After extending its service in June aimed at helping UnionPay cardholders in Australia stay safe during the Covid-19 outbreak, UnionPay has announced its contactless payments acceptance rate has increased from 58% to 66% to now cover 323,000 merchants across the country.

The increase, which comes at a time when international student flights are poised to restart in September, means an even smoother payment experience to UnionPay cardholders in Australia, where 90% of ATMs and 85% of POS terminals already accept UnionPay cards.

Among the payments providers accepting QuickPass in Australia is Tyro, which is the fifth largest payments provider by number of terminals with about 63,000 in market. Tyro has a large footprint in the retail and dining sectors right across the country.

Contactless payments have enjoyed a significant rise in usage amongst Australians. Australia has become the largest user of contactless payments in the world, and around four in five Australian consumers use tap and go payments every week.  In answer to this trend, UnionPay has actively encouraged the adoption of contactless payment by increasing the payment limit from AUD 100 to AUD 200, since the Covid-19 outbreak.