UnionPay International partners with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company and Ctrip to issue UnionPay credit card in Japan
2018-05-18
UnionPay International announced today its collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company and Ctrip.com (referred to as “Ctrip” hereinafter) in issuing UnionPay co-brand credit card in Japan, offering the local customers special privileges including travel booking discounts worldwide. Vice President of UnionPay International, Mr. Larry Wang, President of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Mr. Ken Kubo, and CEO of Ctrip Ms. Sun Jie attended the issuing ceremony.
At present, the UnionPay card is accepted at about 700,000 merchant locations and over half of all ATMs in Japan, including over 90% of the local chain convenience stores. With the continuous optimization of UnionPay’s acceptance environment, the localization of UnionPay business is also accelerating. So far, more than 200,000 UnionPay cards have been issued in Japan. UnionPay is playing an increasingly important role in the local residents’ global travels. In 2018, the transaction volume of Japan-issued UnionPay cards in countries and regions outside mainland China grew by over 50% year-on-year. In particular, Japanese cardholders are using UnionPay cards frequently in Asian countries and regions, such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea.
Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company is one of the largest credit card companies in Japan, and Ctrip is the largest online travel company in China. In 2014, Ctrip Group started offering travel booking services to Japanese consumers, and launched its new brand, Trip.com, in Japan this year. This co-brand UnionPay credit cards jointly issued by the three parties will come into the market this June and will provide multiple services and benefits to Japanese cardholders. Firstly, the card can be used in the UnionPay global acceptance network and supports UnionPay Online Payment function. Secondly, cardholders may enjoy unique discounts when booking hotels on Trip.com. Thirdly, cardholders may get bonus points, free travel insurance and multiple UnionPay offers when paying with the card, and the bonuses can be used to redeem discount codes for hotel or flight bookings on Trip.com.
To date, about 100 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 48 overseas countries and regions. In Laos, Mongolia and Myanmar, UnionPay is the No.1 bankcard brand in terms of cards issued. Over 4.1 million UnionPay cards are issued in Pakistan, and “UnionPay” has become the second largest international card brand in Pakistan by the number of cards issued. Over 16 million UnionPay cards are issued in Hong Kong, which means that on average each person has two UnionPay cards in Hong Kong.
Company News