UnionPay has teamed up with First Data, to expand its card acceptance offering across the US.
The agreement will enable visitors to the US from China to use their UnionPay credit and debit cards at First Data’s US-based merchant clients.
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By 2021, it is expected that there will be up to 23 million Chinese visitors to the US.
The partners will complete the chip migration of First Data’s payment platforms and then extend the acceptance of UnionPay credit cards to the four million merchant locations that First Data serves across US.
Both the firms will target online retailers within the travel and entertainment industries, including airlines, cruise lines, and entertainment theme parks.
UnionPay International general manager June Chen said: “We are very glad to strengthen our partnership with First Data. We believe this new partnership will not only offer safer payment services to our cardholders visiting the United States, but also lay a solid foundation for the future rollout of UnionPay’s innovative products based on chip cards in the US.”
First Data executive vice president of global business solutions Dan Charron added: “As the world becomes increasingly borderless, First Data is dedicated to supporting our merchant clients with flexible payment options for their customers, wherever and however they shop.
“We are extremely proud to work with an innovative partner like UnionPay International to expand their card acceptance throughout the United States.”
