China but also local consumers.

"Theoretically, you don't even need any cash in your wallet in Singapore if you have your UnionPay card with you," he said in a recent interview.

UnionPay International on Monday also adopted a show at the Singapore Zoo and an exhibit at its sister park River Safari, both operated by Wildlife Reserves Singapore, in a move apparently targeting both tourists and local visitors.

China UnionPay has so far issued some 3.5 billion bank cards, mostly in the Chinese mainland. Its cards are now accepted in over 140 countries and territories.