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UnionPay cards to be issued in Sri Lanka for the first time
2018-12-07


UnionPay International announced today that it has partnered with the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the largest private bank in Sri Lanka, to issue various UnionPay card products including Diamond Credit Card, Platinum Credit Card and Gold Debit Card in Sri Lanka. This is the first time that UnionPay cards are issued in the country.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has enabled all its ATM and POS terminals to accept UnionPay cards since 2012 and 2017 respectively. Going forward, the two parties will expand the scope of cooperation to card issuance to support the personnel exchanges between China and Sri Lanka. Local residents can apply for various UnionPay card products at various outlets of the bank. These cards can be used in the UnionPay network globally. Cardholders can enjoy exclusive discounts, loyalty rewards and other benefits, which will help improve the payment experience for Sri Lankan consumers.

With the continuous deepening of cooperation along the “Belt and Road”, China has become Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and the second largest tourist source country. At present, most merchants and ATM terminals in the tourist cities such as Colombo, Kandy and Galle accept UnionPay cards, and about 2,000 merchants accept UnionPay’s contactless payment service, QuickPass, which brings convenience to visiting cardholders. In November this year, UnionPay International announced cooperation with the largest retail group in Sri Lanka, to roll-out UnionPay QR code payment service across merchants such as supermarkets and restaurants to accept UnionPay QR codes and also provide QR code payment service for local residents.

In recent years, UnionPay International has continued to accelerate its business expansion in South Asia. To date, UnionPay is accepted at about 70% of ATMs and thousands of merchants in Bangladesh. UnionPay has also become the first international card organization to launch QR code payment service, virtual cards and e-wallet in the country. In Nepal, most of the local ATMs accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal, and the merchants most frequented by tourists accept UnionPay cards. UnionPay QR code payment service is also launched in the country. In India, it is expected that 80% of POS terminals will accept UnionPay cards next year.

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