UnionPay International adds ASB Bank to its list of partners

By Edil Corneille

UnionPay International has added close to 15,000 merchants to its network through its latest partnership with New Zealand’s ASB Bank. Local cardholders can now use their UnionPay card to pay at ASB acquired POS terminals, increasing UnionPay’s network to 81,000 merchants across the country.

Auckland-based ASB employs more than 5,000 people and provides a range of financial services to its more than 1.2 million customers. It also supports payment acceptance for a large portion of New Zealand business.

“At ASB, we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of payment options for our customers so they can choose to pay how they like, and partnering with UnionPay is another way for us to do that,” says ASB GM Global Transaction Banking Greg Beehre.

“We’re looking forward to the opportunities this partnership will provide for our customers.”

UnionPay International provides high quality, cost effective and secure payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base, with an increasing number of New Zealand consumers and businesses joining the network every day.

Dr Jian Jiangtao, UnionPay International South Pacific region representative, says the company’s success is due to the exclusive value and opportunity it presents to partners and consumers alike.

“Partnering with ASB provides a range of unique opportunities for New Zealand businesses, including access to UnionPay cardholders from around the world, particularly for local residents and international students that are based in New Zealand.”

The partnership with ASB means UnionPay acceptance via POS terminals has increased to 90 per cent, meaning UnionPay cardholders can enjoy their shopping experience at the majority of merchants. It also increases UnionPay’s QuickPass (NFC/contactless payments) acceptance base in the New Zealand market to almost 65 per cent.

“We welcome ASB into the UnionPay payment network, and we’re excited to team up with them to help us improve UnionPay’s acceptance coverage,” Dr Jian said.