Singapore, 2 November 2018 – AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 has scored global payment network, UnionPay, as its Official Payment Brand. Partnering with the AFF Suzuki Cup, Southeast Asia’s most-watched football tournament, for the first time, UnionPay International aims to ride on the tournament’s popularity across the region to further localise its brand and business, as well as support local sports and communities across Southeast Asia.

With over 7 billion UnionPay cards issued in 49 countries and regions, and over 51 million merchants and 2.6 million ATMs accepting UnionPay cards globally, UnionPay is one of the fastest-growing payment networks in the world. In recent months, UnionPay has also been leading the way in driving the roll-out of QR Code for payments across Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, while enabling ATM, POS acceptance and card issuance across 10 countries in Southeast Asia.

Vincent Ling, Deputy General Manager, UnionPay International South East Asia, said, “UnionPay is proud to be the Official Payment Brand for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, Southeast Asia’s number one football competition that is watched by over 100 million fans in the region. Every two years, we always witness the best of ASEAN football and the unwavering passion of our football fans at this tournament. Through this inaugural partnership, UnionPay will be putting our best foot forward to support local football, ASEAN football, local communities and connect with football fans all across Southeast Asia.”

Lt Gen Dato’ Sri Azzuddin Ahmad (Retired), General Secretary of the ASEAN Football Federation, said, “We are thrilled that the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 is able to welcome onboard another strong brand in the shape of UnionPay. The tournament will kick-off in just over a week and with the backing of UnionPay and its services, we are well placed to deliver another outstanding edition of the competition.”

The AFF Suzuki Cup is a biennial football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), accredited by FIFA and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia. This year’s tournament will welcome a brand new format, with 10 qualified teams split into two groups of five to play a round robin system with each team playing two home and two away fixtures.