UK based credit card and payment services provider Barclaycard has announced a new card acceptance partnership with UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay.
The deal will enable Barclaycard’s 110,000 UK merchants to accept UnionPay through a phased roll out that will begin in summer 2019.
UnionPay has the world’s largest cardholder base and high volume of Chinese users who visit the UK use their services, as well as increasing numbers of global cardholders.
In the announcement, Barclaycard stated that cardholders will benefit from the familiarity of paying with their UnionPay cards and mobile payment products, both in-store and online, across Barclaycard’s UK merchant network.
Rob Cameron, CEO of Payment Acceptance at Barclaycard, said: “With the world’s largest cardholder base, we’re excited to add UnionPay as a partner and open up acceptance to our 110,000 UK merchants.
“China is one of the UK’s most valuable inbound visitor markets, and this deal means our UK merchants will be able to better serve Chinese and global consumers who choose UnionPay as their preferred payment method when shopping online or in-store.”
The partnership also presents opportunities for British retailers to make it easier for international travellers to shop in the UK and purchase with their preferred payment method.
According to VisitBritain, the UK is expecting an increase in tourism from China in 2019 – bookings are up 31% from January to June this year in comparison to the same period in 2018.
Visitors from China spend on average £2,059 each per visit, more than three times the all-market visitor average – making their market one of the most valuable for UK merchants.
UnionPay international market director and head of European branch, Wei Zhihong, described the UK as an “attractive destination for chinese tourists” and added that partnering with Barclaycard is another step forward in the companies aim to expand globally.
He explained: “The UK remains a strategically important and growing market for UnionPay and, with Chinese visitors set to increase, today’s partnership will enable them to more easily and conveniently shop at a much greater number of British merchants.
“This will obviously be advantageous to UnionPay cardholders, whether Chinese or European, as well as to the UK domestic economy.”
Barclaycard recently announced a partnership with travel company Amadeus to integrate its Precisionpay solution into Amadeus’ B2B wallet payment option.
