•    Mpay launches UnionPay’s first Prepaid Contactless Card in Cambodia.
•    Mpay has enabled over 3,000 Cambodian merchants with UnionPay QR Code for payment.

For Immediate Release

24 DECEMBER 2020, PHNOM PENH.  Global payments network UnionPay announced today that it has a comprehensive partnership with innovative fintech solutions provider Mpay to issue UnionPay’s first Contactless Prepaid Card in the market and enable Cambodian merchants with Quick Response (QR) Code for payments.  With this collaboration, consumers and businesses in the kingdom can not only look forward to having more innovative payment service, but also enjoy greater convenience and enhanced payment experiences.

Through this comprehensive partnership for both UnionPay issuing and acquiring services, Mpay will offer two types of UnionPay Prepaid cards, allowing consumers to pay easily at merchant Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals nation wide with just a simple tap, or purchase online from over 10 million merchants that accept UnionPay. In addition, Mpay has already enabled over 3,000 merchants with UnionPay QR Code for payment, many of which are small and micro merchants for everyday purchases. Some familiar merchant names include E-GetS, NHAM24, LaoDiFang Restaurant, DeYueLou Restaurant, XiaoMi, Cambodia Airline and JC Airline. Enabling merchants to accept UnionPay QR Code for payment will help them meet the rising trend of more local residents adopting this new and innovative method to pay. According to the National Bank of Cambodia, the number of active e-wallets in the kingdom jumped 64% to 5.22 million in 2019, compared t0 2018.

This collaboration between UnionPay and Mpay is timely when the community of banking and financial sector (BFIs) represented by the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) and Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) issued a joint statement on December 8, 2020 to encourage more digital and cashless payments to combat the outbreak of the pandemic in the kingdom.  

“We pleased to collaborate with strategic and like-minded partners like Mpay to expand UnionPay’s existing range of card products and payment services to offer our local customers more choices for convenient and safe payment methods. We hope that our partnership with Mpay will also improve financial inclusion by giving the unbanked access to UnionPay Prepaid cards, helping them to get access to a whole plethora of banking and payment services,” said Ms Leang Chenda, Cambodia Country Manager, UnionPay International South East Asia.

Today most transactions in the kingdom are still in cash, with a large population who are unbanked. The National Bank of Cambodia has rolled out several initiatives to increase financial inclusion and promote greater financial mobility in Cambodia.

“Mpay has always strived to provide more streamlined and improved payment experience for our customers, to enhance their business performance. Our partnership with UnionPay is a new milestone, as UnionPay is not only the world’s largest international payment brand in terms of number of cards issued, but also a global leader for innovative payment services like QR Code and wallets for payment. We are confident that this partnership will help accelerate the kingdom’s transformation to a cashless society,” said Mr Sun Lei, CEO, Mpay.

The two Mpay UnionPay Prepaid cards – Anonymous and Real Name option - will be launched in January 2021. Applicants applying for the Real Name Prepaid card has to go through a “Know Your Customer” or KYC process. Mpay is able to customize both types of UnionPay Prepaid cards for different customer types to suit their needs. By downloading the Mpay app, UnionPay Prepaid Cardholders can bind their card to the app and see their itemized spending. In future, they can also use the Mpay app to scan UnionPay QR Codes at merchants.
     
As part of the launch promotion, new users will enjoy 6 months no management fee for the anonymous Prepaid card and 12 months no management fee for Real-Name Prepaid Card.