WorldPay becomes the first acquirer in the US and Europe to enable merchants to sell directly to the booming Chinese market online
LONDON--()--WorldPay, the global leader in payment processing, and China UnionPay, the fastest growing card scheme in the world, have today announced a partnership which will see WorldPay become the biggest acquirer outside of China for eCommerce UnionPay transactions. The agreement will see WorldPay become the first UnionPay Online Payment acquirer in the US and the vast majority of Europe1, to enable merchants to sell directly to consumers in China, as well as UnionPay cardholders outside of China.
The announcement allows merchants to tap into enormous Chinese spending power, which has grown exponentially in the last few years. The middle class population has risen from 35 million households in 2006 and is expected to top 100 million by 2016, whilst the number of dollar millionaires rose 10% in a year to 960,000. As well as this huge increase in spending power, the Chinese have become more transient. In 2001 only 12 million Chinese travellers took a foreign trip2, the Chinese Government estimated this number reached 64 million in 2011 and will grow 11% year-on-year.
China UnionPay has grown at an extraordinary rate and now rivals some of the world’s largest card schemes. According to an investigation by A.C. Nelson, an international authoritative investigation institution, up to 100% of Chinese domestics are familiar with the China UnionPay brand, significantly higher than any other bankcard brand in China.3
The potential eCommerce market for merchants selling to China is huge. The Chinese have a high demand for international products, so WorldPay’s move to become the first eCommerce acquirer in the US and the vast majority of Europe to enable merchants to sell directly to China marks a significant game changer for international eCommerce.
Ron Kalifa, CEO, WorldPay: “China is rapidly overtaking many nations to become one of the biggest spending powers in the world. The announcement today between WorldPay and China UnionPay is incredibly significant for merchants that want to sell to China online. eCommerce has removed geographical boundaries, opening up the opportunities for merchants to sell to consumers regardless of country or origin. WorldPay is now able to make this a reality for merchants that want to sell to China, opening up a lucrative market.”
UnionPay President, Xu Luode, stated that UnionPay is stepping up efforts to better meet the demand of cross-border transactions through cooperation with partners to further improve the acceptance network and services overseas. At present, UnionPay cards are accepted in 125 countries and areas around the world. Cardholders can also make cross-border purchases via the Internet with about 8 million online merchants in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and a large number of countries in Europe. The cooperation with WorldPay is a significant step forward to expand UnionPay acceptance overseas. In a period of time when major UK based sporting events are just around the corner, UnionPay is able to continue optimizing the acceptance environment in the UK and better serve the visiting UnionPay cardholders.
Selfridges was the first retailer in UK to introduce China UnionPay terminals, provided by Streamline, and following a successful implementation has continued to roll-out more terminals across its stores.
Meave Wall, Store Director, Selfridges comments: “The number of Chinese visitors to the UK has grown exponentially in the last couple of years. China UnionPay is one of the most widely recognised card schemes in the world, and since the introduction of China UnionPay terminals in our stores we have seen a significant increase in the footfall of Chinese visitors and the amount of money they spend, particularly on our luxury brand ranges.”
About WorldPay
WorldPay is a leading global provider of payment and risk services, processing millions of transactions every day. WorldPay is a unification of seven leading retail payment solutions and offers a range of services including acquiring, gateway, alternative payments, risk management, and mobile payments. WorldPay became an independent company in December 2010. www.worldpay.com
About Streamline
Streamline is the UK’s leading card payment acquiring business which allows customers to accept card payments at point of sale, over the phone and the internet. The company offers services across the entire payment value chain, including transaction capturing, merchant acquiring and transaction processing.
Clients vary in size from small family run companies to large multi-national corporations, spanning a broad spectrum of industries and sectors. Streamline is part of the WorldPay group of companies; one of the top five global players in card processing. streamline.com
About China UnionPay
As the bankcard association, China UnionPay operates the national inter-bank clearing and settlement system, develops the worldwide UnionPay Card acceptance network, promotes the issuance and usage of the UnionPay Card as well as other innovative payment solutions, to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued both at home and aboard has exceeded 2.8 billion. The UnionPay network has been extended to all the cities and rural areas in China. In addition, China UnionPay has enabled the UnionPay Card acceptance over 125 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with about 400 institutions around the world. Additional information may be found at: www.unionpay.com.