UnionPay International optimizes its acceptance in daily consumption sector
UnionPay cards are extensively accepted at chain supermarkets outside mainland China
2019-08-23
With UnionPay cards extensively accepted at large-scale chain supermarkets, popular supermarkets and 24-hour convenience stores outside mainland China, UnionPay is providing easier payment experiences for free-and-independent tourists and overseas UnionPay cardholders. UnionPay International announced today that all of the 1,800 stores of Pick n Pay, one of the largest chain supermarkets in South Africa, now accept UnionPay cards. So far, UnionPay cards are accepted at all the major supermarket merchants in South Africa.
Currently, UnionPay cards are accepted at Woolworths in Australia, Countdown in New Zealand, X5 in Russia and other major chain supermarkets in overseas markets. UnionPay is also accepted at Carrefour and Wal-Mart in Asia Pacific, Europe and America, 7-Eleven and Rawson in many countries and regions, and popular Chinese supermarkets such as Ranch Market in the US, Foody Mart in Canada and Orange Supermarket in Australia. Since the beginning of this year, the number of transactions made with UnionPay cards at supermarkets and convenience stores outside mainland China has grown by over 30%, among which the growths in Russia, Australia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Kazakhstan are over 50%.
A Chinese tourist whom visited Auckland during this summer vacation shared on Weibo his experience of paying via UnionPay mobile QuickPass at Countdown, saying the transaction was completed in seconds. As General Manager of Countdown Brett Ashley said, 181 stores of Countdown accept UnionPay mobile payment so as give Chinese tourists better payment experience.
As a typical type of merchants for high-frequency small-sum consumption, an increasing number of overseas supermarkets are accepting UnionPay mobile payment service to enhance the service capacity for Chinese tourists. Nowadays, supermarket chains such as Woolworths in Australia, Perekrestok in Russia and Ranch Market in the US have accepted QR-code-based payment of the UnionPay app or contactless payment of UnionPay QuickPass. As a result, in terms of truncation numbers, supermarket has become the top type of overseas merchants for UnionPay mobile QuickPass and the No.4 of that for UnionPay QR code payment. And during the first half of 2019, the number of transactions of UnionPay mobile QuickPass grew by about 200% year-on-year. About 30% of UnionPay cardholders who shop at Woolworths choose to pay with QuickPass.
To date, UnionPay cards are accepted at over 27 million merchants in 173 countries and regions. In addition to supermarkets, UnionPay’s acceptance at general merchandise, transportation, catering and many other types of merchants is also improving. Taking transportation as an example, UnionPay is already accepted by taxies in Australia, Japan, US, UAE and many other countries and regions, and buses and metros in Moscow, St Petersburg, New York, Washington, Macau and many other cities, as well as Eurail, Amtrak and Russia Railways.
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