UnionPay International cooperates with the second largest bank in Cambodia in card issuance

APD

text

UnionPay International and Canadia Bank signed a card issuance cooperation agreement in Phnom Penh on August 7,2015. According to the agreement, UnionPay debit cards (card number starting with 62) will be launched at the beginning of the next year to provide local residents with more convenient and preferential payment services for daily purchase and international travel. Chen Zhi, vice-chairman of China UnionPay and Datuk Michael Lor, CEO of Canadia Bank, attended the ceremony.

As the second largest bank in Cambodia, Canadia Bank was the first local bank to launch UnionPay card business in 2008. All ATMs and merchants under its flag now accept UnionPay cards. With the help of the bank, UnionPay International and Dufry, an airport duty-free shop in Cambodia, have carried out UnionPay cards promotions for two consecutive years. On the basis of joint efforts for many years, the cooperation scope of the two sides has extended from acceptance to issuance step by step, and the target customer has expanded from UnionPay cardholders visiting Cambodia to local residents. Now more customers enjoy convenient payment service through the global network of UnionPay cards.

Before then, UnionPay International cooperated with four local banks in issuing various UnionPay card products, including co-branded debit cards, credit cards and premium cards. The UnionPay debit cards to be launched via cooperation with Canadia Bank will further enrich local bank card products, facilitate cross-border payments between China and Cambodia, and enable Cambodian citizens to enjoy easier card-using experiences locally and in other Asian regions, including those most popular destinations like Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Laos.

According to Chen Zhi, as Cambodia is a significant country along the 21 Century Maritime Silk Road, UnionPay will seize this opportunity to enhance its cooperation with local institutions including Canadia Bank. In addition to constantly improving the acceptance quality, UnionPay will launch more UnionPay card products to satisfy the demands of local consumers in large scale. In the meantime, the development in such innovative fields as contactless payments will be accelerated to support the trade and personnel exchanges between the two countries in the field of financial payment.

Mr. Lor commented, “The middle class in Cambodia is growing, and with this growth comes a very real demand for financial solutions that match their financial status. The longstanding relationship with a global leader in card services helps us offer the best card solutions and choices to our customers.”

In addition, as more and more Chinese people travel to Cambodia, it is very convenient to use UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal and purchase locally. UnionPay cards have been accepted by 80% of the ATMs and 85% of the merchants there, covering airports, department stores, scenic areas, hotels and other places frequently visited by tourists. At present, China is the second largest tourist source for Cambodia and the number of Chinese tourists has risen dramatically. According to the strategic target set by the Cambodian tourism authority, the country is expected to attract 650,000 Chinese people in 2015and 1,300,000 in 2018.

Currently, 46,000,000 UnionPay cards have been issued in more than 40 foreign countries and regions accumulatively. In the Southeast Asia, it is convenient to use UnionPay cards in ten countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei, where UnionPay cards have been issued.