On January 22, UnionPay International and Bank Alfalah Ltd announced that it would cooperate to massively issue 1.5 million UnionPay cards (card number starting with 62) in Pakistan in the next five years, so as to meet the payment needs of Pakistani residents for daily spending and international travel. Shuan Ghaidan, Director of Products of UnionPay International, and Atif Bajwa, CEO and President of Bank Alfalah Ltd attended the agreement signing ceremony.

Bank Alfalah is the largest merchant acquirer in Pakistan. Before this move, UnionPay International has partnered with the Bank in enabling all ATMs, POS Network and merchants subordinate to the Bank to accept UnionPay cards. These merchants include supermarkets, departmental stores, brand chain stores, hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, souvenir shops and retail shops. Bank Alfalah under this agreement will issue multiple categories of debit cards across different customer segments who are able to enjoy diversified services and value-added benefits via the local and global UnionPay global network.

The UnionPay card service system has gone through continuous improvement in Pakistan. Currently, UnionPay cards are accepted at almost all merchants and over 70% of ATMs in Pakistan. With over 2million UnionPay cards of several kinds already issued in Pakistan, UnionPay card is becoming one of the favorite payment tools of local residents. Pakistan also is the first overseas market that has launched the UnionPay mPOS acquiring service.